Parker 51 vacumatic restoration

[Chrissy]

I have tried to the best of my limited ability to unscrew the cap jewel . So I have coming a nos jewel from the States
My thinking is I can ,using a fine drill bit ,drill out the old one from the inside without damaging anything .
Possible?

No not easily possible as you would have to remove the cap clutch before you could get access to the bottom end of the screw. I looked in the Pen Repair manual and both 51 Aero and Vac have internal clutches. They are very hard to remove without a special tool made for that purpose.

Also, it would depend on whether you are buying a new screw to go with your new jewel since the jewel is screwed into a screw that is specially threaded to fit the jewel. Damage that thread with your drill bit and you will need a new screw.

If you absolutely have to destroy an original Parker cap jewel (tragic), because all of the available sticky/rubber gripping removers have failed, then it maybe better to slice it off from the outside then drill the stem out of the screw before fitting your new jewel.

Did you look on Pentooling for cap tools/jewel removers? I bought a couple of different versions and they both work like a dream.

I've just spotted you are in Australia so maybe you can't get a delivery from Pentooling. Have you tried rubber gloves or a pencil eraser? Ideally you need something that is rubbery and very sticky.

Many Thanks for for your detailed reply . I’ll have to absorb it all .
As my other hobby is/was restoring old watches I have tools such as sticky ball to unscrew casebacks etc and have used other
Ways such as masking tape wound around rubber balls sticky outside. I tried an eraser , rubber base , heat gun to no avail.
It doesn’t help the clip band it screws into also turns without jamming something uo the cap.
Pentooling do deliver ,not cheap and takes a month with covid but may be the way to go.

If it was my pen then first I would definitely find a way of stopping the clip from turning and second maybe use some naphtha or rubbing alcohol on a cotton bud around the jewel just in case it's glued in with something stronger than shellac. Everyone here is going to advise against that and that's why I said if it was my pen.
Failing the naphtha or rubbing alcohol, and as it's a metal cap I might even dip the end in a pot of almost boiling water and then try it with my sticky rubber.