Free Restoration Service

[siamackz]

21 hours ago, TinyTim said:

Siamack you are a magician. and While I will never attempt these restorations it is a sheer pleasure to watch the videos and see you bring back to life these vintage pens and heirlooms which mean so much to the owners. 

Thanks so much for the encouragement!

[siamackz]

20 hours ago, como said:

@siamackz Thank you so much for sharing these videos and photos with us. I know that behind the passion is a curious, diligent, determined, brave and smart mind. I admire your courage to take on restoration work for other people's pens. Though I am not afraid to work on the pens I bought to service and restore, I have been hesitant to take on repair work for others, very aware of the burden of responsibilities. I have done only the more basics for others. You must have known that once you accept the challenge, you've gone beyond the point of no return 😀! So when you feel just a little overwhelmed, you know I am cheering for you!👏

😀  Thank you so much for always being so encouraging!  

[siamackz]

I just repaired an acrylic crack. Here is a video in case you are interested - 

 

[siamackz]

A recently repaired Eversharp Doric. These are not the easiest to disassemble so I thought it might help to make and share a video - 

 

[siamackz]

Here's a video on how to replace broken helix rods on MB 146/149 pistons

 

[Koenson]

On 3/6/2020 at 7:15 PM, siamackz said:

I just restored a beautiful family heirloom - a Montblanc 644 in green striated from the 1950s, passed down from grandfather to the younger generations. It had a broken feed and failed piston seal.

 

 

 

 

 

Dear siamackz,

 

I'm currently repairing one of these myself, and was wondering what size O-ring you used. Mine has a cork that is broken into pieces and almost entirely desintegrated so I cannot measure it's dimensions. I believe the O-ring is a simpler and more durable solution to the cork-method. 

 

Thank you!

[siamackz]

2 hours ago, Koenson said:

 

Dear siamackz,

 

I'm currently repairing one of these myself, and was wondering what size O-ring you used. Mine has a cork that is broken into pieces and almost entirely desintegrated so I cannot measure it's dimensions. I believe the O-ring is a simpler and more durable solution to the cork-method. 

 

Thank you!

Hi,m, I have a few different sizes of O-rings and test then with each pen. I have learned that every pen might require a slightly different size because of the expansion and contraction of the barrel. Sometimes none of the O-rings are a perfect fit and I use cork instead. It’s a case by case thing. In general a good rule of thumb is to measure the inner diameter of the barrel with a caliber and then use an O ring or cork that I 0.2mm thicker. That’s a good place to start IMHO. Corks is much more forgiving and you can tighten or loosen the piston head nut to get a tighter or loser fit in the barrel, but it’s less durable. 

[Koenson]

1 hour ago, siamackz said:

Hi,m, I have a few different sizes of O-rings and test then with each pen. I have learned that every pen might require a slightly different size because of the expansion and contraction of the barrel. Sometimes none of the O-rings are a perfect fit and I use cork instead. It’s a case by case thing. In general a good rule of thumb is to measure the inner diameter of the barrel with a caliber and then use an O ring or cork that I 0.2mm thicker. That’s a good place to start IMHO. Corks is much more forgiving and you can tighten or loosen the piston head nut to get a tighter or loser fit in the barrel, but it’s less durable. 

 

I was hoping for a standard solution, but I believe you are right that a case by case solution is often required. 

Thank you!

[Splat]

Hello Siamackz,  what a very kindly, sociable member you are, thank you for that!

 

I wonder whether you can help with my newfound passion for pre 1950’s safety pens - I live in Paris and can still pick up 18Ct nibbed examples with serious flexibility.  These can really suit my writing. 
 

I found a sad capless pen with a badly bent tine not long ago, I reshaped and adjusted the tine to discover that this nib was exceptional, really a great one.  So I made it an aluminium short cap which screws on well and is ink proof. 
 

My next task is to replace the cork rear gasket with a silicone ring and probably a new plastic cork gasket too - I just want to try that.

my problem is that the helix retaining pin will not push out (I suspect that someone glued it in place).  Yes the helix is cracked but not too badly - I think I can probably repair that for the moment… but, do I dare to try to drill out the rear helix retaining pin?  It is tiny!  I’m not too bad at delicate repairs but this is old and bound to be brittle.   All in all it is a terrific dip pen for the moment and I’d hate to destroy it. I enclose a photograph of its writing, nib and new aluminium cap.

[Splat]

A quick update.  I found the video on dismantling the various types of safety pen helix and removing a stuck retaining pin using WD40.   Unfortunately I found that excellent advice too late as while very carefully attempting to push the retaining pin out, I managed to crack and break off the helix.   Just what I’d feared and anticipated.

