Hi All,
I picked up a gorgeous second generation burgundy vac major with a star clip and great transparency, put in a new diaphram, (it now has great suction), aligned the blind cap, and all would have been well EXCEPT that the nib was lined up with the inscription! It had obviously spent its entire life quite happily like that, and really, really, wanted to stay there. Determined to see all the glorious burgundy lines when writing with it, rather than "Parker Vacumatic," I eventually did, with much mumbling, grumbling, and seemingly endless tapping in the knockout block, manage to get it out. However, it has zip, nil, nada desire to go back in rotated 45 degrees away from where it has spent its long life happily warping and reshaping the section. Given how difficult it was to get out, it probably doesn't want to go back in where it was either!

I've got the section mounted on the knockout block
I've coated the feed and nib with bar soap (an excellent lubricant for cutting or drilling plastic btw)
I've heated the section with a hairdryer
I tried just pushing the nib and feed in with my hands
I also tried holding the nib and feed in the spark-plug puller/section grabber tool and pushing them in that way, (didn't want to push my luck so only tried that once).

Should I try to set things up so that the hairdryer is blowing on the section while I'm pushing the nib and feed in?


All suggestions greatly appreciated!
Gretchen

The 45 °offset is not enough to provide a "fully fresh" seat for the nib/feed assembly, so the assembly will always shift back in its original "craddle", 90 ° could probably work.
I solved a similar problem some time ago. Most probably the purists will not agree, but I'll give it I try !
Given your problem you could alternatively file ( or turn on lathe) a little material axially off the front of the barrel.
Assuming the off-set is counterclockwise (meaning looking on the nib point the feed & nib should be turned 45° further clockwise) and given the off-set is only 45 °, there is only little material to be removed.
Starting from the (single lead) section/barrel thread pitch, you only have to file-off 1/8 or 12.5% of the pitch.
I don't know the effective thread pitch , but its probably 36 TPI ? ( or 0.7055mm)
If the pitch would be for example 0.8 mm, you would only have to remove 0.1 mm to get the disered position.
(0.8 mm being 360°, and 45° being 1/8 of 360°)
If the off-set is clockwise (looking on the nib point the feed & nib should be turned 45° counterclockwise) the amount of material to remove is 7/8 of the pitch, still feasible but then I would suggest do it on a lathe, so the edge surely stays square to the centerline of the barrel.
Use a smooth file, hold the file in your left hand ( or clamp it in a workbench vise) , holding the barrel firmly down in your right hand -gripping close to the file -while pressing the barrel front gently against the file (ensuring material is squarely removed) and move the barrel end over the file.
Measure barrel length up front & check regularley so you don't remove to much !

Another possibility consists of installing a black nylon shimm washer between the barrel & section closing seam.
The thickness of the washer being also proportional to the ratio of the disered radial shift & the thread pitch.

Logically you could also install a replacement section, assuming this one is not deformed as your actual one.

Francis

Edited for completion & adding alternatives

howzat song go... Let it be, let it beeeeee.

d

Hi David,
Yes, I will be more cautious with the nibs in the future! So far I've not had much trouble with changing nibs and feeds. However, since this pen is now in pieces, I can't exactly let it be or it won't write!
Gretchen

Hi Francis,

Thank you (and you're making wonderful pens btw). I unfortunately don't have a lathe, just part-time kitchen counter space. I'm also loath to alter the very gorgeous barrel. And as soon as I read your post I realized (duh) that I'm trying to turn the nib 90 degrees, not 45.

It's not having any of it, however. Even trying to get it back into its original location is going to be challenging. Should I try a very minimal use of a jewelers rat tail file on the inside of the section??

Gretchen

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT take a file, grinder or any other cutting instrument to the section of the pen...
If you do the nib and feed will most likely end up being a loose fit and leak like mad...
What has happened in common on these pens... the nib and feed have compressed the section after being set in place for such a long time...
You need to just put the nib and feed back in place as they were... you can usually feel the place where they start to slide back into their original position...
IF you increase the inner diameter of the section you are going to have more problems than you ever dreamed of...
If you are not comfortable playing with the nib and feed, send it off to someone who knows how to do it... the cost will not be high and the pen will write as it should...

Yes, that was my fear, and that's why I've just let it sit. I've also noticed that there is a surface crack on the bottom part of the nib running up the center, so I'm even more hesitant now!

Vacumatic nibs are unwilling to leave their abode, and if they are forced to, they are equally reluctant to go back, and if they do go back, they often seen to feel not as comfortable as before .... I learned it the hard way, like you. Thankfully it was a third gen major, and replacements are aplenty.
You should ask a pro for help...

