I have a 1943 Vacumatic - Debutante size. The clip has some play...spinning around a little loosly. After some effort with a rubber pad and some heat, I was able to remove the jewel in hope of tightening the inner screw. However, I don't see any screw to tighten. Did this all come out in one piece with the jewel? Should I just try to re-insert the jewel and hand-tighten as much as possible? I'd appreciate any suggestions.

It sounds like in this case the jewel is the clip screw. There were two types, one like yours, and one which had a very small thread on the jewel which went into the clip screw. This clip screw would be tighetened down and hold the clip in place. The jewel would then be threaded into it.

For your application, thread the jewel into the cap, and making sure that the clip is oriented where you want it, tighten it down. You might want to clean the threads on the jewel with a toothbrush and a dental pick on the cap threads to ensure good mating.

Cheers,
Sean

It's not uncommon to have the screw come out along with the jewel as one unit - though Parker did make some one piece jewels with the threads as part of the jewel. If there's a metal thread, the jewel is stuck in place, and frankly, should be left there. You stand a chance of shearing off the jewel if you try to remove it. This is especially true on the 51 clip screws.

I occasionally run across a screw that seems to be too long, and can't be tightened down enough even after cleaning out the threads. You simply will not be able to tighten it down that last little bit to get the clip tight, and trying to do so may shear off the jewel.

In this case your best bet is to use a fine mill bastard file to remove a bit of the end of the screw. Make sure it's squre at the end, clean the burrs off of the edge and threads, then try again.

Yes...this jewel appears to be the clip screw. No metal threads on the barrel or the jewel. I'll try to clean it up and re-attach. Thanks!!!

All threads are plastic. It's hard getting the old glue out of the barrel end...will a swab with denatured alcohol do any damage?

It very well may. Alcohol disolves celluloid if there is enough of it, and even a little amout can leach the camphor out of the plastic. A dental pick bent to a right angle at the tip (last 1/8") will do a better job of getting in the threads to scrape the shellac out. It'll take longer, but that's the better way to go.