Bchr Crack Repair?

[Tylerjordan]

I won an auction for a wonderful Moore's non-leakable Safety pen and received it today. Seller did an abysmal job of packing the pen and put the pen in a zip-lock bag in a box full of packing peanuts. Upon opening there is a 3cm crack in the cap (There is at least 1.5cm of crack, the other 1.5 might simply be a fine scratch coincidentally right above the crack). Not sure if seller purposefully avoiding taking pictures of it or if the pen got damaged on account of the abysmal packing by the seller (seeing as he has good feedback, I am assuming he did not describe it improperly, but you never know...)

 

I was wondering if BCHR was repairable and by whom such a repair is best carried out. It would be a shame for a pen in otherwise great condition to go to waste.

 

Furthermore, I paid $67 with shipping for the pen (based on the asking price of $165 for pens with small issues on vintagepens.com. Would it pen even be worth fixing or would it be better to simply get a refund and forget about it?

Edited July 10, 2014 by Tylerjordan

[Chi Town]

A) What is your heart telling you? Go with that!

 

if your heart is telling you to fix it, I have a guy in the Phoenix, AZ area, a professor who does this kind of work. PM me and I will give you his name and info.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Chi Town

[discopig]

Moore Safety pens are rare enough to be worth fixing, but from some hours of research about fixing a cap with a crack myself (Waterman 12 BCHR cap with a lip crack), I've found out that BCHR repair is very difficult and in most cases it will not hold for any amount of time.

[Tylerjordan]

Moore Safety pens are rare enough to be worth fixing, but from some hours of research about fixing a cap with a crack myself (Waterman 12 BCHR cap with a lip crack), I've found out that BCHR repair is very difficult and in most cases it will not hold for any amount of time.

Thanks for the reply. I decided to send the pen for a refund. I did some research and found that there was one person recommended to do the fix, Mr. Horn at Southern Scribe. His prices, although fair, would have been too much for me to have spent on the pen without even knowing whether I'd have to get the cork replaced.

[OcalaFlGuy]

There is only 1 adhesive that has shown any promise with Ebonite (at it escapes me at the moment).

 

For even That to succeed all the oxidization within the crack has to be removed first. Much easier said than done.

 

That oxidization starts the minute the crack occurs.

 

[EDIT] FWIW, were it my pen, I would also have returned it.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited July 11, 2014 by OcalaFlGuy

[Vintagepens]

No adhesive tried to date will give adequate strength in a simple butt joint.

The only reliable solution available is to sleeve the area through which the crack runs, thereby adding fresh material to take the stress.

 

I would estimate the cost of having a cap properly internally sleeved with hard rubber at around $60-80, given the time and skill required.

 

David

[Tylerjordan]

No adhesive tried to date will give adequate strength in a simple butt joint.

The only reliable solution available is to sleeve the area through which the crack runs, thereby adding fresh material to take the stress.

 

I would estimate the cost of having a cap properly internally sleeved with hard rubber at around $60-80, given the time and skill required.

 

David

Thank you for that! I will keep that in mind if I come across a similar pen in the future.

[cmalanis]

I recently faced this problem and tried a wild idea that seems to do the work.

 

I had two different pens with two diferent issues:

1) Moore with a broken piece of the cap, size of a finger nail chopped off; the piece fits right in the gap.

2) a Waterman Safety 14 with one of the helix legs broken still complete but cracked

 

I had a bottle of PLASTI DIP used to dip tools and give them a rubber handle / isolation.

 

... you know where this is going...

 

I carefully added a tiny bit of PLASTI DIP to the cracked cap and ..the safety helix. So far they are both hanging on and looking good.

 

If I pull hard, they might come off, but being partts with NO or MINIMAL mechanical load... seems PLASTI DIP is the 'discovery of the wheel' in BCHR repair.

 

it worked for me!

[Tweel]

The most intriguing technique for hard rubber repair I've seen was jicaino's. An interesting and multi-talented craftsman, I wish he were still around.

[BamaPen]

I have repaired a couple of cracked BCHR caps using Loctite 480. In one case the crack was closed, so all the 480 had to do was to keep it that way. In the other case, it was a long crack, one of those that starts to curve like a letter J, and at the lip of the cap it was standing open. I used 480 in the crack, secured it with a home made clamp.

 

The 480 is black and I applied it very sparingly. In one case I had a tiny bead standing above the crack after everything set, and I was able to clean that off using micromesh. In both cases if you use a loupe you can see that there is a repaired crack but from a normal distance they look quite good - certainly better than an open crack!

 

Both repairs are now over two years old and still holding. I'll admit that I have not stressed them, but I am quite pleased that the one that was standing open has held.

[cmalanis]

that is great news! I have not found the locktite, but will keep one in my drawer.

 

the PlastiDip is an ugly solution, but in the internals of the pen; who cares!

 

it is good to know there are some alternatives to repair BCHR!

[Ron Z]

that is great news! I have not found the locktite, but will keep one in my drawer.

 

the PlastiDip is an ugly solution, but in the internals of the pen; who cares!

