Help with tips, do's & don'ts for the hair-dryer heat treatment

[Ron2]

To replace the sac, I need to remove the section from the barrel of a streamline 30's Big Red Medium. (It's a Danish Parker.) I have had it soaking in water for 2 days (on and off with tepid and cold), and the section won't budge. Heat will be the next step and since I don't have a heat gun, I am planning to use a hair dryer.

 

It has high/med/low settings. So, how should I approach this? Very low heat for longer periods? Short bursts of high heat for a wave or 2 over the pen? Apply heat at close distance? Far distance? Obviously I've never done this and besides trying to learn what to do, I don't want to burn or break the pen in the process.

So, if any of you could lead me by the hand and offer your best proven techniques for the "hair-dryer treatment", before I decide if I really want to attempt this, I would be very happy.

 

Thanks

 

(Luckily, I was able to pull the still working pressure bar out from the back. But, the sac is all hard when I poked it.)

[jde]

Not an expert here... what I've done is soak the section like you did. Then apply the heat a 2-4 inches from the pen and count to 15 secs. Then repeat if necessary. Whether to apply low/med/high... I'd start with the least and see what happens. I've found that very little heat is needed. Patience is its own reward in these cases.

 

Here's a post you should read. And another here. You also might try putting the word "heat" in the search topic.

Edited March 22, 2010 by jde

[Feanor]

I haven't had the need for a heat gun, but I recall at least one of the old pros here saying that hair dryers with high/low settings should be labeled "Way too hot" and "even hotter." I'd suggest only use low, and start a good distance away.

[watch_art]

first, on a hair dryer, there's a heat coil that gets hot. unless you have an expensive temp setting hair dryer, the coil only has one heat setting. the switch controls air speed or fan speed. the faster will actually be a little bit cooler than low b/c the air is passing over the coils faster and cooling them off very slightly. just like in your car. if you have the heat on low it's actually hotter than if it's on high. at least that's how it was described to me. but from MY experience i find it to be true. go with whatever you feel like, it's a hair dryer, it won't get that hot anyways.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I would also like to see some more knowledgable step in with clues on how to "Goldielocks" the right heat temp if one

DOESN'T have a thermometer.

 

Ron2 one thing I *would* do is find a small metal funnel (which may not be that easy) or make a DIY heat "focuser" to tape onto the end of the hair dryer. A turkey baster keeps floating thru my mind as a possible form to use with aluminum foil to fashion one.

 

The area you really want to heat is a pretty narrow area, there's good reasons NOT to heat the other areas.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[watch_art]

go to an autoparts store and buy a small metal funnel. they're pretty cheap.

[Kelly G]

I would also like to see some more knowledgable step in with clues on how to "Goldielocks" the right heat temp if one

DOESN'T have a thermometer.

 

Ron2 one thing I *would* do is find a small metal funnel (which may not be that easy) or make a DIY heat "focuser" to tape onto the end of the hair dryer. A turkey baster keeps floating thru my mind as a possible form to use with aluminum foil to fashion one.

 

The area you really want to heat is a pretty narrow area, there's good reasons NOT to heat the other areas.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

If you are going to work on pens using heat, especially from a heat source such as a hair dryer, there is no excuse for not having a thermometer. You can buy a meat thermometer at most any grocery store for very little money and if it saves one pen - especially a Duofold - it is more than worth the money and effort to procure it. If you have repaired hundreds of pens, you can probably get by on experience, but if not, it is best to spend a few bucks for a thermometer. Trust me on this - I've tried it both ways and I have not damaged a pen from too much heat since I started using a thermometer (a decent heat gun helps too - but it isn't critical).

 

If you simply feel adventurous and want to take the risk, one semi-reliable rule is that if the pen is too hot to hold comfortably, it is too hot. The 140-145 degrees F you will need to soften shellac is not so hot that you can't hold the object. Another trick that I witnessed from the local optometrist when I was a kid (with often broken eye-glasses)was him holding the plastic temples to his cheek to check the temperature - I guess if it was too hot for his cheek, it was too hot.

[Kelly G]

To replace the sac, I need to remove the section from the barrel of a streamline 30's Big Red Medium. (It's a Danish Parker.) I have had it soaking in water for 2 days (on and off with tepid and cold), and the section won't budge. Heat will be the next step and since I don't have a heat gun, I am planning to use a hair dryer.

 

It has high/med/low settings. So, how should I approach this? Very low heat for longer periods? Short bursts of high heat for a wave or 2 over the pen? Apply heat at close distance? Far distance? Obviously I've never done this and besides trying to learn what to do, I don't want to burn or break the pen in the process.

So, if any of you could lead me by the hand and offer your best proven techniques for the "hair-dryer treatment", before I decide if I really want to attempt this, I would be very happy.

 

Thanks

 

(Luckily, I was able to pull the still working pressure bar out from the back. But, the sac is all hard when I poked it.)

 

As per my post above - if you have a thermometer in the house that reads to 150 degrees F. or so, use it to check the temperature of the airflow out of the hair dryer. Anything above 160 degrees is pushing your luck with vintage celluloid plastic. You only need 140 - 145 degrees F. for softening shellac, the most likely issue with your pen. Also, a bit of heat - 140 degrees again - is almost always useful when removing a section from a pen. The heat helps to "relax" the plastic and avoid cracking - remember to heat the barrel when reinserting the section.

 

Longer heating at lower temps is better than shorter at higher temps provided that the lower temp is 140 - 145 degrees. Using temps above 165 degrees, even for a short time with celluloid plastic is asking for big trouble - the plastic will go up in flames and very quickly.

 

One more thing - I'm assuming that you know the section in this pen is threaded? It will turn out rather than pull out. Sorry if that is too simplistic, but it is an easy mistake to make with these pens.

 

Good luck.

[Ron2]

Wow! Thanks, everyone, for the very valuable and fast advice. I will keep it in mind and try my best.

In the meantime, I was able to get in toucher with another "pen person" with experience, and I am planning to take the pen to him tomorrow, before I turn on the hair dryer. Let's hope he can help to repair it, as it's in pretty good condition and not a cheap old thing.

 

Thanks again,

 

Ron

[Ernst Bitterman]

I find (without discounting the thermometer) that if it's too hot for my fingers, it's pretty much too hot for the pen.

 

Also, if you've got the pressure bar out, you can dribble some water in through the button hole to get some soaking happening on the inside. Parker suggested that in extremity the Duofold could be converted to an eyedropper, so with the metal removed there's nothing to fear from filling the interior with fluid.

[gyasko]

One more thing - I'm assuming that you know the section in this pen is threaded? It will turn out rather than pull out. Sorry if that is too simplistic, but it is an easy mistake to make with these pens.

 

 

Does that mean that the Danish Big Reds are an exception to the Streamline = friction fit/Flat top = threaded rule of thumb?

[Kelly G]

One more thing - I'm assuming that you know the section in this pen is threaded? It will turn out rather than pull out. Sorry if that is too simplistic, but it is an easy mistake to make with these pens.

 

 

Does that mean that the Danish Big Reds are an exception to the Streamline = friction fit/Flat top = threaded rule of thumb?

 

Good point, I skipped right past the "streamlined" part in the OP - it is likely a friction fit, but I always try turning the sections out just in case.