 I think that as I have managed to reassemble the pen and that it does still wind in and out satisfactorily, I shall have to keep it as a dip pen.  I have MS and don’t think I’m really capable of making a copy of my broken helix, I doubt my dexterity frankly. That said I’m pleased with my homemade cap, it is an airtight fit as when I opened the pen 24 hours after my last dip, the nib was still wet and immediately wrote without tramlines - the very limited ink hadn’t evaporated.  I’m just running a test, I’ve re dipped the nib and immediately screwed the homemade cap on, there’s no leakage, I’ll now give it 24 hours and check that the nib is still as wet as it was.

 

[txomsy]

Dunno... but maybe it would be easier with a 3D printer to make a replica of the helix? Then all you would need is a model and finding a 3D printing service nearby or by mail.

[Splat]

9 hours ago, txomsy said:

Dunno... but maybe it would be easier with a 3D printer to make a replica of the helix? Then all you would need is a model and finding a 3D printing service nearby or by mail.

That’s a thought txomsy, my original helix is almost completely intact, it could be copied.  The usual way is to wrap the original in thin tracing paper and carefully trace the outline, then drill the correct hole down the same diameter new vulcanite rod, wrap the same paper around that new rod and grind out the helix to exactly match the paper tracing.  I could have tackled that until recently but better not now.  3d printing might well be the answer, i think it would depend of the rigidity of the printing material.  I do have friends with high quality 3D printers, I must ask them.  Thank you for the thought!

[txomsy]

You are welcome.

 

There was a time I strove to keep at the forefront of (digital) technology. No longer so, as I can't afford to, so I have no good knowledge of 3D printing; but I do have surgeon friends who tell me they can order 3D-printed high-quality, surgery-grade strength specifically designed tools nowadays. I guess that depends on the printer, and most will be plastic-based, but I do not know the specific qualities of or the materials used by consumer-grade printers (nor their precision). I would expect, nevertheless, that if FPs can be 3D-printed, then at least some specific parts also might (but this one may have specific stress demands).

 

Good luck and let us know (so we may dream)

[Splat]

I’ve been checking Txomsy, nylon looks to be the best 3D printer thread for my need and yes I think you’ve probably cracked the problem (what an awful pun… sorry).  I’ll check with my friends - who have a professional printer - this week to see what they can do.  
I’m delighted with your timely suggestion and hope it can be done!  If this saves this remarkable pen (what a terrific, flexible but minuscule nib) I shall be over the moon!

[txomsy]

I wish you the best of lucks!

[siamackz]

On 4/24/2022 at 4:26 PM, Splat said:

I’ve been checking Txomsy, nylon looks to be the best 3D printer thread for my need and yes I think you’ve probably cracked the problem (what an awful pun… sorry).  I’ll check with my friends - who have a professional printer - this week to see what they can do.  
I’m delighted with your timely suggestion and hope it can be done!  If this saves this remarkable pen (what a terrific, flexible but minuscule nib) I shall be over the moon!

Sorry for getting here so late. But I see you’ve received excellent advice already! Good luck and do report back if you are successful - it will be wonderful learning for us all!

[Nmarie33]

Hi Siamackz,

 

I have a 1990s Waterman Expert that was a gift. I dropped it on the floor, and the nib isn't visibly bent, but it's very scratchy and inconsistent now. Probably realigning it is a piece of cake, but I have a condition that makes my hands shake, so when I try to align I feel like I'm making it worse. Do you think you could help?

[dipperdolphin]

Hiya, I am quite interested in this, however it's not a vintage pen - just one quite sentimental to me as it was my first ever fountain pen that I got when I was quite young. It's a cheap pen, just a Parker Frontier, however holds quite a bit of sentimental value to me.

 

As I was about ~8 when I got it, its quite a bit damaged - nib is bent somewhat after being dropped on it. The Parker arrow is loose as I used to fiddle with it by pushing it side to side, the rubber on the grip is ripped to shreds, and the cap is lose. I also suspect it's very dried out inside as I haven't used it in years and years.

 

Wondering if you would be interested?

 

Thank you very much

[siamackz]

On 9/12/2022 at 1:52 AM, dipperdolphin said:

Hiya, I am quite interested in this, however it's not a vintage pen - just one quite sentimental to me as it was my first ever fountain pen that I got when I was quite young. It's a cheap pen, just a Parker Frontier, however holds quite a bit of sentimental value to me.

 

As I was about ~8 when I got it, its quite a bit damaged - nib is bent somewhat after being dropped on it. The Parker arrow is loose as I used to fiddle with it by pushing it side to side, the rubber on the grip is ripped to shreds, and the cap is lose. I also suspect it's very dried out inside as I haven't used it in years and years.

 

Wondering if you would be interested?

 

Thank you very much

Hello, please DM me and I’ll be happy to help if possible. 

[siamackz]

Here’s a video on an Oma’s Extra I just restored -