Are The Inner Caps Of Striped Duofolds And Regular Vacumatics Designed To Be Removable?

[Glenn Atkins]

The clip on the red striped Duofold was loose and spinning around the cap. I managed to get the jewel out using Naphtha, dry heat and a few trips to the ultrasonic.

 

The clip is also loose and spinning on the Vacumatic cap shown.

 

Can someone please tell me if the inner caps on either or both of these caps is removable? If so, what would be the best method of doing so? I tried to push the Duofold one with a brass rod with moderate pressure and it didn't seem to want to budge.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance for any thoughts and advice.

 

Glenn

 

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n533/GEAtkins/Pens/Random%20Pen%20Stuff/A8445635-B776-48F2-9E3D-FB6F22CF41BA.jpg

[risingsun]

To do it properly and avoid damage to the cap you really need an inner cap puller, which can be pricey for a good one. Woodbin.ca sells a decent one that will do the trick, but the better ones are considerably more. My suggestion is to not pull the inner caps unless you absolutely need to, and instead try to tighten things up carefully. The jewel on the striped Duofold will hold the inner cap in place when properly tightened down, which means you will need to hold the inner cap still when you tighten the jewel. I use a rubberized toothbrush handle of the appropriate size. Others use the correct tool made for the job. Still others use a sheet of rubber or rubber band wrapped around a stick/pencil. Try it out with varying sizes, but don't force anything up inside the inner cap. I might suggest a little of Ron Zorn's sealant to hold the jewel put once tight.

 

The Vacumatic works the same way, I believe. Someone please correct me if I am mistaken. i know the 51's are different with the slender threaded stud on the jewel, instead using the brass insert to tighten the inner cap.

[Ron Z]

The inner cap on Vacumatics and the 40s Duofolds are not removable. Or at least they're not supposed to be. They are machined into, and are part of the cap, except for the cases where there is an "oops" inner cap to replace one where they goofed in the process of making the cap.

 

Not all of the jewels are the clip screw/jewel style either. Most of the Duofolds have the one piece/large jewel, but you also find them on some Vacumatics. Woodbin sells excellent reproduction jewels (one piece), which BTW also work very well as blind cap jewels for the first generation Vacumatic Jr and 3 band Standards.

[Glenn Atkins]

Thank you gentlemen.

 

Glenn

[kirchh]

I'm somewhat confused by the question. Why would you be considering removing the inner cap (assuming arguendo that there is one) to address the issue with an insufficiently tight clip screw?

 

As far as I know, the threads at the top of the cap into which the clip screw goes are part of the cap itself; there is no inner cap with a threaded top, as in a "51".

 

--Daniel

[risingsun]

Thanks for the correction to my misunderstanding of the situation, Ron. Must not have been paying that close of attention to the way these caps went together, and my Marshall & Oldfield wasn't at my fingertips... Sorry for my misinformation! Glenn - you're in good hands now.

[Glenn Atkins]

I'm somewhat confused by the question. Why would you be considering removing the inner cap (assuming arguendo that there is one) to address the issue with an insufficiently tight clip screw?

 

As far as I know, the threads at the top of the cap into which the clip screw goes are part of the cap itself; there is no inner cap with a threaded top, as in a "51".

 

--Daniel

 

 

If there were an inner cap, which there isn't, it might have been possible to scoot in into the pen a fraction and give me another turn or so on the threaded jewell to help in tightening the cap. I guess my real question is how to secure the clips such that they don't spin.

 

I have researched this some, including Marshall & Oldfield, here on the forums and elsewhere and I'm still undecided as to the method I should use.

 

The clip on the Vac cap is firmly loose without much space to apply section sealant or something else to help stop the spin and yet be reversible. I could use Captain Tolley's or some other adhesive to fix the spin, but that doesn't seem optimal.

 

In that regard, what would be the optimal approach for both of these caps?

 

I really appreciate your guy's input and help. Thank you.

 

Glenn

[risingsun]

Do you have a good 'gripper' for getting the jewel fairly tight? I have had good success with Richard's rubber stoppers and Dale's latex sheets at Pentooling.

 

I haven't had a problem in the past tightening up the clip with a properly tightened jewel. Particularly if the clip is tight against the cap when you put it all back together (the tension created seems to help). If the clip stands off from the side of the cap when you install it, you might want to carefully bend it in towards the cap with the clip removed (not too much as you don't want to hurt the cap!) Does that make sense?

Edited September 30, 2014 by risingsun

[Glenn Atkins]

I've got some grippers, but apparently they aren't grippy enough!

 

Glenn

[risingsun]

I just noticed that Richard Binder doesn't have his grippy stoppers anymore... Check out Pentooling. I haven't tried Dale's gooey-cubes yet, but they look to be da bomb! (I really like the latex sheets he sells.) Both on this page: http://www.pentooling.com/files.html

 

You might try cleaning your rubber gripper (whatever it is) with a little acetone (nail polish remover) or maybe just some soap and water... that can help restore the grippiness...

Edited September 30, 2014 by risingsun

[Ron Z]

My theory is that the celluloid has shrunk, so the top of the cal is just enough that the clip screw hits the bottom and keeps it from snugging down against the clip enough to hold it in place. Taking a little off of the end of the clip screw, or in the case the one piece jewel, with a file will shorten it enough that it won't bottom out in the hole in the inner cap. You don't need to file much off, but it will give enough clearance that the clip screw/jewel can then go in far enough to secure the clip.

[Glenn Atkins]

Ron,

 

I think you're exactly right. Even if the celluloid hasn't shrunk, taking off just a slight bit from the jewel screw would allow it to tighten snugly. I'll try this in the next few days and see what happens.

 

Thank you.

 

Glenn

[Indy_Pen_Dance]

You should be careful trying to torque the jewels down too much. It is not too difficult to twist the head off a jewel, especially those that are the thin threaded shafts that go into the brass screws such as Parker 51s. Ron is correct in shortening then jewel screw length to get a snug fit for the clip. I typically like to use the pink side of a buff stick to do this. It may take me a little longer, but less chance of screwing it up by taking off too much too fast.

[Glenn Atkins]

You should be careful trying to torque the jewels down too much. It is not too difficult to twist the head off a jewel, especially those that are the thin threaded shafts that go into the brass screws such as Parker 51s. Ron is correct in shortening then jewel screw length to get a snug fit for the clip. I typically like to use the pink side of a buff stick to do this. It may take me a little longer, but less chance of screwing it up by taking off too much too fast.

 

Good idea and thanks for the tip. I've got a million of those things within arms reach.

 

Glenn

[kirchh]

I suggest doing some measuring of the pertinent dimensions before cutting the jewel stem down. The jewel might just be tight, in which case some cleanout of the threads at the top of the cap might be indicated.

 

--Daniel

[Glenn Atkins]

I suggest doing some measuring of the pertinent dimensions before cutting the jewel stem down. The jewel might just be tight, in which case some cleanout of the threads at the top of the cap might be indicated.

 

--Daniel

 

Daniel,

 

Thanks for the tips. I have chased the threads some and will do so again and take some measurements.

 

Glenn