Bravo, Doug. I have yet to muster the courage to try a repair on one of these, so well done and congratulations. Love those Lifetime and Feather Touch nibs; when writing with one it makes me feel that Walter A. Sheaffer is sitting next to me. Cheers, mate.
A great resurrection, Doug. Using the Stik-tac to hold the blind cap was the way to go. Those threads were horrible. Thankfully the nib and feed were in good shape. The cap and barrel came out beautifully, considering the condition the pen began. This was a tough one. You should hang a shingle for your valuable work outside your home.
Hey Doug. I was just at a pen show and talked to a vendor about a restored vintage pen. He was somewhat evasive about details; in my opinion; and the pen didn't look as good as the restorations you do, so I've decided I'll just wait till you have another Winter Blow Out Sale, to buy a vintage pen. That rose Vacumatic is awesome.
Wasn't sure about this one when I saw that gouge. But it's instructive to see you at work with those tools, so bring on more mangled pens I say. Maybe next the one with the warped tines?
That is a pretty Balance. I have a lever fill white dot from the same '36-'42 time frame. I was lucky when I got the section out that the sac was good so I concluded that my grandma must have had it worked on at some point.
I always make sure to dry these before heating as the celluloid can go cloudy from the heated water, it doesn't seem to have to get very hot to do this. Don't be intimidated by drilling the old unit out to replace the old seal, it's difficult to go too far. If you really wanted to fix the threads I have had good luck 3d printing ABS packing units and solvent welding to the celluloid. It would be possible to drill the back out including the threads to replace with a new 3D printed replacement with threads if you wanted. Stopping the printer and embedding the o ring in the print works well. I use an ABS + acetone slurry to weld the parts. I have done several tuckaways like this, cutting the old packing unit off using a pipe cutter and welding the printed replacement (they have an internal barrel), they still work after 3+ years and I can tug on the plunger with a lot of force without breaking it. I think I have files with the threads somewhere.
Thanks, Doug, for restoring my faith in restoring, well, you know. A very pretty little pocket pen I bought needs its plunger seal replaced, (not the kind that stops water flowing out of the toilet tank), as it flops around inside the barrel and I can't reach in far enough to even try twisting it off. But after watching this near-miracle, and after re-watching several times, maybe I'll see about heating the inner rod. Eeek!
Doug, fantastic work again. Every time I see the previous owners messing around with such FP's like hooligans without rhyme or reason, I want to cry. You did it again and gave a dead FP a new life. A little pathetic, but entirely true. It's such a georgeous looking pen and now shiny again and writing as well.
Nice video, Doug! I like the pen and your restoration of it. It's too bad about the threads at the rear end. I have a Shaeffer vac filler matching the pencil you showed at the end of the video, but the thread piece at the end doesn't stay in satisfactorily, as it is friction fit and isn't fastened with resin or shelac. I should take it apart one day and see if I can get that working better. You've inspired me to look at it!
Awesome work Doug! I love this shape of fountain pen. I just can't get over how it seems Leonardo abandoned the Furore and Furore grande shapes. Yes, yes... I'm still complaining about them making more new finishes in the Furore haha
@@InkquiringMinds I have mine in Bronze which is my favorite and ginger. And my my Grande Furore are Blue Positano and Blue Hawaii. I thought about getting a gold nib for my Bronze but don't know that it's worth the extra moola. Do you still have your white one?
Great repair Doug for your first time,I must have done at least 20 of these great pens,I always first try soaking the plunger shaft seal because it as usually dried out & 8 out of 10 times it works,just put silicone grease on the inside of the gasket seal & it stops it drying out.When it doesn’t work I use the drill out the packing method & replace with a ‘O’ ring.
Good tip! I did soak the pen in pen flush in my ultrasonic before I started to work on it. I don't understand the drilling of the end packing unit? How do you replace the blind cap threads with an O ring?
@@InkquiringMinds You drill it out from the section end,remove old packing put in O ring & cap it with a plastic washer which you seal with MEK(a liquid which melts the washer to the old seal plug).But in your case the threads are damaged.Richard Binder as an excellent diagrams showing you how to do this repair.
