Repairing desk pen base?

[fqgouvea]

I have a desk pen base that has gone wobbly: the trumpet is too loose to stand up with a pen inside. I can’t see any screws that might be tightened. Any idea how to fix this?

[Dreck]

I take it the wobbly bit is the hinged part? If this is the case, you have a few different tightening options. You could try beating it a bit with a ball peen hammer to re-tighten the rivet. Since I tend to break things, what I would do instead would be to get a tube of Permatex/Loctite and put a few drops on either side of the hinge.

[fqgouvea]

I take it the wobbly bit is the hinged part? If this is the case, you have a few different tightening options. You could try beating it a bit with a ball peen hammer to re-tighten the rivet. Since I tend to break things, what I would do instead would be to get a tube of Permatex/Loctite and put a few drops on either side of the hinge.

Right, the hinged part is loose. It will stand up if there’s no weight in the tulip, but it can’t hold a pen up.

I’ll look into the locktite option. Is there more than one kind? (Sorry to be so clueless...)

[FredRydr]

I’ll look into the locktite option. Is there more than one kind?

Yes, and they are designed to range from a temporary to a permanent bond. See: http://wdarc.org/Loctite%20Guide.pdf I'd be wary of it for the purpose you propose. Report back on which you chose and whether it works as you intend.

I'm not familiar with the hinge on your pen base. It appears to be a simple connection that moves in only one plane perpendicular to the base surface (unlike a ball and socket). Is that the case? If so there must either be (1) a pin that passes through the two parts, or (2) one part snaps into the other.

[Dreck]

I’ll look into the locktite option. Is there more than one kind?

Yes, and they are designed to range from a temporary to a permanent bond. See: http://wdarc.org/Loctite%20Guide.pdf I'd be wary of it for the purpose you propose. Report back on which you chose and whether it works as you intend.

Thanks for the pdf Fred. I was only aware of Blue and Red, and had I been thinking of it, I'd have recommended the blue (the only kind I've ever used) as it should provide enough grip and be tacky enough to hold the hinge in place without making it immovable.

Ferdinand, if you do decide to go the Loctite route, I'd also recommend covering the base against drips. Loctite shouldn't stain marble, but I'd rather not take any chances. The stuff is *very* liquid. I'd do a drop on each side, wipe away the excess, prop the tulip in the position you want, and leave it dry for about an hour before repeating the process.

[FredRydr]

If there is no pin or screw passing through the two parts, I would insert a brass rod in the dark space between the hinged parts and lever the trumpet/tulip/sheath from the base. Clean the parts' mating surfaces of anything that might be serving as a lubricant. Then with a pair of pliers slightly squeeze the prongs on the bottom of the trumpet/tulip/sheath before snapping the two parts back together.

[Chrissy]

If there is no pin or screw passing through the two parts, I would insert a brass rod in the dark space between the hinged parts and lever the trumpet/tulip/sheath from the base. Clean the parts' mating surfaces of anything that might be serving as a lubricant. Then with a pair of pliers slightly squeeze the prongs on the bottom of the trumpet/tulip/sheath before snapping the two parts back together.

This sounds like it might work, and I would try it first before resorting to some sort of adhesive that might fix the tulip in one position.

[fqgouvea]

If there is no pin or screw passing through the two parts, I would insert a brass rod in the dark space between the hinged parts and lever the trumpet/tulip/sheath from the base. Clean the parts' mating surfaces of anything that might be serving as a lubricant. Then with a pair of pliers slightly squeeze the prongs on the bottom of the trumpet/tulip/sheath before snapping the two parts back together.

I think there’s a pin in there. On one side there are marks that look like someone tried to use a flat head screwdriver, but they aren’t very deep, so I suspect it was never actually a screw.

[FredRydr]

That's a machine screw! It needs to be tightened. If you cannot get a purchase on it with a jeweler's screwdriver, you'll need to remove it using more aggressive means. I would drill the head just enough to fit a miniature/micro screw extractor, and turn it out. Then replace with a new screw and tighten. Is the base worth the purchase of the tools? It might be worth your while to turn it over to someone like Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens.

