Leak At Clutch Ring

[Inga]

So, my 21 super has a leak at the clutch ring which causes my fingers to get inky every time I use it. How do I fix this? There are no visible cracks, and the hood is secure....

[OcalaFlGuy]

Section sealant on the threads the hood screws onto after you clean them off.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Inga]

Where do you get your section sealant?

[OcalaFlGuy]

Mine is a no longer obtainable bottle from Giovanni at Tryphon.

 

The sealant Ron Zorn sells is at least as good, if not better.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[TimGirdler]

Before using said section sealant....

 

The Super 21s were known for having their shells crack, and the cracks aren't always so visible. So, it's likely to not be as easy as putting new sealant on the pen.

 

In the couple I've restored, I weld the cracks on the inside of the shell and then put the pen back together (I use shellac in putting the shell back on the pen, not thread sealant--YMMV).

 

Good luck! Please let us know how it turns out. I'd love it for you if the pen just needed to have the shell re-secured.

 

Blessings,

 

Tim

[Inga]

I used shellac too, though I must say it wasn't exactly the neatest job. (in other words SUPER messy)

Do you think a beginner like me could fix a crack if I find out there is one?

I'll also check out Ron Zorn's sealant, hopefully that's all I need to fix it.

[adyf]

 

In the couple I've restored, I weld the cracks on the inside of the shell and then put the pen back together

 

Do you use MEK to weld the cracks?

[OcalaFlGuy]

P-21 plastic is garbage. Once you get A crack, fixing that will likely have you playing WhackA(Mole)Crack.

 

Shellacing a 51 Lucite hood on is one thing.

 

IMO, shellacing on, Especially with Lots of shellac, Especially a 21 hood, makes it even more likely to damage that garbage plastic 21 hood if it needs to come off again.

 

I just don't use my 51 Demi. I am making a FPNer a decent deal on my nice Plummer Demi. The problem is, though it writes just fine for me, I had no idea whether the hood was sealed At All or not on it. I don't want to take the chance of it seeping on their fingers 6 months from now. So it's apart now being cleaned and so that *I* know the hood has been properly sealed.

 

I KNOW Who it is going to and that they have enough sense to Not take the hood back off until they know what they need to know about Both Removing the hood and what to do When they get inside there.

 

But you can bet your ass that Plummer hood will go back on with section sealant. IF you could find a replacement Plummer hood for one damaged from removing it, that'd be At Least $60 just for the hood.

 

I KNOW in my heart and soul that Someday, at least under their breath, Someone is going to Thank me for Not Shellacing it back on.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Inga]

Also are there any regular household items that I can use to fix it?

[Derivativemusic]

According to Ernesto at Parker51.com, rubber cement is a good choice - at least for 51s. His reason is that it seals without making it hard to remove the part again later.

 

http://www.parker51.com/repairs.html

[Inga]

Thanks!

[TimGirdler]

 

Do you use MEK to weld the cracks?

 

No. There are a couple of things I use--but, for liability purposes, etc., I do not and will not name them publicly or privately. It's the kind of stuff that has to be shipped by ground because it's not allowed to be transported by air. It's some NASTY stuff and, in some states, it isn't legal to own.

 

MEK can and does weld some things well. But, there are some plastic on which certain solvents do not work. For the "21" shell, I don't use MEK, there's something more appropriate to that type of plastic.

 

There is a reason that those of us who do this for other people stay VERY tightly lipped about these solvents--and it isn't trade secrets, etc. If you were to see the MSDS sheets you might question your own sanity for having such things in your house.

 

Blessings,

 

Tim

[Inga]

About the rubber cement though: I have read it can damage some plastics, and since the 51 has a different plastic than the 21... well, I don't know for sure if it would be safe for the 21's plastic. Should I take the risk and do it anyway?

[pajaro]

About the rubber cement though: I have read it can damage some plastics, and since the 51 has a different plastic than the 21... well, I don't know for sure if it would be safe for the 21's plastic. Should I take the risk and do it anyway?

 

You must be really up for some fun. This will probably be a frustrating exercise. I would send it to Tim and let him have the fun. It would likely be less expensive in the long run to regard the 21 in question as a parts pen and buy a NOS 21. A used 21 will be cheaper still, but if you have patience you should find an NOS 21 under $20.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I wouldn't use the rubber cement.