@@InkquiringMinds As @edwardwiper1323 said, the way to fix the packing unit is to drill it out from the inside, use a dental tool from the inside to pull out the old packing material, insert a properly sized o-ring into the cavity left when the packing is removed, then affix a washer to keep the o-ring in place. This results in a nice, tight-fitting o-ring that seals well around the rod and holds the vacuum. Richard Binder and others have good instructions on this process online, and the o-ring and washer are available from Anderson Pens. The other problem that prevents a good seal is if the rod itself is damaged or corroded. You were fortunate that the rod was in great condition. Sometimes the metal corrodes inside that sheath and that is the end of the rod. Other times, Sheaffer used a bare rod and it can corrode as well. Finding a replacement rod can be a real challenge, as there were many different sizes. I've never seen blind cap threads ruined like you encountered. Your solution to that is very creative!
@@johnhubbard8058 That repair is beyond my skills on a pen that doesn't belong to me. Drilling from inside the barrel requires the precision of a lathe.
@@InkquiringMinds I admit that I have not done it, but the instructions I've seen show the drilling done by hand. Apparently, the conical shape of the tip of the drill bit will center up sufficiently well in the hole in the packing unit. It doesn't have to be too precise, just large enough to dig out the old packing and slip the o-ring in to replace it. But I gave up when I found out about how many different rods there are, and I pay an expert to fix mine!
Yay Doug! What a great success. As I always say, "mother, the necessity for an invention!". Oh, sorry, no that's necessity the mother of invention! I have a contribution heading your way in a week or so, I will keep you updated.😊
Bravo, Doug. I have yet to muster the courage to try a repair on one of these, so well done and congratulations. Love those Lifetime and Feather Touch nibs; when writing with one it makes me feel that Walter A. Sheaffer is sitting next to me. Cheers, mate.
Walt is checking your penmanship! LOL
A great resurrection, Doug. Using the Stik-tac to hold the blind cap was the way to go. Those threads were horrible.
Thankfully the nib and feed were in good shape. The cap and barrel came out beautifully, considering the condition the pen began. This was a tough one.
You should hang a shingle for your valuable work outside your home.
That would make it a "job"! :( Thanks, Paul!
Hey Doug. I was just at a pen show and talked to a vendor about a restored vintage pen. He was somewhat evasive about details; in my opinion; and the pen didn't look as good as the restorations you do, so I've decided I'll just wait till you have another Winter Blow Out Sale, to buy a vintage pen. That rose Vacumatic is awesome.
Wonderful! Thank you!
Wasn't sure about this one when I saw that gouge. But it's instructive to see you at work with those tools, so bring on more mangled pens I say. Maybe next the one with the warped tines?
I'm going to work on the Parker Challenger with the mangled nib as soon as the new sac arrives.
That is a pretty Balance. I have a lever fill white dot from the same '36-'42 time frame. I was lucky when I got the section out that the sac was good so I concluded that my grandma must have had it worked on at some point.
I always make sure to dry these before heating as the celluloid can go cloudy from the heated water, it doesn't seem to have to get very hot to do this. Don't be intimidated by drilling the old unit out to replace the old seal, it's difficult to go too far.
If you really wanted to fix the threads I have had good luck 3d printing ABS packing units and solvent welding to the celluloid. It would be possible to drill the back out including the threads to replace with a new 3D printed replacement with threads if you wanted. Stopping the printer and embedding the o ring in the print works well. I use an ABS + acetone slurry to weld the parts. I have done several tuckaways like this, cutting the old packing unit off using a pipe cutter and welding the printed replacement (they have an internal barrel), they still work after 3+ years and I can tug on the plunger with a lot of force without breaking it. I think I have files with the threads somewhere.
Wonderful advice and I understand the process. Not sure I"m ready to give a try just yet though. (scaredy cat)
Hi ChrisM-st1pw I do some 3d printing with a Form2 acrylic printer, and I would like to try your file if you are willing to share.
Thanks, Doug, for restoring my faith in restoring, well, you know. A very pretty little pocket pen I bought needs its plunger seal replaced, (not the kind that stops water flowing out of the toilet tank), as it flops around inside the barrel and I can't reach in far enough to even try twisting it off. But after watching this near-miracle, and after re-watching several times, maybe I'll see about heating the inner rod. Eeek!
That was a tough one! But, another job well done...
Doug, fantastic work again. Every time I see the previous owners messing around with such FP's like hooligans without rhyme or reason, I want to cry. You did it again and gave a dead FP a new life. A little pathetic, but entirely true. It's such a georgeous looking pen and now shiny again and writing as well.
Thank you @viggen232003. That is much appreciated!
Nice video, Doug! I like the pen and your restoration of it. It's too bad about the threads at the rear end. I have a Shaeffer vac filler matching the pencil you showed at the end of the video, but the thread piece at the end doesn't stay in satisfactorily, as it is friction fit and isn't fastened with resin or shelac. I should take it apart one day and see if I can get that working better. You've inspired me to look at it!
Very cool! Thank you!
Nicely done, Sir Doug.
Thank you kindly
Awesome work Doug! I love this shape of fountain pen. I just can't get over how it seems Leonardo abandoned the Furore and Furore grande shapes. Yes, yes... I'm still complaining about them making more new finishes in the Furore haha
I know. Me too. I have a Furore in the discontinued Galaxy finish and LOVE it!
@@InkquiringMinds I have mine in Bronze which is my favorite and ginger. And my my Grande Furore are Blue Positano and Blue Hawaii. I thought about getting a gold nib for my Bronze but don't know that it's worth the extra moola. Do you still have your white one?
Great repair Doug for your first time,I must have done at least 20 of these great pens,I always first try soaking the plunger shaft seal because it as usually dried out & 8 out of 10 times it works,just put silicone grease on the inside of the gasket seal & it stops it drying out.When it doesn’t work I use the drill out the packing method & replace with a ‘O’ ring.
Good tip! I did soak the pen in pen flush in my ultrasonic before I started to work on it. I don't understand the drilling of the end packing unit? How do you replace the blind cap threads with an O ring?
@@InkquiringMinds You drill it out from the section end,remove old packing put in O ring & cap it with a plastic washer which you seal with MEK(a liquid which melts the washer to the old seal plug).But in your case the threads are damaged.Richard Binder as an excellent diagrams showing you how to do this repair.
@@InkquiringMinds As @edwardwiper1323 said, the way to fix the packing unit is to drill it out from the inside, use a dental tool from the inside to pull out the old packing material, insert a properly sized o-ring into the cavity left when the packing is removed, then affix a washer to keep the o-ring in place. This results in a nice, tight-fitting o-ring that seals well around the rod and holds the vacuum. Richard Binder and others have good instructions on this process online, and the o-ring and washer are available from Anderson Pens.
The other problem that prevents a good seal is if the rod itself is damaged or corroded. You were fortunate that the rod was in great condition. Sometimes the metal corrodes inside that sheath and that is the end of the rod. Other times, Sheaffer used a bare rod and it can corrode as well. Finding a replacement rod can be a real challenge, as there were many different sizes.
I've never seen blind cap threads ruined like you encountered. Your solution to that is very creative!
@@johnhubbard8058 That repair is beyond my skills on a pen that doesn't belong to me. Drilling from inside the barrel requires the precision of a lathe.
@@InkquiringMinds I admit that I have not done it, but the instructions I've seen show the drilling done by hand. Apparently, the conical shape of the tip of the drill bit will center up sufficiently well in the hole in the packing unit. It doesn't have to be too precise, just large enough to dig out the old packing and slip the o-ring in to replace it. But I gave up when I found out about how many different rods there are, and I pay an expert to fix mine!
Yay Doug! What a great success. As I always say, "mother, the necessity for an invention!". Oh, sorry, no that's necessity the mother of invention! I have a contribution heading your way in a week or so, I will keep you updated.😊
Thank you John. All four pens have been a great adventure!