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Thread: Inserting nib and feed into section

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    Default Inserting nib and feed into section

    Good day everyone, I'm having a bit of a problem here. I removed the nib and feed to clean the ink ducts on the feed but I can't reassemble the whole lot. My hands have been giving me quite a few problems lately and I can't apply enough pressure to push the feed and nib back in place. Which tools do you suggest I use? Shall I screw the section back into the barrel and try to fit the two pieces in in this way? Pliers or parallel pliers to do this? That said the feed by itself is quite hard to insert alone. Thank you
    Marco

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Important - Don't use any pliers of any kind anywhere on your pen!

    First of all what brand/model is the pen? Is it a piston filler, C/C filler or something else? What was the original problem that required removal of the nib and feed bearing in mind you had been having problems with your hands and exactly how did you remove the nib and feed?
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Hi Chris, the pen is a piston filler. I used the knock out block. The nib would write as long as the feed was full of ink, i.e. after filling it, afterwards I had to keep priming it. I have soaked and used the ultrasonic cleaner a few times to clean it but it didn't achieve the desired effect. It is the Vintage Tibaldi 20-L I mentioned in a previous post.

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Then the only way to get the nib and feed back in is to warm the section and push them in but they will need to go in the same position as where they came out from. When in position for a long time the nib can make a small depression on the surface inside the part of the section where it sits so before knocking them out the part of the section where the nib sits should be noted/marked so that when reinserted the nib goes back into the same position. Otherwise you will experience the problem you have. It seems too tight to go back in.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    So if I turn nib+feed in the section until I find the original insertion spot I could get it in more easier or it is impossible?

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Yes, it should be possible. A vintage pen will have more of a position than a newer one. Use heat as Chrissy says.

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    The fact remains that I have problems pushing it in using my hands, what tool can I use?

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    There is no tool you can use.

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    As eachan says you can only push the nib and feed back in. There is no possible tool (especially not pliers) that will assist in getting it in without damage to either the nib, feed or section.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    A help can be to put a bright light over your bench (I use a magnifying lamp) and a piece of white paper on the bench. If you look down the section, you will see where the nib made an impression on the inside. This tells you where to put the nib.

    Some can use just a grippy pad to hold the nib and feed while inserting, others have to use pliers to insert a nib. I don't have the strength in my fingers to do without them. Parallel jaw pliers are good, and I use section pliers with thick fuel line hose over the jaws and especially the ends of the jaws. On the parallel jaw pliers I fold the rubber over, and insure that it extends the full length on both sides, and extends past the sides and outside ends of the jaws. Note that you must use thick rubber to grip and protect the collector and nib. Don't use pliers on things with really thin collector fins like modern Pelikan or Montblanc feeds. Again, the rubber must be thick so that the metal of the pliers doesn't cut through the rubber and damage the parts.

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Thank you for these suggestions, much apreciated. How do I warm the section in order to slide the feed+nib in? Boiling water, hair drier or something else?
    I will follow Ron's suggestion to use parallel jaw pliers, my hands can't cope with the pressure I have to apply
    Marco

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    I use a dry heat source, never boiling water. Most of use use a small heat gun, but a hair dryer will do. The advantage to an embossing gun is that the outlet is small. Pay attention when you do this. Heat just the sections, keep a couple of inches away from the opening, and just a few seconds at a time. Be careful with plastic and celluloid sections.

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    So I have to warm up only the section with the hair dryer, not the feed and nib. First of all I have to find the 'old' nib position as suggested though.
    I believe that once the section warms up the feed will not go in in one shot and it will have to be pushed in mm by mm with subsequent warming up sessions, correct? Will not do this next pen I buy 🙂

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    That's about the size of it. Rotate the section as you warm it so that things are more or less evenly warmed.

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Marco, have you spent time reading the repair articles at Richard Binder's site? A lot of the material gone over in your threads is discussed by him, basically in tutorials like how to replace an ink sac, etc, which will tell you many of the techniques for removing sections/feeds/nibs, etc. If you are planning on working on pens like this, you owe it to yourself to have a source of knowledge at your fingertips, hopefully to learn *before* you had to do something. Binder's site is a wealth of knowledge, and my personal knowledge took a big leap when I purchased the Marshall/Oldfield "Pen Repair" book.

    I'm not downplaying all the good advice you are getting here, especially from a guy like Ron Z. Still, having a guide with you at the time, maybe reading up on the techniques before you do something, is invaluable. For instance, through one of these sources I learned to mark the back end of the section to show where the center of the nib lines up, so that when I knock out the nib and feed I can put them back in the exact same orientation.
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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    I remember one particularly bad section where I couldn't get the nib and feed back in despite having the correct orientation and no matter how hard I pushed. The end of the feed needed to be level with the end of the section and I just couldn't get them to match. Even after heating. In the end I put several strips of electrical tape over the end of the section and tapped it gently but accurately with a small hammer in my right hand while carefully holding the nib and feed in my left hand. It was scary stuff and took a giant leap of faith but it eventually went in. Holding the wrapped nib and feed with a pair of section pliers had already failed. I couldn't push hard enough with my fingers or hands so the pliers made absolutely no difference in available pushing force at all.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoA64 View Post
    I believe that once the section warms up the feed will not go in in one shot and it will have to be pushed in mm by mm with subsequent warming up sessions, correct?
    Getting it in one shot is preferable. Once the section is warmed the chances are it'll slide in like butter and you'll wonder what you were struggling with anyway.

    From my own experience of finding re-installation a tight fit, the biggest danger is panic. A flood of "Oh no, I'm never going to get this back in, I've ruined everything, life is at an end!" tends to wash over you. Try and take a Zen-like calmness to the process. Really any pen repair benefits from that, and patience.
    In the words of Paul Simon, you can call me Al.

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    [QUOTE=grainweevil;340257]
    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoA64 View Post
    ...From my own experience of finding re-installation a tight fit, the biggest danger is panic. A flood of "Oh no, I'm never going to get this back in, I've ruined everything, life is at an end!" tends to wash over you. Try and take a Zen-like calmness to the process. Really any pen repair benefits from that, and patience.
    Ah yes, those memories.... ;-)

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Al good afternoon, thank you for your suport. Zen it is. At the moment I've backed off, do not want to rush into it. I'm investigating the pieces with a loupe and see if I can find the original position, then I'll take the next step :-)
    Last edited by MarcoA64; October 19th, 2021 at 05:59 AM. Reason: typos

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    Default Re: Inserting nib and feed into section

    Quote Originally Posted by grainweevil View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoA64 View Post
    I believe that once the section warms up the feed will not go in in one shot and it will have to be pushed in mm by mm with subsequent warming up sessions, correct?
    Getting it in one shot is preferable. Once the section is warmed the chances are it'll slide in like butter and you'll wonder what you were struggling with anyway.

    From my own experience of finding re-installation a tight fit, the biggest danger is panic. A flood of "Oh no, I'm never going to get this back in, I've ruined everything, life is at an end!" tends to wash over you. Try and take a Zen-like calmness to the process. Really any pen repair benefits from that, and patience.
    AWESOME post and advice!!
    Thank you!!

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