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Parker 51


Moose

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I have a Parker 51 Aerometric that I purchased off EBay a short while ago and (after some minor cleaning and very amateur restoration) it appeared to be a very nice pen. I have noticed, however, that if I don't use it every day, when I take the cap off the pen, there is some leakage into the cap.:( I would assume the pen is leaking through the nib, though I am not sure how this would happen when the pen is nib up. I am thinking about sending it into Richard Binder, but I wanted to check here first to see if there might be another problem that I could handle myself. Please keep in mind that I am relatively new to fountain pens :blush: , but would be willing to try most repairs on this pen becuase I got it extremely cheaply. All you Parker 51 aero pros out there: Please Advise. Thanks!!

Well for you, if you wrestle on, for in persistency lies victory, and with the morning may come the wished-for blessing. But not always; there is a struggle with defeat which some of you will have to bear, and it will be well for you if you have cultivated a cheerful equanimity. Remember, too, that sometimes 'from our desolation only does the better life begin.' Even with disaster ahead, it is better to face them with a smile, and with the head erect, than to crouch at their approach. And, if the fight is for principle and justice, even when failure seems certain, where many have failed before, cling to your ideal, and, like Childe Roland before the dark tower, set the slug-horn to your lips, blow the challenge, and calmly await the conflict.

 

 

--"Aequanimitas" William Osler

Valedictory Address, University of Pennsylvania, May 1, 1889

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I can think of two things that may be it.

 

If the pen is too full the you can get expansion in the collector and that can end up in the cap.

 

Or, it may be a bit blocked up. Does it fill OK, like right to the top as far as you can see? It could be that the breather tube is blocked and that could caused expansion and leakage. Empty the pen out, flush and then maybe use a 10% ammonia solution to shift any solids.

 

Worst case you need to remove the hood and give it a good clean, if it is an early Aero then the breather could be corroded, does the barrel have a date code? What does the filler say, press bar 6 times = early, 4 times = later

 

Look here on Richard's site for more info.

 

Jim

Obi Won WD40

Re vera, cara mea, mea nil refert!

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I am not an expert in operation or repair of the Parker "51", but I will offer some thoughts.

 

The Aero-metric "51" uses a breather tube, and unless the pen is almost completely empty, the end of that tube will be immersed in ink in the reservoir when the pen is generally point-up. A positive pressure differential between the air trapped in the reservoir and the air volume outside the point (greater pressure in the reservoir) can cause some ink to fountain up the breather tube and be ejected from the point. Such a pressure differential can be caused by a thermal effect (warming of the pen due to body heat), an atmospheric change (ascent in an airplane), or a transient mechanically-induced vacuum at the exterior of the point (pulling off the cap).

 

The Aero-metric "51" has several features designed to combat these effects. High relative pressure of the trapped air in the reservoir is equalized by bleeding that air through a tiny orifice in the side wall of the breather tube near where it enters the collector. A pressure transient due to pulling off the cap is handled by having the cap and inner cap *not* seal the point, but rather by providing a path for air to circulate through a vent hole in the inner cap, an air channel in the outside of the inner cap, and the open areas between the spring fingers of the cap clutch.

 

If any of these features is compromised, leaking into the cap may result. The breather tube side wall orifice must be clear and the inner cap vent hole must be clear as well; the inner cap's exterior air channel must also be unobstructed, though this is rarely a problem (the spaces between the clutch fingers are never blocked, as far as I know). Unfortunately, inspecting these items generally requires disassembly of the pen, though it is possible that a thorough flushing can clear blockages if they are caused by ink and not, say, by corrosion (in the case of the breather tube).

 

I suspect Richard will weigh in with more experienced and reliable advice.

 

--Daniel

Edited by kirchh

"The greatest mental derangement is to believe things because we want them to be true, not because we observe that they are in effect." --Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Daniel Kirchheimer
Specialty Pen Restoration
Authorized Sheaffer/Parker/Waterman Vintage Repair Center
Purveyor of the iCroScope digital loupe

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I can think of two things that may be it.

 

If the pen is too full the you can get expansion in the collector and that can end up in the cap.

 

Or, it may be a bit blocked up.  Does it fill OK, like right to the top as far as you can see?  It could be that the breather tube is blocked and that could caused expansion and leakage.  Empty the pen out, flush and then maybe use a 10% ammonia solution to shift any solids.

