Mk30 With Stiff Piston

[mercurius]

I have a Pelikan Mk 30 with a rather stiff piston fill mechanism.

 

The problem is that the nib unit, as far as I can tell, doesn't remove so I can't get at the base of the piston to try and lubricate to make it move more freely.

 

Any suggestions on how to make it freer?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Glycerin from your pharmacist.

I've used some in a couple of piston pens.

Try 50-50 water first.

 

Noodlers Eel ink is supposed to help. Not tried it, living in Germany Noodlers is 'expensive'.

[TorPelikan]

It is relatively easy to remove the piston unit of Mk30.

You can unscrew it from the barrel with very thin spanner. Be careful as it is reverse threaded.

 

To say something about the nib/feed/section, you can pull out the nib/feed. Even you can unscrew the section from the barrel, they are reverse threaded and lightly fixed with something like shellac.

 

 

If you want to lubricate the piston, I strongly recommend to remove piston unit.

 

 

regards,

 

 

Tor

[whych]

Here is a picture, courtesy of @zeitzeichen.

Remember, the shaft is left hand thread (tighten to unscrew). It shouldn't take much force to unscrew because it isn't glued/shellaced.

The glycerine mix also works for a while as well.

 

@Tor

Do you use warm water to loosen the shellac to unscrew the front section?

Also, can it be swapped with a nib section from the cartridge filler?

The reason I ask is that I have one that has the section broken around the top of the nib.

 

Thanks

[TorPelikan]

@whych

 

When I unscrewed the front section, I used only force without heat. And I found some residue of adhesive between the front section and the barrel.

 

One important thing you have to consider is, you cannot remove front section from barrel if yours are one of later models.

They are tightly glued, and I couldn't remove the front section without destroying it.

 

The difference between early/later models are relatively apparent.

See the picture below.

 

 

 

The upper one is a P60 earlier model.

The lower one is a P495 later model.

 

They differ in nib/feed shape and metal ring thickness.

 

The lower one cannot be disassembled.

 

And, of course, there may be some exception.

Whenever you try to disassemble them, even they are early models, you cannot be too careful.

Excess force must be avoided.

 

 

Tor

[whych]

@Tor

Thanks for the response.

Mine is one of the bottom nib types.

It came with a white gold nib, but the section has cracked off around the back of the nib (neat piece, the same thickness that the nib stick in to the section).

I was hoping to be able to get it apart to either glue with the feed out or to replace it with a more common cartridge feed section.

 

To get the ring on, the 2 pieces should be separate, so perhaps they have used more shellac than with the earlier models.

 

Did it come apart above the ring or below it?

 

Any idea of the best glue for this?

 

Thanks

Edited November 30, 2012 by whych

[TorPelikan]

@Tor

Thanks for the response.

Mine is one of the bottom nib types.

It came with a white gold nib, but the section has cracked off around the back of the nib (neat piece, the same thickness that the nib stick in to the section).

I was hoping to be able to get it apart to either glue with the feed out or to replace it with a more common cartridge feed section.

 

To get the ring on, the 2 pieces should be separate, so perhaps they have used more shellac than with the earlier models.

 

Did it come apart above the ring or below it?

 

Any idea of the best glue for this?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

You can pull out the nib and feed.

(The pen is a Pelikano which is almost identical to early model of P30)

 

The front section will be disassembled like this

 

This may be some help when you disassemble the pen.

 

 

About the glue, I have no idea.

I've tried cyanoacrylate and epoxy glue but the result was far from satisfactory.

Hope somebody else can help you.

 

 

Tor

[mercurius]

@Tor

Thanks for the response.

Mine is one of the bottom nib types.

It came with a white gold nib, but the section has cracked off around the back of the nib (neat piece, the same thickness that the nib stick in to the section).

I was hoping to be able to get it apart to either glue with the feed out or to replace it with a more common cartridge feed section.

 

To get the ring on, the 2 pieces should be separate, so perhaps they have used more shellac than with the earlier models.

 

Did it come apart above the ring or below it?

 

Any idea of the best glue for this?

 

Thanks

 

You can pull out the nib and feed.

(The pen is a Pelikano which is almost identical to early model of P30)

 

The front section will be disassembled like this

 

This may be some help when you disassemble the pen.

 

 

 

 

About the glue, I have no idea.

I've tried cyanoacrylate and epoxy glue but the result was far from satisfactory.

Hope somebody else can help you.

 

 

Tor

 

 

Tor and whych: many thanks for your great help with this. From Tor's photos, I can see that my pen is the later version. I think I will try the easier route first as the piston is quite stiff and I don't want it to break off by applying too much pressure.

 

 

 

[whych]

As an update to this:

 

For those of you looking for a spanner to fit the piston, the backplate of an old computer case for the motherboard connectors works well as a spanner.

The cases used to come with a choice of plates you could use to suit the motherboard you were fitting and were either loose clip in or screw in.

The cut out pieces for the serial and parallel connectors were slotted and fit over the piston and the rounded end is the correct width for the piston spanner.

[ttakacs]

I have got the piston unit out but am have difficulty putting it back together. The blind cap will not snug against the barrel; instead, it unscrews from the shaft.

 

Do you start by screwing the shaft into the barrel, or do you first screw the blind cap to the shaft? Do you assemble the piston, shaft, and blind cap, and then screw the assembly into the barrel?

[TorPelikan]

When I re-install the piston unit, I assembled the piston, shaft and the knob first.

Then rotate the knob counterclockwise a few times to loosen the knob.

Push the piston unit straight into the barrel and screw in tightly with a suitable wrench.

 

regards,

 

 

Tor

[ttakacs]

I am still having trouble reassembling the piston unit. What is the size of the wrench? Where did you get it? Thanks!

[TorPelikan]

About the wrench.

 

Mine is a handmade.

Less than 1 mm thick and the size is 7.5mm.

 

Hope this may help.

 

 

 

Tor

[ttakacs]

I can't find the right tool ... help, please.

[TorPelikan]

I cannot find one, so I made one from a nutcracker.

 

 

 

 

Will work like this way.

 

 

 

 

 

Tor

 

[Paul Raposo]

Bumping an old thread to say thank you to the FPN members who contributed to this thread. it helped me get my M20 Silvex dissembled and cleaned. Thank you all

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/266180-pelikan-silvexa-m20-disassembly-and-cleaning/

[danielfalgerho]

I have a tight piston on a Pelikan 30. It will take only 5 drops of ink. I need to replace the piston seals, How do I determine the size to use?

Edited September 9, 2020 by danielfalgerho