I'm trying to resurrect an aerometric Parker "51" using a variety of internals from a couple of pens, and I have a couple of questions:

1. Is it necessary to have a rubber O-ring under the hood to help seal the hood/collector assembly?

2. If I don't have an O-ring, and I end up screwing the plastic hood down tightly, is it possible to tighten it too much, to the point that ink flow is impeded?

Thanks in advance. I've been having flow problems and I'm not sure why. I'm going to disassemble the hood and collector and soak the collector to see if some dried ink is clogging tings up. Let me know if something in the question didn't make sense.

TMann

TMann,

Now I should remember which, but some hoods need the O ring and some don't. If it needs one then it should be fitted or you will get a leak. Somebody said you could use a rubber cement instead to seal it, but I am not sure.

I think this is one of those things you learn from experience :doh:

Jim

If you leave off the o-ring on a pen that uses one, you can still get a decent seal using shellac or some other sealant -- though this would clearly be suboptimal.

Don't crank down the hood too tight. Not that it will interfere with ink flow, but you may eventually see fine internal stress cracks forming at the base of the hood. Go for very light torque and rely on the sealant to keep the hood secure.