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Red-Hot Estie (It's On Fire)


WirsPlm

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So, due to a series of unfortunate events this morning, I am now the owner of a flame-charred Esterbrook. I've scraped away the charcoal, and what's left looks...semi-usable.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions and/or links for what I can do to repair this sucker? Oh, and make the barrel wider, because despite being literally roasted it still won't let the section (that came out of this very barrel!) back in. :angry:

 

http://i.imgur.com/aVGEc1Z.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/EfQqBl9.jpg

Edited by WirsPlm
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This is WAY above my repair skill level so don't take this as gospel, more SWAGing.

 

The broken melted piece won't be rehabbed itself that I can see.

 

You could cut the bad part off and rethread below it but that would likely have a way too short pen.

 

The most likely to succeed repair would be to graft a new threaded section from another pen onto

this one. My main question relative to that is how far down this pens barrel has it's diameter changed

from the original size that a replacement piece would have to match? Another problem too is you'd

likely be sacrificing a perfectly good barrel to get the piece to MAYBE be able to fix this one with with the

most likely scenario being you'd end up with two ruined barrels.

 

It's not financially practical to have a pro do this and the solvent welding required isn't a beginning repairperson

type of repair.

 

Probably the best use for this barrel is as a learning tool to keep around as a reminder to Not Do whatever

you did to get it this way...

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

 

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You are not alone . . .

 

fpn_1363452119__hpim1046.jpg

I was heating the barrel of this pen to coax out heat bump or something. If you do it right, sometimes you can heat an overheated area and it will return to its original shape, but not if you overdo it because you have no patience. This barrel smoked, literally. It was a nice pen, too.

Edited by pajaro

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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This is WAY above my repair skill level so don't take this as gospel, more SWAGing.

 

The broken melted piece won't be rehabbed itself that I can see.

 

You could cut the bad part off and rethread below it but that would likely have a way too short pen.

 

The most likely to succeed repair would be to graft a new threaded section from another pen onto

this one. My main question relative to that is how far down this pens barrel has it's diameter changed

from the original size that a replacement piece would have to match? Another problem too is you'd

likely be sacrificing a perfectly good barrel to get the piece to MAYBE be able to fix this one with with the

most likely scenario being you'd end up with two ruined barrels.

 

It's not financially practical to have a pro do this and the solvent welding required isn't a beginning repairperson

type of repair.

 

Probably the best use for this barrel is as a learning tool to keep around as a reminder to Not Do whatever

you did to get it this way...

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

 

I was kind of thinking that cutting the damage would be the best option, so glad I'm not the only one with that thought. I would be fine with a very short pen. Any advice on cutting and rethreading tools?

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You are not alone . . .

 

fpn_1363452119__hpim1046.jpg

I was heating the barrel of this pen to coax out heat bump or something. If you do it right, sometimes you can heat an overheated area and it will return to its original shape, but not if you overdo it because you have no patience. This barrel smoked, literally. It was a nice pen, too.

Thanks for sharing!

 

I figured I couldn't be the first person to do something like this. It seems like a really easy thing to do.

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Just a guess but I'd think the easiest thing to do would be to source a replacement barrel. Seem to recall them running around a ten-spot at the last pen show.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Just a guess but I'd think the easiest thing to do would be to source a replacement barrel. Seem to recall them running around a ten-spot at the last pen show.

 

+1

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Probably the best use for this barrel is as a learning tool to keep around as a reminder to Not Do whatever

you did to get it this way...

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

 

 

+1

And consider it a "blessing in disguise" and not a "coulda been".

As in "coulda been a Waterman Patrician Turquoise, which an otherwise savvy pen collector fella I know fried in similar fashion some years ago .... "

Best Regards
Paul


“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
– Albert Einstein

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Despite being a nice pen, Esties are only worth so much time, energy and $$$... Find another barrel or pen. Just checked my Estie parts bin and I only have extra blue barrels, or I'd send you one. Good luck!

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Even for funzies you're just so far behind the power curve here.

 

To rethread it means special dies with 3 (I think) starts in them. Cap and barrel threads aren't just simple threads.

 

To solvent weld would cost you about $10 for a quart (smallest size I could find) of MEK which is really nasty stuff.

(And I have a high tolerance for nasty stuff.) The chance of a full success on your first couple solvent weld attempts

is small. You may need to redo the threads from a beginners solvent weld even if it holds.

