Jinhao 990 Eye Dropper Mod - A Pictorial Journey !

[old4570]

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured is one of my two Jihao 990 Fountain Pens ...

This one is about to be Dropper Modded ..

 

1) The barrel is air tight .. It has a cap on it , but it does not affect the seal ..

2) Barrel to body fit is tight - No lube - seems to be airtight ( As best as I can tell )

3) Nib / feed fit is not good , it is lose and comes out easy ... ( I will have to do something about this )

4) @ $1 , I am prepared to take a bullet for mods ..

5) I have to do this as I have ANTS in my pants for a ED mod ...

[old4570]

 

 

So plan is to glue in the Feeder / NIB and clean out the Chinese hair ...

[old4570]

 

 

 

Super Glue :

I pushed the NIB / Feeder into the body until only part of the forward feeder was visible ..

I then took a sewing pin and dipped it in Super Glue and used the pin to spread a minute amount of SG onto the FEEDER that rides the inside of the body ..

I pushed in the NIB / Feeder and then twisted it till the glue took hold ..

 

The NIB / Feeder is now not coming out in a hurry ( one hopes ) ...

 

The pen is ready for some ink ...

I might take this part of the operation outside .. ( I can be clumsy at times )

Edited April 1, 2018 by old4570

[old4570]

 

 

1) My first functioning fountain pen in 40 Years !

2) ED mod

3) No grease - no O ring

4) Water based PRINTER INK

5) Pen rests on a tissue just in case it develops a leak ..

6) Will the NIB dry out ?

7) How does printer ink write ?

8) Will the pen die ?

9) Consider this a long term test

10) Are we having fun ?

[old4570]

 

 

1) Yes my handwriting sux's - haven't put pen to paper in years ... ( Thank you PC )

2) Bleed through was where I pushed the pen into the paper for a few seconds to make dots - to check bleed through .

3) Jinhao 990 felt scratchy , not smooth . Struggled a little to write smoothly ..

4) Nib was a little sensitive - might be me ?

[old4570]

 

Took about an hour to develop a leak ( barrel / body )

I dont have any silicone grease ( I ordered some yesterday or the day before )

Next I will try an O ring , and a fresh tissue !

[eawtan]

You will probably also need silicone grease as the threads on the body are too coarse.

[old4570]

 

Been a few hours since adding the O ring ... No leaks

Currently dont have silicone grease -

 

But there was a internal O ring that went on the converter and sat between the barrel and body ...

? Wonder if it would work without a converter ? ( Or just collapse as the barrel is screwed into the body )

External O ring seems to be working so far ..

Push come to shove I could use Teflon tape

Edited April 1, 2018 by old4570

[old4570]

I just tried it on the other 990 without the converter and it looks like you could run double O rings ...

A external O ring as I have now and a internal one ... ( There is a internal step for the O ring to sit in )

I might have to try this since I am experimenting ..

[old4570]

 

Its early days !

But looks like the internal O ring is keeping ink out of the threads ...

[jobodine]

The threads are so far apart that they may facilitate ink leaking in this Jinhao 990 ! Silicon grease should definitely be used . Thanks for sharing great pics ! Good luck .

Edited April 1, 2018 by jobodine

[jobodine]

Super Glue :

I pushed the NIB / Feeder into the body until only part of the forward feeder was visible ..

I then took a sewing pin and dipped it in Super Glue and used the pin to spread a minute amount of SG onto the FEEDER that rides the inside of the body ..

I pushed in the NIB / Feeder and then twisted it till the glue took hold ..

 

I wonder why did you want to glue in the feed ? You do not want to remove the feed for cleaning in the future ? So far, I do not see any self-cleaning feature in this model ...

Edited April 1, 2018 by jobodine

[jekostas]

Gluing the nib and feed is an absolutely, completely awful idea. It won't help stop leaks and the glue will dissolve in fairly short order anyways, and if it gets in to the feed channel it will interfere with ink flow.

[jobodine]

Gluing the nib and feed is an absolutely, completely awful idea. It won't help stop leaks and the glue will dissolve in fairly short order anyways, and if it gets in to the feed channel it will interfere with ink flow.

 

That could explain why it took 40 years to have a working fountain pen ??

Edited April 1, 2018 by jobodine

[old4570]

 

That could explain why it took 40 years to have a working fountain pen ??

 

And exactly what sort of response are you trolling for ?

[old4570]

Update : 8.44 am

The internal O ring has not stopped ink from getting into the threads , but has severely curtailed it .. ( 8 hours or so after being installed ) External O ring is holding . Pen is stored horizontally to give it every chance to leak .

Please understand , this entire thing is an experiment .. All of it ..

A experiment on top an experiment on top an experiment . I am testing everything . ( Because after 40+ years of not having owned a FP - I may have some catching up to do )

And I really do like first hand experience for my education ...

And for the record - I currently dont have any silicone grease - it has been ordered - so there for I must explore / test other options if I want to ED . ( ???? ) I guess I must be miss communicating this some how .

 

Super glue - NIB / FEEDER was lose ! a poor fit in a cheap pen ..

I used a very minuscule amount , its not going to block anything ..

Will the glue be dissolved by the ink ? ( I don't know ) But we are going to find out - because this is an experiment ..

This is a 0.99 cent USD pen .. It is a sacrificial lamb to the GOD of knowledge ..

Edited April 1, 2018 by old4570

[TSherbs]

1) My first functioning fountain pen in 40 Years !

Nice!

 

 

4) Water based PRINTER INK

Yuck!

 

My guess is that this ink is the cause of the nib feeling like sand as you write.

[old4570]

Nice!

 

 

Yuck!

 

My guess is that this ink is the cause of the nib feeling like sand as you write.

 

 

 

 

Could be the ink - I would assume it lacks any lubricity and may possibly be on the dry side ( Being printer ink ) ... But with so much opinion and 3rd hand info out there I thought this a good time to find out for myself ( printer ink ) . Not sure yet which pen will by my second , but it will run FP ink ( Parker since thats what is locally available )

But every part of this PEN Experience is an experiment .

I guess I am really pilling it on for my first FP experience . ( The good the bad and the ugly - all at the same time ) If you can't have some fun ? and learn something along the way !

Edited April 1, 2018 by old4570

[eawtan]

Thanks for sharing your experiment(s). It takes effort to record and document.

My take for ED - silicone grease is the barrier that prevents the leaks thus it is a must. O-rings (single or double) are just insurance in case there is a small gap or tiny breakdown in the grease.

I currently have 4 ED on my desk, all with grease and o-rings - so far no leaks (after many many months and refills) ...

[old4570]

Yes , O rings are ?

1) They can break - without warning ...

2) They dont always behave the way you want .. If they fits something too well they can too many times flex in the wrong direction leaving a gap .. Too tight a O ring can break . The wrong material and it can degrade . O rings are such fun .

 

13 Hours and its status quo