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My Onoto Has A Splinter Under The Skin


praxim

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I received an Onoto 1822 today. It has a couple of problems, of which one can not be blamed on the restorer (who was not the seller) although it may have influenced the other issues.

 

These two photos of the shank or plunger cap show a manufacturing fault. The first picture shows the end of the rod pin, front left of centre. Note how closely it lies to the end of the cap, closer than I have seen for any other Onoto.

post-129543-0-34442900-1519443566_thumb.jpg

 

The second (sorry about the blurriness) shows a line running to the other edge. You can see it at the back of the first photo as well.

post-129543-0-05561100-1519443579_thumb.jpg

It is the pin lying at the surface past the rod, hence my analogy of a splinter under the skin.

 

My problem will be to remove the pin without shattering the thin layer of ebonite on one half, or where it partially encloses the pin at the other end. This is necessary because the rod in this pen is too short so not only does ink cut-off not close but the plunge-fill mechanism barely functions until you screw down the shank, after which the cup washer barely clears the internal barrel lip.

 

Basically, I intend to use heat, a staking tool, and such care and patience as I can muster. Other bright ideas will be welcomed. For example, would you think it would make a difference which end of the pin I pushed, which end emerged, the open end or the thinly covered?

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Except for curiosity purposes, feel free to ignore the request above. :)

 

More careful checking showed I was wrong when I said the plunger cone did not mate with the shut-off. It does, so that part should work.

 

The problem with the washer barely clearing the lip exists but can be worked around by pushing the plunger down then giving it a quick twist to engage the threads a turn, to pull it down a little further. This enables release for the washer. If this is not done then the vacuum bounces the plunger back up again, meaning little to no ink is drawn.

 

Given this workaround, I will leave well enough alone with the pin for the time being.

 

I conjecture that the pen, which is a little fatter than the average Onoto, like a short Mammoth, has been fixed with a flat washer forced into a cone by a cone-bent metal washer behind. This would be shallower than a proper cup washer so barely reach vacuum release. In proper cup washers there are four different one-off sizes for the Mammoth and Magnas, so this alternative method is mentioned in Onoto repair discussions.

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Your post may help me with my three Onotos I'm working on, with YouTube help, of course. I think I'm starting to understand exactly how these work.

 

Do you happen to know how to remove the end cap on a metal-covered plunger-filler? I'm stalled at that stage on two pens.

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On page 181 of "Pen Repair" (3rd Ed) by Marshall and Oldfield, it says "You ... have to take the overlay off the turning knob". I have never held a silver or gold version of The Pen to see this for myself. I expect that dry heat would be in order.

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