LOL Perhaps I need one of those real estate people who is supposed to make dismal abodes seem more appealing! Is there a name for this club I seem to have unintentionally joined? Hmm, perhaps I don't want to know . . . .

So how do the people who do get these back in manage it?? Is it all a matter of replacements sections?

Generally it is a matter of much much practice in working on Vacumatics.... after a while you develop a feel for replacing the nib and feed..
The other thing is that a lot of us DO NOT remove the nib and feed unless we absolutely have too... generally just putting the complete section, nib and feed into the Ultrasonic cleaner is enough....

What is it about vacs that makes them so particularly finicky in this regard? Did the Parker repair people have particular tools for scrunching these in this tight? I've really not encountered any others this stubborn -- though I'm far, far, far from an expert, lol.

Any other brands or models known for being equally difficult when it comes to removing nibs?

And suggested nib meisters? As I mentioned, there is a surface crack smack dab in the middle of the nib!

I think I will take a break before tacking a nice oversize first generation vac I just picked up that has a determinedly locked down lock-down filler!

Gretchen

I would definitely suggest that you do not tackle the OS vac at all. Locked down fillers which will not come up usually get cracked when someone who has little experience with these things works on them.

Send the pen to Ron Zorn, or Richard Binder, or Tom Mullane and you will be happy with the results. Best $35 bucks or so you have ever spent. Just try to buy a filler for an OS vac, or even worse, a barrel for one. The risk vs reward ratio is not in your favor here.

If you want to learn the ins and outs of vac repair, pick up some debutante vacs on ebay, they usually go cheap and are not a heartbreaker if you ruin them.

Cheers,
Sean

Sean has modestly left himself off his list of repairers. His link is at the bottom of his post.

Buzz, thanks for that. I actually left myself off due to geographical locale but nevertheless, thanks.

Cheers,
Sean

A nib and feed can have a VERY tight fit in a section. Enough so that I've wondered if they were the right parts, but they're an exceptionally tight fit in a NOS section.

If a nib and feed are reluctant to come out, a couple of cycles in an ultrasonic often softens up enough dried ink that they will knock out with less force. But sometimes it takes quite a bit. Start soft and ramp up the pressure gradually until you get the results that you need. But be aware that it is possible to go too far!

When you knock out a nib and feed, most of the time you'll see an impression of the nib in both the inside wall of the section and on the feed. The best thing to do is to try to set the nib and feed back into the same location. They'll go in more easily if you do, and can be rather tight if you don't. Setting it in some other point in the section can also allow the pen to ooze around the nib and feed. You can either mark things before you knock the nib and feed out, or look down the section to see the impression on the inside wall to line things up, but unless the nib and feed are loose in the section it's best to line them up in the same spot when reassembling.

If a nib is loose, the impression on the feed at least has to be popped out to get the nib tight again. Getting the impression out on a celluloid section like the ones that a Vac has can be tricky to say the least, because the celluloid will fry if you get it too hot.

Once things return to their original shape, you often find that it's VERY difficult to get the nib and feed back in place. The same thing when you use NOS feeds and sections. I have done this dozens of times, and I still go into low gear and sweat a bit in the process. It can be done, but isn't for the faint of heart. Unless you have very strong hands, fingers alone will not do the job. Careful use of heat when you start the nib and feed into the section and at several points along the way may be needed. But again, be especially careful with celluloid sections. Don't heat Skyline sections unless you are certain that it's celluloid. They'll melt. Ugly.

Hi Ron,

Thank you, thank you, this is very helpful!

I do have some questions about:



Fried celluloid, mmm, nummers! Okay, does this mean that both ebonite and celluloid will, if heated to an appropriate temperature, return to its original form? (I have some fuzzy memory of that happening when I worked with sheet plexi many, many years ago -- heat, bend, and hold in position to get an angle, but reapply heat without holding and it would return to being flat). I'm using a hairdryer, which gets the pen hotter than is comfortable touching after about 30 seconds, but that's hardly scientific. And, hmm, I'm guessing that even if the impression will pop out of the section, heat can't get the lopsidedness out of the section. Was it you who said on another post somewhere that over time these will "cold flow"? How hot and how long would you generally suggest for a section?




Sigh, wimper, mumble. Okay, arthritis has killed my grip, so what magic and wonderful tool should I add to my shopping list? (I'm getting the mental image of flute platers charming cobras back into their baskets). I've got the padded spark-plug/section puller, but that's it.



I suppose there is some consolation in not having melted a Skyline section . . .

Gretchen