[Dreck]

You could also take some sewing thread or dental floss and wrap it around the screw a time or two. That's a low-cost, non-invasive way of keeping the tulip in place if tightening with an eyeglass screwdriver doesn't work and you don't have a micro extractor lying around handy.
If you can get it tightened, you might want to unscrew it completely, give the parts a good cleaning, and put a thin coating of blue Loctite on the screw before re-inserting it


ETA: now that we can see it is a screw, I absolutely withdraw the ball-peen hammer suggestion!

[Chrissy]

That's a machine screw! It needs to be tightened. If you cannot get a purchase on it with a jeweler's screwdriver, you'll need to remove it using more aggressive means. I would drill the head just enough to fit a miniature/micro screw extractor, and turn it out. Then replace with a new screw and tighten. Is the base worth the purchase of the tools? It might be worth your while to turn it over to someone like Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens.

Yes, I also now see a screw that needs to be tightened..

[FredRydr]

...dental floss and wrap it around the screw a time or two....

I like that idea! I'd wrap it around several times, pulling it tight at each time 'round until the friction seems right. Then cut it flush with a razor blade and tuck any frayed end where it can't be seen. Then go brush your teeth.

[fqgouvea]

...dental floss and wrap it around the screw a time or two....

I like that idea! I'd wrap it around several times, pulling it tight at each time 'round until the friction seems right. Then cut it flush with a razor blade and tuck any frayed end where it can't be seen. Then go brush your teeth.

Seems worth a try. I certainly can’t pull off the screw removal procedure, but this sounds doable.
Thanks!

[Hawk]

I have a similar problem with a droopy trumpet. In my case it is a ball socket. Any suggestions?

[Dreck]

I have a similar problem with a droopy trumpet. In my case it is a ball socket. Any suggestions?

That depends, Hawk. I've one that I made in shop class (c. 1977) that has a ball socket. It, too, suffers the "droopy trumpet" problem. There is a screw protruding from the ball that screws into the base of the trumpet. The issue in my case is that the hole in the trumpet has been expanded over time. To be honest, I've never seriously thought about repairing it. If I did, my first move would probably be to look for a replacement trumpet before attempting a fix with extra materials like glue, Loctite, or floss.

[fqgouvea]

An update on the original problem. My friend Pendel took a look at it, and began by removing the trumpet from the base. The plan was to use a clamp to tighten the pin. It turned out, however, that we had all misunderstood how this thing was constructed.
Here’s my attempt to summarize his account of what he found. If I get it wrong maybe he can step in and correct me.
First, there was a broken part that someone had tried to glue back together. There wasn’t a lot to do about that, but it helped cause the main problem.
Second, it turns out that what was supposed to keep the trumpet from dropping was a kind of brake: a small metal bar would press on a kind of brake pad. The bar was broken, the pad shriveled and dried out. He removed those (there was no way to fix the metal part) but put in a new “brake pad” in the form of a small bit of (I think) leather. That worked: the trumpet is now able to stay up despite the weight of the pen.
So it turns out that our fundamental assumption was wrong: it was not the friction in the pin or screw up that held the trumpet upright, but rather an internal mechanism. Pendel’s alternative mechanism seems to do the job!

[Chrissy]

I'm pleased to hear it's fixed. Good job.

[Hawk]

Dreck, my issue is the. ball and socket joint. Not the ball to trumpet joint.

[Dreck]

Dreck, my issue is the. ball and socket joint. Not the ball to trumpet joint.

Interesting. Can you post a picture of it?

[Hawk]

Dreck, Here are a couple of pictures. I rotated the socket so the stem will not slip in the notch (storage?). The felt on the bottom is cherry but I managed to scrape it back to get access to the screw. There was no means to tichten the socket. The sockect appears to be crimped arount the ball. I pushed the ball against the hidden spring, swiveled it and it seemed to me that there was more ‘grip’ to the ball. We’ll see.

E3A2A72B-E5E4-4668-A346-7219EA99A538.jpg352BCAFF-949D-4226-985F-A01C107C1572.jpg