Apropos of the loose Sheaffer clip topic, here are a few more radiographs. I originally begin Xraying the pens to understand a loose clip problem on a Snorkel. Three examples here show a normal Sheaffer spring clip, a slightly loose clip where the U-shaped spring has backed out slightly (a very rare condition) and a broken spring. Also shown are a lever filler mechanisms, Visconti piston filler and a Namiki Herringbone cap. On occasion, this technique helps me understand a type of pen I've never before disassembled (or broken).

Do your pens glow in the dark after that procedure ? That would certainly help in finding them.... LOL

Wow, those are really cool. I'm surprised they just don't show up as a pen shaped black spot in an x-ray.

To attempt a funny punch line I had to keep my first post trim...
But I think that is a wonderful and useful idea for giving one the most information before applying pressure and heat to something really old ( assuming one does not naturally have Superman next door to call on )...
How much would you charge for making radiographs ( would xrays be an acceptable word also ? ) . ?
Greg

If I have the pen, I'm happy to xray it and post the images.

Thank you for posting these radiographs. Wish I had a small x-ray machine with high resolution.

Awesome. How did I miss this one?

This is obviously NOT a medical x-ray. The penetration far exceeds that which can be done in a hospital. Besides pen-radiographs, what other items do you x-ray?

The images are made with a low radiation image intensifier. It is, indeed, used for medical purposes (I am an orthopedic surgeon) but uses a photomultiplier to enhance the images. Thus, very low radiation exposures are required (much, much less than a routine xray). The exposures are equivalent to what we use to examine a limb, although the penetration can be adjusted. It cannot easily distinguish between metals (a metal Sheaffer cap, for instance) but for plastic parts, the metal shows very well (e.g., the Sheaffer cap with the broken and replaced springs is plastic). I'm glad some have found these images useful.

Miko, good information to know. I'm a cardiac electrophysiologist, but have also been a metallurgical engineer in my previous life. As a metallurgical engineer I would use x-ray equipment with extremely long exposure times to examine metal parts for cracks. These days, I use the hospital's fluoroscope. I suspect, though, folks will think I'm plenty weird if I start making radiographs of pens.

Here is another x-ray of a P51 from my lab's microtomography.

Joke all you want, but I think this is SUPER! Talk about getting a really good idea of how a pen is designed and assembled. Some of it is even artistic. I especially like the P51 that Antonios posted. I could see this on a wall in a museum--quite abstract!

Antonios- that looks cool as all get out. You should get us a higher res version to make a desktop background!

/me wishes he had access to an xray machine to do these things!