Loose Cap Problems

[Zookie]

I've noticed that I have more than a few vintage pens with loose fitting push on caps. Is there a standard cure for this? I thought maybe a coating of shellac on the inside of the cap might help.

I would like to hear any thoughts on this.

Thanks!

[FarmBoy]

What pens? There is more than one cap holding onto barrel mechanism.

[siamackz]

Ive used shellac and it works decently

[Ron Z]

I wrote to a client about this in the last few days. The slip caps that come loose usually have a plastic cap liner with the clutch built into them in the form of bumps that typically grip the end of the section, or like a Phileas have it molded into the cap. Parker used them in many of their pens, including the 75 version with the "long" inner cap, Sonnet, as well as the Sheaffer Prelude, Waterman Kultur/Phileas (and other Waterman pens), Cross, etc. These bumps compress or wear - and lose their grip. On many of the pens (the 75 being an exception) the inner cap can not be replaced. I cut a Prelude cap apart to see how it was put together, and because the inner cap is riveted in, there is no way to disassemble the cap and replace the inner cap/cap liner.

 

I have had success with using an eyedropper to drop boiling water into the cap, letting it stay there for 30 seconds or so, and then repeating. This softens the plastic enough that it expands back enough for the cap to hold... not tight, but it stays on.

 

I suppose that shellac is a possible last restort. I would be reluctant to use it, and would not on a clients pen, but that is the owner's choice.

[Zookie]

A lot of my old Wear ever pens have this problem. No inner cap, the ring is on the barrel.

Right now the biggest problem I can't solve is an Ink O Graph with stripped threads in a screw cap.

[Ron Z]

Cap/barrel thread wear is another matter. Sometimes threads can be stretched. I'd rather not go into how you do it if you don't mind.

 

A pen with a clutch ring may or may not have a cap clutch. Parker pens like the 51, 21, 61, VP, 65 and 75 with the short inner cap have metal clutch fingers that can be tightened. The Sheaffer Targa cap clutch can be replaced. The Sheaffer Imperials and others have a pressure ring that has 3 tabs that stick through the section. These can be bumped out for a tighter fit and/or replaced.

 

I don't know about Wearevers. I'm sure that they've outlived the life expectancy envisioned by the designers by several decades.

[como]

Amazing... Who would have thought! Thank you, Ron. I dislike snap caps. The clutch inside eventually gets worn out and weak. Yard-O-Led and Omas 360 both have snap caps, and I wish they didn't. At least the mechanism on both pens seems to hold up well.

 

I have had success with using an eyedropper to drop boiling water into the cap, letting it stay there for 30 seconds or so, and then repeating. This softens the plastic enough that it expands back enough for the cap to hold... not tight, but it stays on.

 

I suppose that shellac is a possible last restort. I would be reluctant to use it, and would not on a clients pen, but that is the owner's choice.

[Zookie]

I use the Wearever pens to practice repairs on. I seldom use them to write with.

I have better ones for that.