Position of J-bar

[Eddy Dean]

Hello everyone,

 

I recently purchased an Esterbrook J, but after a few days of usage I accidentally pressed the lever into the pen (out of its "hinge") while I was refilling. When dissembling the pen to repair this, I noticed that the J-bar was pressing in the direction where the sac would be, instead of the direction of the lever. Isn't it supposed to be pressing against the lever in its "default" position?

 

Also, there is an extra half tube on the inside of the pen, is this normal? This tube seems to be glued into the pen, possibly to reinforce a crack?

 

Attached is a (very) schematic drawing of inside of the pen. The blue line is the pressure bar, the orange line is the lever, and the green line is the "inner tube". The sac (which is not installed in the picture) would be squeezed between the blue and the green line.

 

 

I have tried pulling the J-bar out, but it seems to be stuck, and I'm afraid to put more force on it.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Eddy Dean

[Rabbit]

The "green" half-tube is a sac spacer used in the larger J size pen to allow for a size 16 sac to fit in the barrel without excessive free space. It's normal for J size Esterbrook pens and should be left in place if possible.

 

If your pressure bar looks the way it does, then it might be broken or "sprung." Removing it is definitley the first step to figuring out if it needs to be replaced or if it can be fixed.

 

The best way to remove it is to pull from shorter portion of the J--this part is up inside the barrel and can be difficult to reach without a thin plier. I've managed to pull them with a modified paper clip (slipped under the short arm of the J) and a small plier to pull on the long arm of the J bar at the same time. (That might be hard to follow just from reading my description...)

 

Other problems could be related to the lever itself.

 

--Stephen

Edited May 5, 2010 by Rabbit

[FarmBoy]

Those dang sac trays are always causing trouble.

 

Does this help?

 

 

And lever cocked:

 

[Readymade]

The sac tray may not be glued down. Try gripping it with long-nosed pliers.

 

If you can remove the sac tray, pulling out the J bar is a cinch. Use long-nose pliers, grip the longer part of the J-bar and give a sharp pull.