 

Worst case you need to remove the hood and give it a good clean, if it is an early Aero then the breather could be corroded, does the barrel have a date code?  What does the filler say, press bar 6 times = early, 4 times = later

 

Look here on Richard's site for more info.

 

Jim

Jim-

 

It would appear to be a 2nd quarter 1951 model based on the information on Richard's site and the information I could gather from the pen.

 

It tells me to depress four times indicating a later model pen.

 

The pen appears to fill just fine, though it is the only 51 I have ever owned or used, so I don't really have a comparison.

 

One last question for ya, is removing the hood fairly simple (and if so, would it be too much trouble to detail it) or is that a more complex process?

 

I appreciate all your help so far and appreciate you putting up with what I am sure are some extrememly newbie questions!

 

Moose

Well for you, if you wrestle on, for in persistency lies victory, and with the morning may come the wished-for blessing. But not always; there is a struggle with defeat which some of you will have to bear, and it will be well for you if you have cultivated a cheerful equanimity. Remember, too, that sometimes 'from our desolation only does the better life begin.' Even with disaster ahead, it is better to face them with a smile, and with the head erect, than to crouch at their approach. And, if the fight is for principle and justice, even when failure seems certain, where many have failed before, cling to your ideal, and, like Childe Roland before the dark tower, set the slug-horn to your lips, blow the challenge, and calmly await the conflict.

 

 

--"Aequanimitas" William Osler

Valedictory Address, University of Pennsylvania, May 1, 1889

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Moose,

 

Servicing the Aero "51" is not too bad, the trick is to get the hood off. It will be sealed with shelac most probably, so needs heat to remove it. I use a hair dryer to heat it up, but you have to get it just right or you can distort the hood. I practiced on old gash pens and parts off eBay. As the hood was damaged anyway, it did not matter if I wrecked it as it was damaged anyway.

 

The idea is too soften the shelac enough to be able to unscrew the hood. Rather than give you more advice at this stage, maybe if you don't want to try it, then get somebody to do it. There is not only Richard on here, but DWL, Dillo and RonZ, who all fix pens and some have shorter queues that others.

 

I have taught myself how to strip a "51" over the past year or so, I have not wrecked a pen yet, but I am painfully slow at doing it :D

 

Jim

Obi Won WD40

Re vera, cara mea, mea nil refert!

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Thank you, everyone, for all your replies. After reading pretty exstensively on Richard's site, I have decided that the repairs are a little too advanced for me. I will probably be contacting one of you to see about getting the pen repaired. Do you guys (Dillo, etc.) also do repairs such as restoring the cap or is that pretty much relegated to Richard? Let me know so I can figure out where I need to go. Again, thanks for dealing with such a newbie to fountain pens, I knew I loved you guys for a reason!

Well for you, if you wrestle on, for in persistency lies victory, and with the morning may come the wished-for blessing. But not always; there is a struggle with defeat which some of you will have to bear, and it will be well for you if you have cultivated a cheerful equanimity. Remember, too, that sometimes 'from our desolation only does the better life begin.' Even with disaster ahead, it is better to face them with a smile, and with the head erect, than to crouch at their approach. And, if the fight is for principle and justice, even when failure seems certain, where many have failed before, cling to your ideal, and, like Childe Roland before the dark tower, set the slug-horn to your lips, blow the challenge, and calmly await the conflict.

 

 

--"Aequanimitas" William Osler

Valedictory Address, University of Pennsylvania, May 1, 1889

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If you just want a cap repair, the Daniel K (kirchh) is your man, so maybe you need to get one guy to do the pen and another to do the cap. Send Daniel a PM and ask.

 

Also, Ron Z has had some more wise words on getting a "51" hood off on this forum.

 

But, before you do any more, do try give it a good soaking, 95% of the time that fixes the problems you describe, I only take a hood off if the nib needs work or there are serious over or under flow troubles.

 

Best of luck

Obi Won WD40

Re vera, cara mea, mea nil refert!

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That breather tube in the aero 51 is pretty important. You'll want to make sure that the hole in the tube is clear, which of course means taking the pen apart. Some of the later pens (like the specials) went back to the short plastic tube, in which case this doesn't apply.

 

There's also the hole in the end of the barrel that most people overlook and forget about. That hole should be open, and it's often clogged. Sometimes you can clear it with a small paper clip, often you have to drill it out with a small drill. I would rather that one used a pin vise vs a Dremel if you have to drill it out!

 

Try the soak and flush, and if it doesn't work, send it in for repair.

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