 

it is good to know there are some alternatives to repair BCHR!

 

I will bet even money that the Plastic Dip won't hold. It is a coating, not an adhesive. You can peel it off of many surfaces once it has dried.

 

David Nishimura's comment about no reliable adhesives for butt joints still applies. Over 25 years of repairing pens hasn't changed my opinion. Your chances of success are better with a fresh break, but rather low with an old one.

[Greenie]

I have repaired a couple of cracked BCHR caps using Loctite 480. In one case the crack was closed, so all the 480 had to do was to keep it that way. In the other case, it was a long crack, one of those that starts to curve like a letter J, and at the lip of the cap it was standing open. I used 480 in the crack, secured it with a home made clamp.

 

The 480 is black and I applied it very sparingly. In one case I had a tiny bead standing above the crack after everything set, and I was able to clean that off using micromesh. In both cases if you use a loupe you can see that there is a repaired crack but from a normal distance they look quite good - certainly better than an open crack!

 

Both repairs are now over two years old and still holding. I'll admit that I have not stressed them, but I am quite pleased that the one that was standing open has held.

 

+1. I have performed more than a few BHR repairs with Loctite 480. It is great for cap lip cracks that are below the cap threads, and looks great under normal visualization. It is visible as a repair with a loupe. It has also worked well for two pens with barrel thread cracks with friction fit sections - and failed terribly with a threaded section. The friction fit section was sanded down slightly to minimize stress to the repair on insertion, and kept from rotating with a dab of shellac.

 

If you don't mind spending a bit for the adhesive (it is spendy for a small bottle), and you like to try to see if you can improve cracked black hard rubber pens, it is a nice option. Still, it is really best for BHR cap cracks that do not involve the threads.

[pepsiplease69]

 

I will bet even money that the Plastic Dip won't hold. It is a coating, not an adhesive. You can peel it off of many surfaces once it has dried.

 

David Nishimura's comment about no reliable adhesives for butt joints still applies. Over 25 years of repairing pens hasn't changed my opinion. Your chances of success are better with a fresh break, but rather low with an old one.

Hi Ron.

 

I was hoping you'd opine on this. I have a similar problem with a noodlers konrad ebonite. The crack is on the barrel where the cap threads reside. And when the pen is fully inked, the ink leaks from there constantly.

 

I haven't thought about fixing it myself yet. I was wondering if you'll be coming to the SF pen show and if so I could meet with you in person and show you the pen crack.

 

Thanks.

[markh]

 

If you don't mind spending a bit for the adhesive (it is spendy for a small bottle), and you like to try to see if you can improve cracked black hard rubber pens, it is a nice option. Still, it is really best for BHR cap cracks that do not involve the threads.

 

That's the problem. When I bought it, it wasn't that small, and cost close to $40 - looking now I see its $36 at Amazon. The bottle could have probably been used for 50 repairs - more than I will ever need. Once you open it, life is limited - in a month or so it was hardened.

 

If I get it again, I will try using Bloxygen - a spray can of heavier than air inert gas that's supposed to keep oxygen away from glues and paints. I have no idea if this will work until I try.

 

In general, it's good that hard rubber is a tough material - it's really difficult to repair.

.

[BamaPen]

 

That's the problem. When I bought it, it wasn't that small, and cost close to $40 - looking now I see its $36 at Amazon. The bottle could have probably been used for 50 repairs - more than I will ever need. Once you open it, life is limited - in a month or so it was hardened.

 

If I get it again, I will try using Bloxygen - a spray can of heavier than air inert gas that's supposed to keep oxygen away from glues and paints. I have no idea if this will work until I try.

 

In general, it's good that hard rubber is a tough material - it's really difficult to repair.

.

My experience with the Loctite 480 has been quite different than yours. Yes, it is spendy and a typical repair requires about a drop - but I've had the bottle for over two years and the contents are still good. I keep it in the refrigerator, as the bottle suggests, and have had no problems with the adhesive when I occasionally use it.

[markh]

My experience with the Loctite 480 has been quite different than yours. Yes, it is spendy and a typical repair requires about a drop - but I've had the bottle for over two years and the contents are still good. I keep it in the refrigerator, as the bottle suggests, and have had no problems with the adhesive when I occasionally use it.

 

Interesting. I will give that a try. Or maybe use both ideas.

[tamiya]

Loctite 480 is a cyanoacrylate ("superglue").

 

CAs don't need oxygen to cure (so your inert gas don't do much) but they absorb water/moisture for reaction. They can draw out water from surroundings or even material they're meant to glue.

 

They go off faster in humid tropics, not so bad here in dryer Australian air that I can leave an opened bottle on workbench for weeks & it's still ok.

 

I store my new unopened & less used bottles in the fridge (cold slows reaction) and one could ziplock them with silica gel to remove condensation. Keep water away much as possible to extend shelf life.

 

Be aware there's also various CA "kickers" (make CA cure even faster) and primers that are applied to the area to be bonded to make adhesion even better. Have not personally tried on Ebonite to see if they're of any benefit.