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Frank · Admin

Parker Vac Barrel Crack

Chthulhu · Rawr.

Frank, if the holes run around the barrel you'll probably eventually end up with your pen in two pieces. Solvent-welding the thing would just extend the time until that happens, but gluing a sleeve inside the barrel will both seal and reinforce the barrel. Unless you're emotionally attached enough to the pen to shell out the money for that sleeve, I recommend cleaning the pen up and just keeping it as an ornament.

-- Edited by Chthulhu on Saturday 20th of March 2010 12:38:57 AM

Frank · Admin

Thanks for the info and advice Mike!

No, not attached to it. It is my oldest pen though!
I was thinking- it's a good thing I did not sell it!!
It's further proof you should try a pen before selling it, giving it away, etc..

I was telling my Dad about this, and he figures putting epoxy resin inside the barrel should take care of it. Seems like a feasible idea- it will dry clear, and should form a seal.
Does a Vac Pen open easily from the front? I think it is only threaded there. All of the Vac "goodies" are in the back of the barrel. I have never opened one before!

Frank

Chthulhu · Rawr.

That I can't tell you; I've never had one apart from the front end either.

Chthulhu · Rawr.

Frank, I think the epoxy coat would help, though it would be an intermediate repair between just sealing the crack and putting a sleeve in the barrel; dried epoxy is fairly tough stuff and would help to reinforce the barrel, just not as much as a sleeve would (a sleeve would prevent the barrel from bending and opening the crack wider).

Hmmm ... if the barrel can be filled with epoxy under pressure to force it into the crack, allowed to harden completely, then drilled out to not quite the original ID ... it would probably be more work than a sleeve, but wouldn't reduce ink capacity as much.

DWL · ***

STOP!!!

No epoxy at all or ever on celluloid please.

The pen is delaminating on one of the layers. The best & only thing to do is finish the break, then solvent weld it back together with acetone so it's a complete weld and not a patch that can still fail.

remove the section & filler unit. complete the break (painful, yes I know, but it has to be done) then with 100% acetone, brush on a layer to each side. then clamp it (c clamp) for 3 weeks minimum for the acetone to flash off & set up properly. Then you can do the surface restoration on the seam, reassemble & be 100% good to go.

Frank · Admin

Chthulhu wrote:

Frank, I think the epoxy coat would help, though it would be an intermediate repair between just sealing the crack and putting a sleeve in the barrel; dried epoxy is fairly tough stuff and would help to reinforce the barrel, just not as much as a sleeve would (a sleeve would prevent the barrel from bending and opening the crack wider).

Hmmm ... if the barrel can be filled with epoxy under pressure to force it into the crack, allowed to harden completely, then drilled out to not quite the original ID ... it would probably be more work than a sleeve, but wouldn't reduce ink capacity as much.

Yeah Mike, I'm just looking to enjoy some use of it now.
I've already bought it, and put out $30 more to have Ron restore it.
It looked great, and I thought it would be fine!

I am leaning towards the epoxy route. The qouted sleeve route was very expensive, and it sounds like the pen will have no value when finished
(Not that that really matters, but it will be obvious it's been done).

Frank �

-- Edited by Frank on Saturday 20th of March 2010 09:15:37 PM

Frank · Admin

DWL wrote:

STOP!!!

No epoxy at all or ever on celluloid please.

The pen is delaminating on one of the layers. The best & only thing to do is finish the break, then solvent weld it back together with acetone so it's a complete weld and not a patch that can still fail.

remove the section & filler unit. complete the break (painful, yes I know, but it has to be done) then with 100% acetone, brush on a layer to each side. then clamp it (c clamp) for 3 weeks minimum for the acetone to flash off & set up properly. Then you can do the surface restoration on the seam, reassemble & be 100% good to go.

What kind of damage can it do Dennis?
This sounds like an aweful lot of work!
But it does sound like you've done it before!�

Frank

�

Chthulhu · Rawr.

I suspect it's either chemically reactive to celluloid, or that once it's there it's there pretty much forever unless you want to machine it off. Dennis's method is probably best, a notch below the sleeve in strength, but as close to what the pen's original strength was without the sleeve. You'll be relaminating the weak bond, and the acetone will melt the two faces of the break together solidly. As he said, you'll just need a bit of cleanup to hide the repair.

-- Edited by Chthulhu on Sunday 21st of March 2010 09:50:40 AM

Chthulhu · Rawr.

Check this out:

http://chestofbooks.com/reference/Henley-s-20th-Century-Formulas-Recipes-Processes-Vol1/Solvents-for-Celluloid.html

-- Edited by Chthulhu on Saturday 20th of March 2010 09:43:15 PM

DWL · ***

Mikes got it dead on.

epoxy is just the wrong stuff for the job & is a serious PITA to clean off & correct the job. Acetone will dissolve celluloid & after it's cured will make the seam as strong as the original lamination.

Just brush it on until the faces of the joint starts to get a little 'gooey', then clamp it up & let it set. It's not nearly as hard as it appears. just dont torque it down too much or you'll have a 'spooge' line inside the barrel you'll have to remove.

Frank · Admin

OK! The repair is done.

A little of both pieces of advice actually did the trick!
The pen did break in half while I was trying to get the section off!
Some of the breather tube broke as well, but there is still a good bit.

So, taking the sleeve approach, I got some plastic tubing material to make a sleeve, and then the two halves were put together (epoxy was the best bet). The pen looks great!
You need a loupe to see the fracture! It was a clean, straight break- luckily!

The pen will cure a couple of days, and a little light sanding and buffing should take care of any epoxy residue that is in between the cracks. I just saved myself $50!

Pics coming soon- I need a new camera!
Thanks guys!

Frank

DWL · ***

Congrats. I hope it works out & am looking forward to the pics.

Frank · Admin

Well, I solved my picture problem- I bought a new camera! (LOL)

Anyway, here are some pics of the repaired Standard Vac Pen. I am very pleased with the results! You can see the line where the crack was about half way in each pic. It is hard to see, and I was lucky enough to get a clean break!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43838151@N08/4559057011/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43838151@N08/4559057005/

Frank

-- Edited by Chthulhu on Wednesday 28th of April 2010 11:15:16 AM

Chthulhu · Rawr.

Frank, if your new camera has a macro mode, switch it on and you'll get sharper close-up photos.

Frank · Admin

I'll see what I can do! I thought it was in Macro Mode!
The repair is actually pretty hard to see!

Frank

-- Edited by Frank on Thursday 29th of April 2010 09:02:52 PM