======================================================================== Nib Noise * Volume 16 Number 6 * September 2017 ======================================================================== Welcome to Nib Noise. We hope you'll enjoy reading this month's issue. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER! For comments or questions, send email to: richard@richardspens.com To subscribe or unsubscribe, please DO NOT use the links in the footer of this email. Instead, visit the Free Email Newsletter page on our site: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=nibnoise ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** September in New England Is SHOWTIME! *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's September. August is gone for another year, and with it the DC SuperShow. But here in New England it's SHOWTIME! all over again. The Fourth Annual Commonwealth Pen Show will be held at the Holiday Inn Boston Bunker Hill Area Hotel on Sunday, September 10. It's a one-day show, but it's a good one! There are some new vendors this year, so many that the show will be in a larger room than before. The weather outside might be a little cooler than it was a couple of weeks ago, but the pen show room will be hot! Come and enjoy the fun of a classic New England-style pen show! If you plan to come and haven't ever been to a show before, you might want to read my article on Your First Pen Show: http://www.richardspens.com/?shows=firstshow Also, please read our "Table Talk" FAQ to learn how we operate at shows: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=shows+faq For information about the show and the hotel, please visit the show's Web site. http://www.commonwealthpenshow.com/ I will be working on nibs to improve or customize your writing experience, and Barbara will be juggling people to make sure I don't have time to go on a buying spree. WE HOPE TO HAVE A NICE COLLECTION OF MIXED VINTAGE AND MODERN PENS FOR SALE AT THE SHOW! We can accept your MasterCard, VISA, American Express, or Discover card -- but many of the vintage dealers are hobbyists who can handle only cash, so be sure to note the location of the ATM in the hotel lobby. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We'll be there all day, and we hope to see you there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Broad Strokes *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This month we feature the long-awaited article on resacking a wringer- type twist filler. A. A. Waterman, Ingersoll, and Sheaffer area all described. http://www.richardspens.com/?rep=twisters And while I think of it, I've recently added a section about the Graph- omatic Inkmaker to my reference page on pens that make their own ink. http://www.richardspens.com/?desn=ink_makers A profile of the Inkmaker is planned for the near future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Missing Your "Pen Show Tray" Fix? *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you are bemoaning the disappearance of my monthly "Pen Show Tray" and haven't yet latched onto the new monthly tray from IndyPenDance, you can do so very easily. Just point your browser at this page: http://www.indypendance.com/mailchimp_news.php#subscribe ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Don't Forget Barbara's Attic *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We continue to offer assorted miscellany in Barbara's Attic, including occasional new trays of restorable pens and the nibs in the RichardsPens Nib Shop. The price blowout on our nibs continues; join in the fun and you can save hundreds of dollars. http://www.richardspens.com/?acc=attic ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** The Pen Doctor *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Pen Doctor is a regular visitor to the Nashua Pen Spa, and every so often he puts a few prescriptions up in our site's reference section. Each month, I'll be reprinting one of his prescriptions here. -------- Q: I have read that the plastic used in Eversharp Skylines may shrink over time making the section difficult to remove from the barrel. If one succeeds in getting the section out without cracking the barrel, should the fit between the two be adjusted to avoid cracking the barrel when fitting the section back in place? If so what is recommended: reducing the diameter of the section, increasing the hole diameter in the barrel? Advice on the best way to accomplish this? A: In most cases, all that's needed is extreme care to align the section perfectly with the barrel so that it will go in straight; cocking it at an angle can split the barrel. But there's a catch: which cases won't this work for? The best solution is to make sure that the surfaces of the section and the barrel are perfectly clean: no chips or chunks of anything, especially shellac residue that might be there from the last time the pen was assembled. Turn on your upward-pointing heat gun (never use open flame for this work!). (If you don"t have a heat gun that is permanently mounted with its nozzle pointing straight upward, take time to arrange a reasonable facsimile of one before you start reassembling the pen.) Line the parts up and begin to insert the section; hold the pen over the heat gun, rotating it so that all sides of the barrel threads will warm evenly, and warm it gently and not very much. Keep applying gentle pressure to push the section in. When the barrel is warm enough, it will relax just sufficiently to allow the section to slip in. Do not heat it until it softens enough to deform; use a very delicate touch with the heat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Follow Us on the Internet with Facebook *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We'd like to be liked on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NashuaPenSpa ======================================================================== If you received this newsletter from Richard Binder, you are a Nib Noise subscriber. If it came from someone else, I invite you to subscribe. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please DO NOT use the links in the footer of this email. Instead, visit the Free Email Newsletter page on our site: http://www.richardspens.com/?info=nibnoise Note: We will never sell your name or email address. Your privacy is as important to us as it is to you.