Removing a stuck section

[Maja]

Hi again Dennis (and Denis)!

 

I got a cute little Wahl "clone" from the local flea market on Sunday and I am having problems getting the section out. I think it is made out of mottled green celluloid (definitely not casein or hard rubber) and I have already tried soaking the pen in warm water for 24 hours, then in hotter water (around 135 degrees Fahrenheit) for a couple of hours. I tried twisting the section with rubber gloves afterwards, but no go.

 

I then tried dry heat (a la hair dryer) but still no go ...

 

I am scared of using an open flame (I was terrified of Bunsen Burners & alcohol lamps in chem lab) in case the barrel is made of cellulose nitrate; I know that material is quite volatile....If the pen is made of cellulose acetate, though, would it be ok to heat with an open flame? (how could I even tell which of the two materials it is made of? )

 

Or is there something else you can recommend? I don't have a pair of section pliers...

Thanks in advance,

Maja

[Keith with a capital K]

Maja!

 

I just got home form work and saw your post..I think Dennis is off dreaming about massive pen lots... LOL.

 

Every once in a while I have come across a pen that has been nearly impossible to open and to date I have only been stumped once with a pen that will forever remain an ornamental object or dip pen.

 

Soaking in hot water isn't anything I would advise as the heat will also affect the set of the feed and may impair the pen's performance.

 

Dry heat is probably the best option for most as using open flame is something that requires great skill and the potential for the pen to become a roman candle is pretty high if you do not know exactly what you're doing. The difference between applying proper heat with an open flame and setting the pen aflame is very slight and according to some, only old school pen restorers still use open flame... I thnk that makes me a geezer.

 

Section pliers are a must... my Pliers From Hell have helped me open a few pens I had all but given up on.

 

You may have a pen that was sealed with loctite, crazy glue, or contact cement and in that case the odds of opening it successfully are going to be slim.

 

If you aren't comfortabe trying to open the pen and want to send it to the spa I'll look at it and if it's openable I'll do the work for free...

 

Besides that... I found a few things here that I'm sure you would like and was planning on sending a little care package... the Wahl could hitch a ride home with the other goodies.

 

[Dennis Lively]

what he said........

[Maja]

Keith,

Thank you so much for your kind and generous offers. Maybe I should give the dry heat another try on the pen's section, though. I'll send you an e-mail in the next day or two and let you know what happened. I'll have to find out how you made (or where you bought) your magic section pliers

 

Dennis,

Sorry for posting my question so late at night! I just realized that you are two hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time, so I will try to post future queries at a more reasonable hour.

[Keith with a capital K]

Maja - Like most tools here in the shop, they were adapted and made from something else... I think the only real pen tool here is my vac wrench while everytyhing else was liberated from other sources.

 

The section pliers started out as 5 inch Vice Grip locking pliers and from there I ground down the teeth and rounded the inner jaws, filled the sufaces with resin to make the surface glassy smooth, and then added heavy surgical tubing to provide traction and padding.

 

Because my hands don't always work as they should I needed a set of pliers that could be set and locked... an injury to my right hand and arthritis has affected my gripping ability and the squeezing motion you need to use with non locking plers is very uncomfortable and even painful at times. I also think that because the pliers need to be set and locked, there is less risk of over torquing the pliers when you are removing a section and causing damage.

 

Besides these, I really like using the section pliers in combination with a well padded hobby vice which really frees up the hands and lessens the effects of repetitive stress injuries.

 

Because I write and use the computer a great deal for work and then do the same in the shop with the addition of pen work, I am careful to minimize the stresses to my hands.

[Maja]

An update for anyone who is still following this "saga" :

 

 

Well, I tried the dry heat and....no luck I had rubber gloves on while trying to to twist the section, then I tried gentle rocking to try to lift it off a bit....nothing, zilch, zero!

 

I will either have to try to construct section pliers like yours or buy a pair from an online source (or perhaps try a set of spark plug pullers) OR just send the pen off to you, Keith. I know you must be busy with work and all, but if you could take a look at it, I would be grateful (I also want to buy a couple of items from your online store, so you can ship the pen back with the other items).

 

We'll keep you updated on this story, fellow FPNers....This one is a toughie!

[Dennis Lively]

Maja,

 

You can go to nearly any auto parts store and pick up a pair of spark plug pliers for less than $10.00 and they are as good if not even better that the ones you van find online. While your there pick up a tube of 100% pure silicon grease. (they use it on breaks)

Good luck on the repair.

 

Dennis

[Keith with a capital K]

Maja,

 

I recently removed the stuck section on a Waterman Taperite that I thought was never going anywhere... I think sometimes one just has to make the proper sacrifices to the pen gods for these things to work.

 

Spark plug pliers make an excellent tool for removing sections and a great deal of the time, attaining sufficient traction is a bigger issue than anything. I use the rubber padded hobby vice to hold a pen's barrel while I either use simple hand strength and some surgical tubing or the pliers from hell depending on the job and how my hands feel.

