Aerometric 51 Barrel Broken (Looks Like A Vacuumatic Now)

August 1, 2014

Hi Everyone!

Apparently I have to be more careful about loaning my fountain pens to my 1 year old. He snagged my P51 black aerometric and played around with it, eventually throwing it to the ground a bit too hard. Off popped the back end of the barrel- right about where a vacuumatic would have the blind barrel cap.

So... what to do? I can place the end perfectly back on the barrel- it's an extremely intimate contact, appears perfectly when you do so.

Has this happened to you before? Do you suggest an attempt at fixing it? [i do have access to MEK I think for fusing acrylic- is it acrylic or polycarbonate?] I haven't done any acrylic fusing, but i could play a bit with small parts and learn before playing with the pen itself.

Luckily he's now mostly using my Lamy Safari instead of my other pens. [mostly kidding- I watch him much more carefully now with my pens! He usually snags the one in my pocket at some point, at which I usually grab it back and put it away now.] I'm a bit too attached to get rid of my 1 year old, and he's a limited edition model, so I'd prefer to keep both pens and kid together in the same house.

Wishing you all well, and thanks or the suggestions!!

-Allen

August 1, 2014

Lucite is acrylic. You can get another one for around $30.

Ron Zorn may be of some help. He knows quite a bit about mending plastic.

August 2, 2014

The "51" is made out of Lucite, and I'm pretty sure MEK won't work on Lucite. It is possible to weld the barrel together.... However, it is likely to be cheaper to replace the barrel.

If you contact me through my website, we can discuss it.

Blessings,

Tim

August 5, 2014

Hi Tim and Florida Blue!

Thanks for your replies and suggestions! I didn't see them until just now, because apparently I wasn't watching my own thread!! Woops!

Yeah, I feared the answer was going to be a replacement and not a fix- and you're right, the fix probably won't ever be the same. And I should have done a bit of my own homework here. Lucite = polymethylmethacrylate (also known as acrylic) - and what I meant to say is I have on hand some methylene chloride and chem hood for work. So, I could do some solvent welding. [Haven't before.]

So, I think what I may do is try the solvent weld, and post the results (before and after) here, and share if I destroy the barrel or not. I'd love to do the weld inside to out for ease, but fear I don't have sharp enough pipettes for the solvent. Anyways, I'll do some playing with acrylics and see what I can do about welding, I think. Then, I'll give up and drop you a line, Tim!

I'm thinking this one might become a small project pen- I suspect that the nib area needs some cleaning/maintenance just due to the dryness I've experienced with it before. That huge feed section should make for a great line.. so I suspect a gummed up feed. We'll see!

Thank you a ton for your replies! I appreciate them! If you've done a methylene chloride weld before and suggest against it, or are chuckling because it won't work, feel free to weigh in here!

My best to you both!

-Allen

August 5, 2014

Just to add a bit here - It saddens me mostly because I know there is a finite number of these in the world! [Ok, it's much better than some of the other pens that are really endangered species.] But, still, I respect these old pens, and wished that it hadn't happened!