Replacing A Conklin Clip. Advice Sought.

[Tinjapan]

The cost to ship pens back for repair becoming prohibitively high, I decided to stock up on parts and practice repairing pens and learn how to repair my pens.

 

Received today is a Conklin Crescent Filler no. 40. Have polished it with a sunshine cloth, removed and replaced the old sac and inked it. It writes a very smooth, broad line, my first broad Conklin nib. Not the best looking pen as the imprints and chasing are worn and it is a dark chocolate brown, but it now works and writes well.

 

However, it needs a new clip. The old one has been broken off leaving the spring, in guessing, inside. I have a clip on its way to me but have not found a lot of information on how to remove the remanants of the old clip and install the new clip.

 

I have both Da Book and Jim Marshall's and Laurence Oldfield's "Pen Repair" second edition but info on the Conklin clip is sparse, unless I missed something.

 

Any help, hints or advice appreciated.

 

T

[John54green]

I have limited, but successful experience with two repairs of Conklin caps. What I found was I had to remove the inner cap, which took some serious rinsing and a cap puller. After that it required inserting the spring for the clip through the hole in the cap, and re-inserting the inner cap to the proper depth. If you don't have a cap puller, a die of the correct diameter can be threaded into the inner cap and a straight firm pull should do the trip. Time and patience on removing the inner cap, and good luck!

[BamaPen]

John54Green's advice is good, but the tool is a tap, not a die.

[Tinjapan]

Thanks both for the advice. Where can one get a cap puller? Is there a specific type for Use with Conklin's?

[John54green]

Major oops! Tap it is, thank you BamaPen! Woodbin sells a very nice tool, no relationship, just positive dealings. Also try eBay or do a web search. You'll find images and instructions.

[Tinjapan]

Thanks folks. Looked around on the net and decided to go with the tap instead of a puller.

 

Next question, are Conklin inner caps generally reusable? Is reinstalling the old or a new inner cap just a manor of pushing it in to the required depth?

[John54green]

Generally if you are careful they are re-useable, just be careful. If however you break it a new one can be fashioned from an old rubber barrel or one obtained from a cracked cap.

[kirchh]

I'm not a fan of using a tap if the inner cap is going to be re-used, because it creates a helical channel that can degrade the air-tight seal that the inner cap is intended to create when the pen is capped.

 

--Daniel

[Tinjapan]

I have been wondering about that exact thing. The cap pullers I found online seem to do the same. Are there ones that do not? Do you have another method?

[kirchh]

I have been wondering about that exact thing. The cap pullers I found online seem to do the same. Are there ones that do not? Do you have another method?

 

A tap cuts a helix starting at the open end of the inner cap, while an inner cap puller can create circumferential scores within the inner surface of the inner cap; those scores don't breach the seal at the mouth of the inner cap.

 

--Daniel

[Vintagepens]

I believe this is a problem more in theory than in practice.

Normally, the face of the section does not mate with the face of the inner cap right at the latter's inside edge.

 

Nonetheless, I would advise anyone using taps as inner cap extractors to choose taps with fine threads, and to use taps that cut into the inner cap as shallowly as possible.

[kirchh]

I believe this is a problem more in theory than in practice.

Normally, the face of the section does not mate with the face of the inner cap right at the latter's inside edge.

 

Nonetheless, I would advise anyone using taps as inner cap extractors to choose taps with fine threads, and to use taps that cut into the inner cap as shallowly as possible.

 

I am going to stand by my caution, and here's a reasonable example that illustrates the issue.

 

A Waterman 1/2-sized lever-filler has the following critical dimensions in the area of interest (I only measured the first one at hand):

 

Inner cap inside diameter: 0.261"

Inner cap outside diameter (=inside diameter of outer cap): 0.330"

Section front outside diameter (mating face): 0.294" (at narrowest -- section distorts slightly to ovoid shape due to pressure from nib)

 

This means that the section-to-inner cap mating surface is (0.294" - 0.261")/2 ~= 0.017 (this is the overlap between section face and inner cap face).

 

A tap that might be reasonably selected by someone to pull this inner cap is a 5/16-24. This tap's outside diameter of 0.3125" easily clears the inside of the outer cap (which is 0.330") and yet is large enough to bite into the inner cap (0.261" inside diameter). And this tap is one that is likely to be available in a set of English taps.

 

However, at 0.3125", this tap will cut a groove that will produce a notch in the opening of the inner cap at an effective diameter of, naturally, 0.3125". The section will not cover this notch in its entirety, as the section is only 0.294" in diameter. This will leave a triangular gap of (0.3125" - 0.294")/2 = 0.009" as measured radially.

 

I would rather not have this condition be introduced. I understand using improvised tools when convenience or expense dictate that course, but I would avoid improvisation that actually produces some sort of damage that would be avoided if better implements were employed. I suppose this is verging into the philosophical, but that's where I stand.

 

--Daniel

[Tinjapan]

I believe this is a problem more in theory than in practice.

Normally, the face of the section does not mate with the face of the inner cap right at the latter's inside edge.

 

Nonetheless, I would advise anyone using taps as inner cap extractors to choose taps with fine threads, and to use taps that cut into the inner cap as shallowly as possible.

How much of a thread bite into the inner cap is usually necessary to pull it?

[Brian-McQueen]

I invested in an inner cap puller that someone was selling here in the classifieds, and it was a wonderful decision. I have successfully used it on a few pens now, one of which was a Conklin. It's always best to have the right tools!

[Vintagepens]

How much of a thread bite into the inner cap is usually necessary to pull it?

 

Only a few thousandths of an inch.

 

In Daniel's example above, I would indeed recommend against using a tap if only a 5/16" tap were available. It would cut far too deeply, risking not only leakage, but also breakage.

A fine-thread 17/64" tap, however, would do the job nicely. If anyone does want to use taps as inner cap extractors, they should assemble a set graduated in 64th of an inch (or metric equivalent), all fine-thread. This should not cost much, since the range of inner diameters of inner caps is fairly limited. And taps are cheap.

 

Note that one should always use the smallest possible tap, so as to minimize the depth of cut.

Edited August 22, 2014 by Vintagepens

[Tinjapan]

Just wanted to update you. I decided to go ahead a order an inner cap puller from Wood Bin. Ordered it a couple of days ago infact.

 

Now my main concern is removing the dried ink inside the cap. I learned the hard way how much damage just one rinse with water can do to the color of these old pens. I have used electrical tape as someone suggested but the glue was a devil to remove from the pen afterwards.

 

 

[Dave Glass]

I find a good inner cap puller is indispensable. They seem very expensive, until you break a cap. BHR does discolor if immersed in water, but one trick is to just put a bit of water inside the cap (with vent holes taped, of course. After soaking this way for a day or more, apply heat carefully before using anything to gently extract the inner cap. Good luck!

[Brian-McQueen]

Heat is also your friend. I suggest trying the inner cap puller on a cap you don't care so much about. It took me a couple tries to figure out how to properly use this tool.

[Tinjapan]

Finally had a chance to practice using my inner cap puller. Removed two with out additional damage to the cap and one was from a cracked cap.

 

Thanks for the advice!