Nib Too Long - Cap Won't Close

[watch_art]

so i just got a couple vac style parkers today, and started to have a bit of fun with them. turns out the daggum nib is too big, or something, and when i turned the cap down, i heard scrunch! crappola!!

 

took off cap.

 

bent nib.

 

turd.

 

well, that's not that big of a deal, straightened it out in short order. straight enough. for now. will fix it up later.

 

now, i cannot get that daggum nib and feed set any deeper. the feed is JUUUUUST sticking out the back of the section and the nib is out maybe 1mm longer than my other vac major. both caps fit my previous vac major with no problem, so the nib is definitely out too much on the recent one. can i do something to the cap? or should i continue heating the section and pushing the nib/feed farther down? that's turning out to be a huge pain now that i'm as far in as I am. heat is how i got it in as far as it is, and it's juuust still not enough. should i knock the nib/feed back out, heat the section up in hot hot water, and then shove it in with a whole grunt of force?

 

arg.

 

oh, and i cannot get the durned barrel off of my 51. heat, turn. nothing. heat heat turn turn. nothing. heat heat heat heat heat heat heat turn turn NOTHING.

 

ugh....

[fountainbel]

It looks the previous owner shortened the inner cap to restore the cap/barrel thread fit;

Measure the total depth of the barrel bore minus the depth of the inner cap colllar on which the section front contacts.

The result is the depth for housing the nib.

When not deep enough you probably can drill the end bore of the inner cap slightly deeper.

You don't need to drill as large as the actual inner cap bore, since only the nib point should go in.

Drill the bore 1mm deeper as the effective length the nib sticks outside the section, but check upfront if there still is enough material left to do so !

Wishing you success !

Francis

[mholve]

Ugh, hate when that happens. Happened to my Diamond Point... Except in my case there was a crack in the cap and it slipped beyond the section - same result.

Edited January 11, 2011 by mholve

[watch_art]

So is drilling out the end of the inside of the cap my only real option? Could I add an o-ring or something to add length to the inner cap?

[watch_art]

Or could I take a round file and carefully realm out the section so that I can get the nib and feed to go a bit deeper in there? I'd almost rather do that...

[watch_art]

YAYY!!! Took a round file and wallered out the section just a tiny bit, i mean just enough that you could tell i touched it, and took a flat file and JUUST barely took some meat off the feed. Pushed it all together and PERFECT! Nice TIGHT fit, and the cap fits. Yay!!

[FarmBoy]

YAYY!!! Took a round file and wallered out the section just a tiny bit, i mean just enough that you could tell i touched it, and took a flat file and JUUST barely took some meat off the feed. Pushed it all together and PERFECT! Nice TIGHT fit, and the cap fits. Yay!!

How does it write?

 

The 'fit' of a feed/nib into a Vac section is notoriously tight. General rule is don't knock them out if you don't need to. Did it arrive not working or did it get that way after coming apart.

 

Often the hole is not round and unless you orientate the nib as before it will not seat correctly.

 

FB

[watch_art]

it writes beautifully! a nice medium line. smooth as silk. i had looked in the section before resetting the nib/feed but didn't see any indentation where the nib used to be. usually there's a pretty clear mark where it was, but not here.

 

general rule? ha! that's good to know now. i should have left it alone obviously. but you know me. if i have something, i have to take it apart and play with it.

[kirchh]

It looks the previous owner shortened the inner cap to restore the cap/barrel thread fit.

Not so; as the poster wrote, "the nib is out maybe 1mm longer than my other vac major. both caps fit my previous vac major with no problem, so the nib is definitely out too much on the recent one."

 

--Daniel

[Ernst Bitterman]

I suspect the real problem is the point and feed having been pulled, and then not reset to the correct depth. They're devils to get back into the section and "good enough" really isn't, given how much space was allowed inside the cap. I've spent a LOT of time on the few Vacumatics I've had to take the point out of wrestling the bugger back in so there's enough clearance not to cause trouble.

[Ron Z]

A common problem and I'm afraid, a commonly used but quite incorrect solution. This is something that I have been mulling over for the last couple of weeks.... I've just replaced a feed in a pen that was shaved so that the person working on the pen could get it back in again. I've also replaced sections that have been reamed out for the same reason - because material was removed the nib and feed were now loose in the section.

