Replacing A Pellet, And Cleaning A Barrel

[Savory Goodness]

Hello Children of the Ink -

 

I have before me a double-jewel black Vac Demi, which very agreeably has disassembled for re-sacking and a little polishing. It's the first Vac that I've worked on to this degree, so I'm going very slowly and deliberately. I have broken nothing so far, I believe.

 

There is no pellet in the plunger body of the pen. There was some desiccated sac in there, but no pellet. Does anyone know of a reliable faux pellet I can press into service? I was thinking of a tiny seed, maybe fenugreek, which I could cram in the hole wthout doing any damage to the sac or opening. Any thoughts?

 

Also, the technique I'm using to get the dried ink out of its barrel involves soaking in a 9:1 solution and scraping gently with a bamboo chopstick, night after night. It's working, albeit very slowly. Does any use a tiny bottle-brush or other method to speed this up? Is this why I need an ultrasonic cleaner?

 

It's a gorgeous little pen, getting gorgeouser by the night.

 

mark

 

 

 

 

[Flounder]

Fenugreek may be used, but not in the pen (teeheehe)!

 

The new diaphragm should come with a fresh pellet already in it.

[Savory Goodness]

You're right. I had not even taken them out of the package yet. Slowly and deliberately, maybe to the point of stupidity.

[Ernst Bitterman]

You're right. I had not even taken them out of the package yet. Slowly and deliberately, maybe to the point of stupidity.

 

Laudable stupidity. Your pen will thank you for it later. There's far more malignant stupidities they get exposed to.

 

I try for this kind of stupid with every pen I open.

[Flounder]

 

Laudable stupidity. Your pen will thank you for it later. There's far more malignant stupidities they get exposed to.

 

I try for this kind of stupid with every pen I open.

 

Yes, absolutely agree with this sentiment. Patience and caution is the kind of stupid that's kind to your stuff. I'll be driving around with a dragging calliper at least until Thursday thanks to an over hasty clever-clogginess this morning.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Flounder

[pajaro]

There is usually no harm in caution. I have some irrational fear of vac 51s. I bought one of those brass filler replacement units for one of these, intending to send it off to have someone replace it, and I must have thought about it so long I seem to have misplaced the replacement unit. First, do no harm, though. Slow and patient work beats rushing headlong into the work and breaking something. I have broken a few somethings with impatience. Slow, patient soaking should soften the gunk, and maybe a bottle brush would help make it happen sooner. There are tube cleaners sold for aquarium use that have a monofilament line you thread through filter hoses of soft plastic and then pull the brush on through to help remove accumulated gunk. They have brushes with handles for shorter tubes and filter pipes also. These are meant to not scratch the hoses and pipes on the inside, because that stuff is more or less visible.

[Savory Goodness]

A sincere thanks to all who responded. The little black Vac still is not broken!

 

The barrel has got several splotches that are stubborn as heck. I am leaning toward an ultrasonic eventually, but will try some bottle brushes first.

 

Did I mention it's a good-looking old pen? It really is.

 

mark

[gweimer1]

Has anyone tried one of these to clean the barrel? I just got one at my local Sur La Table, and it seems to be a good fit. The 10.2" size goes right into the barrel of an Estie with about the right amount of clearance and effectiveness.

 

http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-876763/Burstenhaus+Redecker+Wool+Cleaning+Brushes

[ac12]

Be VERY careful if you use heat to soften the pellet cup.

I ignited my pellet cup...and it smoked and STANK.

Needless to say, the cup is destroyed and has to be replaced.

[inkstainedruth]

Has anyone tried one of these to clean the barrel? I just got one at my local Sur La Table, and it seems to be a good fit. The 10.2" size goes right into the barrel of an Estie with about the right amount of clearance and effectiveness.

 

http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-876763/Burstenhaus+Redecker+Wool+Cleaning+Brushes

Interesting. It was hard to tell from the link what the diameter of the brush part was -- or does the design and the wool for the mop head have enough give to collapse without causing damage to the interior of the barrel? And do you have to worry about having the bristles become dislodged and ending up inside a pen or feed?

I have considered getting one of the Wilton tip brushes (for cleaning icing tips) but the larger size seems to have been discontinued. But every now and then I need something that is the size of the larger Wilton ones, so I picked up a two-ended one a while back (the larger end is cone shaped, and designed for cleaning out cannoli tubes, and the smaller size is equivalent to the standard size Wilton one) -- but the bristles are fairly stiff and I'd worry a bit about scratching the barrels, especially on more "fragile" material like celluloid. The ones from the link look as if the bristles are much softer.

Thanks for posting the link.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Glenn Atkins]

Brushes throughout this page...no affiliation...

 

Glenn

 

http://pentooling.com/files.html