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A Different Onoto

Cob

By Cob
in Great Britain & Ireland - Europe

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Cob

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fpn_1523970285__capped.jpg

 

This Onoto, which according to Steve Hull (p253 in his Onoto book) was made about 1949, works on the same principle as all the old Onoto plunger fillers, but it's rather different inside. Note the thin steel rod - that rusted at the end and destroyed the BHR fitting - the one in the picture is my experimental replacement. :

 

fpn_1523970420__torpedo.jpg

 

And the nib curiously is stamped 99!

 

fpn_1523970474__torp_7.jpg

 

Since the rod is only about 2mm in diameter, the available corks are too big (normal rod is 3.2mm) so in the end I made a new rod from brass (middle one)

 

fpn_1523970678__torp_6.jpg

 

It now works nicely and can easily be re-corked if necessary.

 

Cob

Edited by Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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praxim Donor Pen

praxim

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A steel rod was no bid for longevity. I have the impression you made the new rod thicker, 3 mm, or is it still 2 mm? It looks like the pen was made without shut-off?

 

That is a rarity. With the pen being close to a one-off, I wonder whether there was some in-house joke about numbering the nib!

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nice job Cob!

Thanks very much.

 

A steel rod was no bid for longevity. I have the impression you made the new rod thicker, 3 mm, or is it still 2 mm? It looks like the pen was made without shut-off?

 

That is a rarity. With the pen being close to a one-off, I wonder whether there was some in-house joke about numbering the nib!

 

Certainly it wasn't in this case: as I said the rust at the end had expanded and split the small BHR threaded end.

 

The new rod is 1/8" - 3.2mm the same size as the normal BHR/Steel rods and so I can use the standard corks that are buried in the end of the barrel, held in place with a big threaded plug: Here it is with a standard one for comparison:

 

fpn_1524001630__torp_2.jpg

 

No, there is no shut off so it's like an Onoto Minor and must be overhauled in the same way. The knob is fitted to the rod with a RH thread and retained with a lock nut - buried inside the knob.. Tracy Tools helped by identifying the thread that I expected to be 8BA but was in fact 2/56 UNC. The interior diameter of the knob is only 6.8mm so there's not much space. In the end I re-tapped a 2mm nut out to 2/56 UNC and my friend who made the shafts for me turned down a 4mm socket which just fits nicely:

 

fpn_1524001899__torp_4.jpg

 

I had the necessary taps and dies - any Onoto repairman will tell you that one must have LH 5BA tap and die!

 

When it comes to overhauling the pen (even a standard one or indeed an Onoto Minor) one would have to unscrew the seal holder from the barrel mouth and then withdraw the rod since access to the lock nut is impossible otherwise..

 

fpn_1524002524__torp_1.jpg

 

What fun it all is!

 

Cob

Edited by Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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praxim Donor Pen

praxim

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Interesting thanks, and good work. Pangs of jealousy over your ready access to Tracy Tools. :). It seems, after my recent [mis]adventures with identifying the seal screw thread, and your information about the cap thread, that Onoto could be pretty footloose with the number of standards they were happy to scatter around in their design.

 

I have my 5BA badge. :D

 

 

edit:editing error

Edited by praxim

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Cob Collectors Item

Cob

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Interesting thanks, and good work. Pangs of jealousy over your ready access to Tracy Tools. :). It seems, after my recent [mis]adventures with identifying the seal screw thread, and your information about the cap thread, that Onoto could be pretty footloose with the number of standards they were happy to scatter around in their design.

 

I have my 5BA badge. :D

 

 

edit:editing error

Misadventures? Oh! Sounds nasty...

 

Tracy Tools are in Torquay in Devon - and the catalogue states "We offer worldwide delivery." The company is particularly active in the model-making area and so can supply all sorts of threading tools which many would consider very unusual.

 

C.

Edited by Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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Oh, I have bought from them. It is where I found my 5BA LH at a reasonable price, plus some other taps and dies. I was merely commenting jocularly on your access compared with mine, to be able to get their assistance identifying a specific thread.

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Cob

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Oh, I have bought from them. It is where I found my 5BA LH at a reasonable price, plus some other taps and dies. I was merely commenting jocularly on your access compared with mine, to be able to get their assistance identifying a specific thread.

Well I telephoned them and spoke with a helpful fellow called Russell. He suggested I sent them the parts. This I did and next morning he telephoned me, and the morning after, I had the parts back and the appropriate tools!

C.

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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