 

The fit between nib and feed can be snug to begin with, add the nib, and it can be very tight. For instance I've installed NOS Parker vac feeds in NOS Parker vac sections, and it seems impossibly tight. The parts were made to standard dimensions so they should fit, and fit them together, Parker did. If the nib and feed were removed from the section, they will go back in again. This can be, and should be, done without modification. The fact that it is difficult is not the fault of the nib and feed.

 

Remember that the nib is a wedge. As you press it into the section with the feed it will get tighter. There is a tremendous amount of pressure holding it all together. That keeps the nib from shifting, and also seals around the nib and feed to keep ink from oozing out. The ID of the section will be over the OD of the feed, but very close to if not slightly UNDER the diameter of the nib and very tail of the feed combined. If the ID is too big, you'll end up with a nib and feed that are loose, and may have to set them in too far to compensate.

 

Make sure that the parts are clean. Make sure that you line things up properly, and if possible line the nib up to where it originally was in the section. You may need to use heat to soften the section a bit so that the material can stretch slightly as you put the nib and feed into the section. Don't over do it, or you can end up with a nib and feed that are loose enough to shift. I use a rubber pad to grip the nib and feed when I set a nib. You may have to go so far as to use some kind of nib vise to hold the nib and feed as you set them if your fingers are not strong enough. But don't go shaving material off to compensate because you can't set the nib in place. If it came out of that section, it will go back in.

 

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS check to see that the nib is set in deep enough. I use an inner cap gauge to measure the length of the inner cap, and then hold it up to the nib to make sure that it will clear. Use two toothpicks side by side, two coffee stirrers, anything that will allow you to measure that inner cap depth.

[watch_art]

mmm... well, I know I did it wrong by working off some of the material, but I feel it was such a small amount that I'm okay. Got the nib and feed to set in there just right, nice and tight, and all seems right in the world. I'll report in after a while and say if things are good or not.

[viclip]

I've used lubricant with good results to ease stubborn feed/nib assemblies into sections (I warm up the sections too esp. if the fit is tight). I generally use the same lubricant that I use on Vac diaphragm exteriors i.e. either saliva or soapy water, the latter being better. Both are water thus ink soluble so any residue should wash out as the pen is inked, I would think. This doesn't appear to be a commonly utilized procedure, is there a downside to using water soluble lube to aid in slapping the front section back together when fitment is tight?

[kirchh]

...if possible line the nib up to where it originally was in the section.

Let me emphasize this important point that Ron made. If you don't put the bits back where they were, you are, in effect, trying to put a square peg into a round hole. The cross-section of the nib and feed assembly is, loosely speaking, a slight oval, and the section bore's cross-section will generally have distorted into a matching oval. Trying to assemble those two oval shapes in an orientation other than the matching one is going to prove problematic.

 

I don't do much work along these lines, but I do two things when trying to determine the sweet spot if I have not marked the section (always a good idea). I peer into the section bore from the front; often, there is a nice clear imprint of where the nib tail was. Failing that, I gently insert the nib+feed just to the point of mild resistance, then I rotate the section relative to the nib+feed while gently pressing things together. Usually, the nib+feed will fall more deeply into the section distinctly at one orientation; after going back and forth a few times to verify the orientation and get it centered, I press it all together.

 

--Daniel

[watch_art]

ah kirchh! great advice. i did look in the section before trying to reassemble, but saw no marks. weird, I know. that or they were so faint i just couldn't see them. didn't think about rotating. that's a good idea. and MARKING before I take it apart. DUH. why haven't I been doing that??? from now on for sure.

 

thanks guys.

[Ron Z]

A piece of white paper on the bench helps - it reflects the light back up the bore of the section, making it much easier to see the impression left by the nib. It may be subtle, but it's there.

[watch_art]

thanks ron. i'm going to do better in the future. i promise.

 

(i feel like a school kid with a whole bunch of teachers trying to knock some sense into me) hopefully it all takes.

[leopet]

Happened to my Parker Victory, only the nib survived, really the worst..

[fountainbel]

It looks I've reacted wrong on the problem ,sorry for that !

I'm however surprised the nib tip on vacumatic's comes so close to the bottom of the inner cap.

I could be wrong, but in my experience it remains at least 2 mm from the end of the inner cap bore, so the 1mm difference should not be a problem.

But in the end luckily no harm is done, the nib point does not touch anymore.

Francis

[watch_art]

true. and it is one heck of a sweet writing pen. currently loaded with FPN van gogh starry nights.

 

lovin it.