Section Leakage-- Parker Vacumatic Major

[Tadeusz]

Hello,

 

I just received a Parker Vacumatic Major in Azure blue in the mail. I inked it up...and it worked perfectly! I began to write, and it layed down a beautiful wet medium line. I got through about a whole page in gleeful bliss.

 

Then...I looked at my fingers, feeling ink.

 

I discovered that my thumb, index, and middle fingers were coated in J. Herbin Perle Noir! I grabbed an ink cloth, wiped the section down as well as my fingers. I thought I had just gotten some ink on the section while filling.

 

Unforetunately, more ink issued forth. I held a paper towel to the section, and discovered the the leakage was coming from the part where the section connects to the body.

 

Any repair ideas, preferably without needing to heat up and remove the section.

 

Or, at last resort, any fountain pen restorers (big or small time) near the Naperville, Illinois area? That is my base of operations while I wage war on the real estate classifieds for an affordable house!

 

In sort, what should I do if small drops of ink issue forth from the area in which the section screws into the body on a Parker Vacumatic Major.

 

 

Thanks.

[Ron Z]

Any repair ideas, preferably without needing to heat up and remove the section.

 

None at all. They don't exist. The reason that it leaks is that the threads were not properly sealed. My guess is that if it leaks, the section may unscrew relatively easily.

 

The section needs to be unscrewed, a thread sealant applied to the section threads and the section screwed back in. Wax from a toiled bowl flange sealing ring will work, but the stuff to use is a rosin based thread sealant. Don't use silicone grease (not a sealant, it's a lubricant) and especially avoid Teflon tape.

[risingsun]

Ron can't pimp his own concoction above, but I will be happy to as it works great.

 

Available here: http://www.mainstreetpens.com/stuff.htm

[Paul Raposo]

Ron can't pimp his own concoction above, but I will be happy to as it works great.

 

Agreed! I've used it on a couple dozen Parker Vacs, and 51's as well as a Montblanc and an Omas.

[Tadeusz]

Alright.

 

So I could just use a hair-dryer, heat the section up a little bit, unscrew it, clean it off, and then shellac (or special Ron Zorn magic- ) the section back on?

 

The last thing I want to do is warp the barrel or worse.

[risingsun]

Please don't use shellac... Try Ron's suggestions instead. I would even prefer the 100% silicone grease in lieu of shellac for this use (I've had to bore out a couple Vac sections that were completely stuck with shellac).

[Tadeusz]

Okay. Good thing I didn't have any shellac on hand

 

So just heat the bit up with a hair dryer while spinning the pen (to distribute the heat) correct?

[risingsun]

Yes. I use the area between my upper lip and my nose to track the temperature of the pen after slow and careful heating (check frequently). I find this area of the face to be more sensitive to temperature than my fingers, and thus if I can still comfortably hold the heated pen there, I am fairly sure that I haven't overheated the pen. More importantly, be careful when you twist the section and barrel. It should be stiff, but you shouldn't have to put pen-breaking force to it, especially if it is leaking. I think Ron is right that a leaky pen may be more likely to come apart here.

 

I might also suggest soaking the pen for 15-30 minutes, nib down in a cup of water, with the joint a half inch or so below the water line, to loosen any dried ink in that joint before the warming process...

[inkstainedruth]

So the rosin is better than using shellac? Because I see that Ron has both on his website. Or do they have different uses?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ron Z]

Very different uses for shellac and thread sealant. I call shellac the duct tape of pen repair. It's used most often as an adhesive to secure sacs to sections, but can also be used for securing other things. It sets hard, but releases with heat. Rosin based thread sealant, the Sheaffer formula stuff that I make, softens some 40 to 50 degrees lower than shellac, and is used for sealing threads on sections in pens that hold the ink directly in the barrel, like Parker Vacumatics, and Sheaffer plunger fillers. I'm convinced that Parker also used it to secure clip screws and jewels in Vacs and 51s.

 

The reason that you don't want to use shellac to seal threads on a Vac is because it works so well as an adhesive. It sets hard, and has a release temperature that's much closer to the softening temperature of celluloid than the rosin. I don't use the phrase "melting point" because that gives the image of celluloid turning to liquid. Rather, the critical phase is where the celluloid turns soft and distorts. Try to remove a Sheaffer section that's been sealed with shellac and you stand a good chance of shearing off the barrel trying to get the section out again.

[Tadeusz]

Well....that was interesting

 

I just heated the pen up a little, and lo and behold....the section fell off....thats right...fell off

 

Someone had attempted to unscrew the section....and ended up snapping off the section, with the threaded part still screwed into the body....so they then glued it up and sold it on ebay, I suppose.

 

 

Is there any one who could restore this? Not by simply gluing the section on, but by maybe taking the section off of a parts pen? Is it even possible to remove the threaded part that is stuck in there?

 

Thanks

[GTOZack]

Hello,

 

I just received a Parker Vacumatic Major in Azure blue in the mail. I inked it up...and it worked perfectly! I began to write, and it layed down a beautiful wet medium line. I got through about a whole page in gleeful bliss.

 

Then...I looked at my fingers, feeling ink.

 

I discovered that my thumb, index, and middle fingers were coated in J. Herbin Perle Noir! I grabbed an ink cloth, wiped the section down as well as my fingers. I thought I had just gotten some ink on the section while filling.

 

Unforetunately, more ink issued forth. I held a paper towel to the section, and discovered the the leakage was coming from the part where the section connects to the body.

 

Any repair ideas, preferably without needing to heat up and remove the section.

 

Or, at last resort, any fountain pen restorers (big or small time) near the Naperville, Illinois area? That is my base of operations while I wage war on the real estate classifieds for an affordable house!

 

In sort, what should I do if small drops of ink issue forth from the area in which the section screws into the body on a Parker Vacumatic Major.

 

 

Thanks.

 

on another topic, your avatar, Polish air force during WWII right?

[Tadeusz]

Yes :-) It is in fact the WWII Polish Air Force (roundel...probably)

[GTOZack]

yes they flew alongside and with british RAF they flew spitfires very agressively they were known to chase around 200 to 350 meters behind a BF and just run them over with quad ma deuces and two 20's

 

while the british, canadian and newly joined american feel comfortable chasing at 600 to 800 meters.

[Tadeusz]

Yes, they were not particularly fond of the Germans, seeing as though they went through Poland kidnapping any child they thought of as "Aryan", pillaging and stealing as they went along.

 

But I digress XD.

[Tadeusz]

Anyway, does anyone know of a repairer that could remove the threaded portion of the section that is still stuck in the barrel, and place a fresh section (from a parts pen or like) on?

 

The pen is completely useless now, the section was snapped off by a previous owner, then glued back on. I haven't the audacity to glue the thing back on again.

[penmanila]

again, for specialized repairs like this, ron zorn would be the go-to guy. it might take him some time to get to your pen because of his huge workload, but it'll be worth the wait. it also won't hurt to ask someone like danny fudge (www.thewritepen.net) if he can do the job (he does all my basic vac jobs, although ron specializes in body work)... that's unless you figure that it'll be far cheaper just to get another pen or at least a donor barrel and section. there aren't too many blue vacs of any kind out there, but the good news is that the only basic difference between the major and junior in this case would be the cap band, so you can harvest the right parts from a donor junior as well.

[Tadeusz]

Ah, thanks for the info. I think I will have to send it off to be restored, I haven't a clue about how I'm going to get that screwed in section out without having anything to grip. I wonder I'd I could trade an emerald slim version cap for a standard one along the way. I seem to have the incorrect cap on my other vac.

 

Thanks for the info.

It seems as though Ron Zorn will have another vacumatic to fix, along with all the other pens people keep sending him!

[Tadeusz]

I have a picture of the ruined section next to a normal one. The threaded bit is still in the barrel! Please advise

[viclip]

... I haven't a clue about how I'm going to get that screwed in section out without having anything to grip. ...

Use a "broken stud extractor" to remove the portion of the section remaining inside the barrel. The best extractrors are square in cross-section with 4 sharpened edges & are carried by better automotive tool suppliers. Another version is round in cross-section with a sharp left-handed thread designed to dig into the interior hole in the object to be extracted. To tell you the truth since we're dealing with soft material here, you could simply use a triangular file as an extractor, if you can find the right size. This all pre-supposes that the broken portion of the section can be released with the usual dry heat application & then screwed out with the extraction device; otherwise someone with a lathe will need to bore it out & re-cut the interior threads for you.