I can't get my new J apart...

[dizzypen]

I am so frustrated! I have been trying to get this Double Jewel J apart for the better part of an hour and I am having no luck at all! I soaked it overnight. Nothing. I can't get it apart with my bare hands. I've tried using a blow dryer and still it won't budge. I don't have section pliers. What do I do?

 

Maybe I'm not applying heat long enough?

 

The sac that's in this pen is working, but I just want to check to make sure there aren't any cracks or hard spots. Maybe I should just use it as is and hope it doesn't break?

[eriquito]

Hi dizzypen,

 

Very frustrating, indeed.

 

What's the pen's history? Is there any chance that someone may have glued the section in place?

 

Eric

Son of Ragnar

 

[scutterdav]

Try heating up the barrel for a little bit longer, then try rocking the section back and forth while your pulling it. It's sort of like you're trying to bend the pen at the section/barrel joint. Sometimes it helps to throw a twist in there too. Hope this helps.

 

Edit: With the blow drier, heat only the barrel. The warm barrel will expand around the cooler section making removal easier.

Edited April 1, 2009 by scutterdav

[gyasko]

Good advice above, but i'll add that haste is the enemy. When i hurry, i use too much force. Take it slow. Put it down and work on another pen for a while.

[AndyH]

Second to both comments. Slow is key, and applying the heat evenly and focused on the barrel rather than the section is important. I also find that it helps to wear rubber gloves of the "dishwashing" variety, or to use one of those soft rubber discs intended to help open reluctant jars. For most applications I think my fingers make better, gentler pliers than section pliers.

[dizzypen]

I got this pen off of ebay, It just said it was working. It did not say that had been resacced. It is possible that the section is glued, but i have no way of knowing.

 

I am only heating the barrel. I cover up the section and nib to insulate it from the heat, I've taken apart several other pens in this way, but this J is possessed!

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to leave it alone and come back to it later today.

[biotdi]

If you work on enough pens, you'll find some that just don't cooperate. I noticed that trans J and early double jewel J pens come with a different section design. These sections have a channel cut between the section/barrel seam and the main body of the section that fits inside the barrel. These also tend to be a much tighter fit or at least they were on the last two pens that I had apart.

 

Does the seam come apart at all? If it does, pull it apart as far as you can without applying too much force. Then soak it and try to open it further. Giving the barrel 1/4 turns between applications of pull and twist works well for me.

 

Not too long ago, Bruce had a good write up on using a 60w incandescent bulb to apply heat. The section and nib are insulated and the barrel is warmed very slowly under the lamp, 45-60 mins. The idea is that slow warming will distribute the heat better and expand the barrel evenly. If someone shellaced it into place, a temp of 140F or so will release the shellac.

 

FWIW, I do think it's a good idea to open it up and check out the condition inside. I recently bought a "working" pen but then discovered that the sac was the wrong size and j-bar was partially corroded. You just never know what was inside that pen over the last 5 decades.

 

Good luck.

 

Alex

[Beechwood]

Esties know when you are trying to taking them apart and build up resistance so strong that it can only have come from the bowels of Belzebub, its like a sixth sense.

 

If they see you walking towards them with section pliers or even just a determined look on your face, they can clamp themselves shut so tightly that even if you had all the strength in the world them you would not get them apart.

 

However, if you walk up to them, very slowly, whistling - they are fond of Cold Play and Andy Williams, looking away as you do so, and say, in a very loud voice. "Well, I dont think I will open the Estie today, I will just hold my dear Estie in my hand whilst I have a cup of coffee". And then, in a very casual manner, just stroke the barrel with your little finger, you will then find that a one week old kitten can easily separate the barrel and nib section.

 

 

[OcalaFlGuy]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=96169

 

Be sure and wrap something around the black nib/sac section to keep the lightbulb heat off it so that

the last couple inches of the barrel gets alot warmer than the section does (and thusly expands more).

 

Let it set under the light for a full hr.

 

If it doesn't slide apart with hardly more than a finger and thumb on each section and light pulling

after that, it's been glued together.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[dizzypen]

Ok, I'll try the lightbulb trick later tonight. I'll report back.

[gyasko]

However, if you walk up to them, very slowly, whistling - they are fond of Cold Play and Andy Williams, looking away as you do so, and say, in a very loud voice. "Well, I dont think I will open the Estie today, I will just hold my dear Estie in my hand whilst I have a cup of coffee". And then, in a very casual manner, just stroke the barrel with your little finger, you will then find that a one week old kitten can easily separate the barrel and nib section.

 

Loved this!

 

And it's more practical than you might think.

[dizzypen]

WELL, I destroyed it! The light bulb didn't work, so I decided to give the blow dryer another try... well, it resulted in the barrel warping at the thread end. GREAT! Is this repairable? (It's a good thing this pen didn't cost much!)

Edited April 3, 2009 by dizzypen

[jmkeuning]

Wow, I will give my advice anyway:

 

Put it in a plastic bag (so it does not get wet) and soak it in 140 degree water. You have to keep it dry because a lot of the sections are hard rubber and will discolor.