 

If I were somehow just Completely Resigned to NOT using the proper material already named, I wouldn't make a poor decision a Poorer one by using something on Already Known sub-par plastic that I was unsure of like the RC.

 

If you stuck a gun to my head and Made me, I'd try melted bees wax. While it's FAR from any optimal choice, at least its unlikely to cause any damage itself.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Inga]

So if I were to fix it myself (which I probably will do) what would be the best way to fix it?

[TimGirdler]

I, too, wouldn't use rubber cement. Let's leave out the long-running question over shellac or rosin-based thread sealant for a moment. Either shellac or sealant will work and it's as close to OEM as we will get today. Rubber cement isn't OEM and, as mentioned, may do harm to the pen.

 

I use shellac when putting the shell back on a "51" or a "21". It's well-known that Richard Binder recommends shellac, and since my apple fell off his tree, I use it too. My good friend Ron Zorn, though he leans toward sealant, still uses shellac. Some day Ron may go to sealant exclusively, but he hasn't told me whether or not he has. I find shellac MUCH easier to work with when sealing a "51" (or "21").

 

One issue with the shellac that several people have raised is the subsequent removal of shellaced hood. There are several factors to consider here that are not necessarily related to the shellac itself...

 

1. Some people put WAY too much shellac on the threads when sealing a pen. Obviously, this can cause major problems and it can make a connection between the shell and the pen on something other than the threads. When using shellac on a the "51", use it only on the threads of the connecting piece. Don't put so much shellac on the threads that it oozes everywhere when threading the shell back on. Some oozing at the clutch ring is OK. But if you've oozed out a line of shellac that's more than, say, 0.5mm, you're using too much.

 

2. Dried ink can and does cause problems that get blamed on shellac. There are times when it is extremely difficult to get the shell off of a "51". A good number of those times can be blamed on dried ink inside the shell rather than the shellac that was used to seal the pen. Once the pen is cleaned out (either soaking or ultrasonic) and the dried ink comes out, removing the shell becomes much easier (after heating it).

 

3. The Aero "51"s with the o-ring are hard to open, even without any sealant. Some "51"s--the Aeros with o-rings--seem to be very difficult to open. I find them difficult to open even when testing the alignment before sealing it. The o-ring does a very good job of holding the shell in place and sometimes it takes a bit of brute force to remove the shell. While I wouldn't do this on pens I sell, I sometimes--on my own Aero "51"s--will remove the o-ring and just seal the pen with shellac. The pen works just fine without the o-ring.

 

I've used thread sealant only once to seal a "51" shell. At the DC Pen show, a client brought a "51" desk pen that wasn't writing well. I did some work on the feed and the collector and it was working fine when he took it home. The shell was sealed on and, since it was already sealed, I used thread sealant. I found it to be incredibly annoying and left me with sticky fingers--and that was before I re-sealed it. I've not had that experience with shellac.

 

Though there are good arguments to be made about using sealant instead of shellac, shellac is easier and cleaner to work with, in my opinion. But, in the end, rubber cement isn't recommended.

 

Blessings,

 

Tim

[Inga]

Thanks!

There is probably a crack, though (even though I can't see one). So, how do I fix that?

[Inga]

Oops, double post.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Inga

[OcalaFlGuy]

I actually Won't argue a Bit with Tim's point that shellac is less messy and easier to apply than sealant. And I can often manage to get even shellac Everywhere when using it.

 

However, there's a HUGE difference between the 51s *I* seal the hoods on and the ones Tim reseals.

 

95% of the 51s I seal a hood on are My Own personal pens.[1] The remaining 5% go to people I KNOW Well Enough to be reasonably sure that they, Unlike the Pros "usual" customer, won't clean all the lint out of their navels, be bored, and Not be able to come up with Anything Better to do than take the hood off a perfectly functional 51 and ram a stick into the spokes of the moving wheel Just because They Can.

 

Thusly, For Me, the ease of removing a section sealanted on hood later on (IF and Only If need be) Far exceeds the added messibility of the sealants application.

 

[1] While I reluctantly Have to admit that I can't sort out Every 51 I work on, (that I am Ever successful is Far Above my personally perceived abilities,) I At Least know enough to not make things Any Worse or break/damage the pen parts once I Do get inside there.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl