New (Old) Waterman Ideal ... First Pen

[seamus26]

So, this is my first fountain pen.

 

 

 

I've been skimming through the threads on restoration, particularly the disassembly "how not to" threads. I don't want to make donor parts out of my first attempt.

 

I am currently on day five or six attempting to part the section from the barrel so that I can see what's inside. I have been using the hair dryer method, but haven't had so much as a budge. I am very hesitant to apply too much torque. Judging by the grain in the body I can see ample opportunity for some sort of splitting. I am concerned that someone may have used shellac or <gasp!> glue, although I don't see any drips or residue.

 

Here are a couple more photos. Any comments or advice?

 

 

 

[redbike]

One of my worst pen "repair" efforts resulted in a warped barrel in a similar Waterman. Might be best sent to a professional.

[seamus26]

One of my worst pen "repair" efforts resulted in a warped barrel in a similar Waterman. Might be best sent to a professional.

That's what I'm hoping to avoid. The restoration is what I am in it for.

 

Just a little background on myself, I have been a CMM programmer and calibration technician for 25 years. Calibrating gages and fixtures to within +/- .001" is something I do on a daily basis. I also work in plastics. My lab is just steps from the prototype lab. In short, I have some very particular skills and access to some remarkable resources.

 

Having said that, I'm probably going to make an complete arse of myself when I snap this baby in half. I'll keep you posted.

 

I also scored this one yesterday :

 

http://images.shopgoodwill.com/46/12-23-2015/323024823115827ll.JPG

 

It's a start.

[viclip]

Have you immersed the section to a point above its junction with the barrel, in cool water? A good soak will dissolve any ink remnants which may be preventing separation. Dried ink remnants are quite common in lever filler pens due to sac failure. Dried ink doesn't respond to heat & forms a surprisingly strong bond between parts.

[seamus26]

Have you immersed the section to a point above its junction with the barrel, in cool water? A good soak will dissolve any ink remnants which may be preventing separation. Dried ink remnants are quite common in lever filler pens due to sac failure. Dried ink doesn't respond to heat & forms a surprisingly strong bond between parts.

 

 

THAT ... is what I will try this morning. The lever is stuck, so I was imagining that it's full of dried ink. I have this clever and complicated rig that I use to hold my thermometer in place for brewing (don't tell anyone - it's an old clothespin) that I can use.

 

More later ...

Edited December 30, 2015 by seamus26

[viclip]

 

 

THAT ... is what I will try this morning. The lever is stuck, so I was imagining that it's full of dried ink. I have this clever and complicated rig that I use to hold my thermometer in place for brewing (don't tell anyone - it's an old clothespin) that I can use.

 

More later ...

 

Any remnants of dried ink left in the ossified sac will be in the form of powdery residue. My best guess is that the ratio of the ink pigment to the evaporated water, is around 1:20 thus dried ink residue doesn't explain the full feeling of the sac.

 

Rather, I think you'll find that the lever is stuck because the rubber sac has ossified to a glass-like state. Forcing the lever against an ossified sac can damage the lever mechanism, the barrel, or both.

 

Anyways if any ink seeped between the section & the barrel & dried there, a good soaking should dissolve it.

[seamus26]

 

Any remnants of dried ink left in the ossified sac will be in the form of powdery residue. My best guess is that the ratio of the ink pigment to the evaporated water, is around 1:20 thus dried ink residue doesn't explain the full feeling of the sac.

 

Rather, I think you'll find that the lever is stuck because the rubber sac has ossified to a glass-like state. Forcing the lever against an ossified sac can damage the lever mechanism, the barrel, or both.

 

Anyways if any ink seeped between the section & the barrel & dried there, a good soaking should dissolve it.

 

 

Thanks again, everyone.

 

[carlos.q]

 

I also scored this one yesterday :

 

http://images.shopgoodwill.com/46/12-23-2015/323024823115827ll.JPG

 

 

This one seems to be a second generation Laureat.

[seamus26]

Success!!

 

More later ...

[seamus26]

Now looking for a new ink sac. I'm trying to identify this exact model so that I can size it properly, but I am hoping someone of greater knowledge can simply tell me exactly what it is.

 

It says Waterman's on the clip and barrel, Made In U.S.A. on the barrel and Waterman's Ideal Rigid 14KT on the nib.

 

Everything is clean and the lever mechanism seems to move freely. I think it's on the road to recovery.

 

Never mind. It appears to be a Stalwart from the late '40s.

Edited December 31, 2015 by seamus26

[seamus26]

This one seems to be a second generation Laureat.

 

 

This one came in the mail yesterday. It needed nothing but ink. It feels really nice; it has a nice heft to it and the nib looks practically new. So far I'm very happy with it. Happier than I am with my handwriting.

 

I also picked up a Pilot disposable just to play with.

[redbike]

Success!!

 

More later ...

Glad it worked out. Was it the water bath that separated the section from the barrel, or did you need to do something else?

[seamus26]

Glad it worked out. Was it the water bath that separated the section from the barrel, or did you need to do something else?

 

 

It was the soak. After a couple of hours and a lot of old ink it came right apart.

[seamus26]

So, after I started cleaning it up, I realized that the groove where the sac seals was chewed up pretty badly. I thought that perhaps I had done it, but there was old shellac in where it was mangled, so I know I wasn't entirely to blame.

 

I took it in to the guys in our prototype lab and Dean - the lab manager - completely rebuilt the end of the section where the sac seals.

 

I was pretty sure that shellac would have sealed it up, but as long as I have the resources I figured I may as well at least attempt to do it right.

 

[Hooker56]

Seamus,

 

The hard brown gummy looking (chewed looking) stuff is probably the old shellac. It's standard operating procedure to use something like an exacto knife to scrape all that old brown shellac from the plastic surface so that you have a clean surface for the new shellac to stick to. After removing all of the old shellac you can see, use a small file or sand paper to roughen the surface that the sac contacts to ensure a good bond.

The pen looks much like an early Waterman's Taperite. Be careful to let the shellac dry well before replacing the section in the barrel so that you don't shellac the section to the barrel. It should fit by friction.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Clayton

 

P.S.- Take a look at Richard Binder's page on re-sacing pens

http://www.richardspens.com/?rep=sac_replacement

[seamus26]

Last post for this thread.

 

I received a package from Pendragons of five sacs, a bottle of shellac and some chalk. I quickly realized that what I had originally thought was an intentional lip on the section was probably part of the old ossified sac. That was nothing that clever use of a Dremel Tool couldn't rectify.

 

New sac on, filled with Noodler's Ottoman Azure and it's good to go!

 

I've been writing with it for a couple of weeks now just dipping it, but now it feels "whole" again.

 

Thanks for the help, everyone!

 

Next!

[gregamckinney]

Congratulations, enjoy!

 

greg

[seamus26]

Ok, so I said that was the last post. I lied.

 

I just won a Sheaffer White Dot on eBay for $28. It looks a little rough, but that's the point. All part of learning.

 

Anyone have any insight as to the age of this one? I see Sheaffer started the lifetime tip and the white dots back in the '20s, but I'm not sure how long they made them.

Edited January 25, 2016 by seamus26

[kirchh]

'42-'45. Might want to start a new topic in the proper area.

 

--Daniel

[FarmBoy]

This one should be a bit more fun.