 

As I said before...sometimes people use some pretty nasty adhesives to secure sections in barrels when no adhesive is required or use the wrong adhesive on pen thqat do require shellac. It makes servicing some pens difficult and in some cases nearly impossible.

 

I hope this tale has a nice ending.

 

Cheers!

[John]

Bah! I'm working on a Touchdown and I can't budge the d#$% section. I've tried hot water, flame, soaking, brute force and it's still as stuck as a stuck thing in a sticky factory.

[Keith with a capital K]

Thankfully, most sections aren't like this.

 

If you have tried everything then there is a possibility that GFH was sused to seal the section.

 

GFH = glue from hell

 

The hell that this glue originates from is disimilar than the one where the SPFH (Section Pliers From Hell) came from as the SPFH actually are a good thing.

 

Sometimes you also need a massive dose of patience and have to tackle the pen when the moment is right.

 

Let me know how the Touchdown repair goes... those sections are usually glued and can be a little more work to loosen but the bright side is that touchdowns are very well built pens and can take a little more stress than others at the ( probably threaded) section.

 

Cheers!

[John]

I got it. Near boiling water and much brute force did the trick eventually. I now have three touchdowns and a snork in pieces waiting for new seals and sacs to arrive.

[Dennis Lively]

Congrats John. Who did you go through to get your sac's? I hope it was Martin at woodbin.IMHO He's the best there is. Period

 

Dennis

[John]

I get them from Martin. It's great partly because he is so close. I usually get delivery in 2-3 days.

[Keith with a capital K]

Good morning!

 

The 50's Sheaffers like Touchdowns and Snorkels and Parker 51's are probably some of the toughest pens ever made so you can do thikngs to them that woud destroy lesser pens.

 

A Parker 51 is the only pen I know of , excluding all metal pens, that can handle boiling temperatures without experiencing harm and the Snorkels and Touchdowns are a pretty close second.

 

Whenever you're using boiling water keep in mind that these kinds of temps will warp other plastics, reform feeds, and discolour celluloids as well as the visualted sections on some Sheaffer pens.

 

It has it's place and you just have to remember where that place is.

 

Martin at Woodbin is a great guy to do business with and I would also suggest Giovanni Abrate at Tryphon Enterprises as he carries a great selection of high quality parts at reasonable prices. I deal with them both depending on what parts / tools I need and have been very satisfied.

 

Cheers!

[Gerry]

What an interesting group we have here! I discovered Martin some time ago, and though email received advice that was very helpful. As the email increased, I teased him about advertizing in US dollars in his web site since he is located in Canada - and his response was that he did far more business with Americans than Canadians - in fact, (kidding, I'm sure) he said he only had half a dozen Canadian customers. Naturally, I then mentioned that since I represented over 15% of his Canadian business, there were certain perks that should be considered...

 

Well, what made me think to relate this little episode is that I seem to have discovered half the Canadian customer base for Wood Bin right here in this single thread.

 

Interesting.

 

Wonder who the other three are?

[Keith with a capital K]

We really should talk to Martin about getting a Canadian discount...

 

It might be interesting to know that the hardware inside the Filcao Columbias and other button fillers is produced right here in Canada.

 

Martin supplies the ink sacs and filler bars.

[Gerry]

Keith,

 

You gotta get more shut-eye, son.

 

Gerry

 

PS: interesting note on the Filcao. That probably explains some of the neat equipment Martin appears to have and sometimes sells on eBay - injection moulding eqpt, tool dies etc. I've lusted over some of it - but no way could afford to get into that type of set-up.

[Maja]

Well, what made me think to relate this little episode is that I seem to have discovered half the Canadian customer base for Wood Bin right here in this single thread. 

 

Interesting.

 

Wonder who the other three are?   

Gerry, you can add me to the Wood-bin Canadian client list I bought a pen case from Martin last year and pen this year. Nice guy! (ditto for Giovanni, by the way)

 

Dennis, I found a place that sells spark plug terminal pliers (thanks for the tip KCat--they knew what I meant when I said spark plug "terminal" pliers) at a local UAP/NAPA auto parts store yesterday. They only cost me $10 CDN (about $8 USD) and you were right--they are basically the same things as some section pliers I have seen being sold online! Well, I tried them on that stuck section (I heated it before I tried to budge it) but still no go, so I am sending the pen to Keith today (thanks in advance, Keith!)

 

John, good to hear that the section on your Touchdown filler finally came loose---I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I do that without breaking the barrel

[John]

Oddly enough I was using parts from both Giovanni and Martin yesterday while fixing up a few Touchdowns. wrt the near boiling water, I knew I was dealing with polystyrene so I figured I was fairly safe. I would not use that treatment on a celluloid or acrylic.

[Free Citizen]

Keith,

 

You gotta get more shut-eye, son.

 

Gerry

You mean that was really him? I thought he put on make up to try and look like his Dobermann