 

Unless you're going to repair a fair amount of pens, it almost doesn't make sense to even try to get good at this.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

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Okay ! I won a $5.51 Esterbrook and a $7.00 Esterbrook via Ebay. I was going to attempt first restoration projects.

Now, on hold.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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Okay ! I won a $5.51 Esterbrook and a $7.00 Esterbrook via Ebay. I was going to attempt first restoration projects.

Now, on hold.

Oh, most Esties are very easy to repair. This is my 3rd one, and it only caught fire because I got sloppy and impatient and put it near a very hot thing (*cough*thestove*cough*). The lesson here is, '3 inches is not far enough when using hot metal', not 'don't repair Esties'.

 

Also, totally envious of your mad eBay skills. 5.51 and 7 are pretty good prices.

Edited by WirsPlm
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Despite being a nice pen, Esties are only worth so much time, energy and $$$... Find another barrel or pen. Just checked my Estie parts bin and I only have extra blue barrels, or I'd send you one. Good luck!

Thank you for the thought! I agree a red/blue pen would be a little odd.

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Even for funzies you're just so far behind the power curve here.

 

To rethread it means special dies with 3 (I think) starts in them. Cap and barrel threads aren't just simple threads.

 

To solvent weld would cost you about $10 for a quart (smallest size I could find) of MEK which is really nasty stuff.

(And I have a high tolerance for nasty stuff.) The chance of a full success on your first couple solvent weld attempts

is small. You may need to redo the threads from a beginners solvent weld even if it holds.

 

Unless you're going to repair a fair amount of pens, it almost doesn't make sense to even try to get good at this.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

Eh. I like tinkering, so this is more hobby than economic decision.

 

ATM, I'm going to look for a replacement on eBay so I'll have a working red pen, and keep this one around to play with. I mean, it can't really become more ruined. If I can just get the section back in the barrel I'll put a calligraphy nib in and keep the pen at home. There's enough threads left to hold the cap on when the pen's not moving.

 

Of course, I have to actually expand the barrel to fit the section back in.

Edited by WirsPlm
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Reminds me to be careful when using a blowdrier when removing the section :yikes:

 

It is very unlikely you'd flambe one with a hair drier. You could easily warp a barrel with a drier but not go full combusto. The hobbyist heatguns however, will reach Post Toastie level pretty quickly.

 

When taking a section out wrap your fingers around the barrel up to where the section is. This has your fingers as both heat shields and heat sinks. Have that last finger right next to where you are heating, if it's too hot for that finger, it's too hot for the pen.

 

In the words of Ron Zorn, See with your fingers.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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Oh, most Esties are very easy to repair. This is my 3rd one, and it only caught fire because I got sloppy and impatient and put it near a very hot thing (*cough*thestove*cough*). The lesson here is, '3 inches is not far enough when using hot metal', not 'don't repair Esties'.

 

Also, totally envious of your mad eBay skills. 5.51 and 7 are pretty good prices.

Yeah, +1 here on the Ebay envy. The best I ever did on *any* Esterbrook was $9 + tax for my first one, a black SJ in the wild.

I haven't quite gotten up the nerve to do the repairs on any of mine yet. I'm pretty sure that they mostly just need new sacs, and possibly j-bars on some of them. It's just a matter of finding the time to actually devote to it. I owe my husband the red J I promised him as a belated birthday present, replacing the broad stub that came on it with an EF nib (I have a 9450 that's in another pen, and a 2550 that I got on Ebay specifically for him), but I want to work on one or more of the other pens first just so I know I won't screw that one up....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Reminds me to be careful when using a blowdrier when removing the section :yikes:

If I'd stuck with a hairdryer this wouldn't have happened (probably...my hairdryer started smoking which was why I stopped using it).

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I toasted mine with a heatgun. I don't think so much heat is generally necessary to pull the section of an Esterbrook. In fact, several of the pens I have resacced have allowed me to pull the section without heat, the section just came out with a modest pull while turning the section and pulling at the same time. Those went back in the same way, as the friction hold was sufficient. It's worth trying before using other measures.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Two things:

1. 140 degrees F, maybe 145 - that is all you need - going beyond can result in - well, you know...

2. Source a new barrel and save the old one; sometimes you need to shave off some of the plastic to melt in a solvent to fill a crack or some such. It is good to have a shoe box full of donor plastic.

 

Chalk it up to a lesson learned with an inexpensive pen and move on! Good luck on your next pen.

May we live, not by our fears but by our hopes; not by our words but by our deeds; not by our disappointments but by our dreams.

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