Vacumatic Surprise

[mark e]

OK, so i'd let the thing get the best of me for too long, a couple years' worth it's been sitting there, taunting---i had previously tried to remove the section from this 'black' 1st gen jr vac about 1/2dozen times with no success...had someone superglued it? epoxy?...heat, heat, and more heat...nothing...i dont wanna crack this, not with what appears to be a sweet factory broad stub nib--(is this possible?--factory broad stub?)

 

so, last nite, i gotta have one more go at it before i send it off to a pro, and we begin with a good stiff cocktail (what...you missed that step in the manual?) and the heat and the twisting and the gritting of teeth....yes, it finally breaks loose, no crack (pen no, tooth maybe) or destruction...and also, on the other end, no rubber whatsoever...hadnt seen that before...just the lockdown filler, no ball in the socket or anything, no goo, nothing

 

that wore me out, so i set it down, fell out and started the cleaning this evening--sonic-ised, bottle brush, more sonic, brush-brush-brush, hold it up to the light and see how--hey!...it's not just black, it's the spider-web, crystal transparent black...nice!..i believe it's described on the parkerpens.net site as 'striated transparent black'...quite ambered, yes, but definitely visible held to the light...very good example, the imprint on the barrel still deep and readable to the bare eye, no scratch or dent, nice goldwork....this will be a very nice pen when finished with the resto, with that broad nib, cant wait to use it

 

is it possible that the nib is factory?...the date code is .47.

what's with that?...and i see it needs a bigger diaphragm than deb size, but will the standard size be big enough?....thanks for any info, anyone

[Ron Z]

It is possible that the nib is factory. They made them, they're just not very common.

 

There are three sizes of vac diaphragms used.

 

Debutante - goes in deb size first generation, all 2nd generation deb, Jr and major, except the maxima which gets the standard diaphragm

 

Standard - used in 1st generation Jr and 3 band standard

 

OS - used only in the first generation OS pens

 

You can get away with a debutante diaphragm in a standard, but the standard diaphragm is what you should normally use.

[Brian-McQueen]

I've actually found more factory stubs on 1st Gen Juniors than I have on any other style.

[penmanila]

factory stubs on vacs--they do exist. here's three of mine:

 

[John54green]

Good on you! Pictures?

[mark e]

yes, photos, eventually....putting it back together now

 

nice stubs above, thanks for that, and thanks ron z