"melting" shellac

It's usual to do this over a spirit lamp. A candle will work too, but tends to be sootier. It isn't hard, but don't learn it on your oldest and rarest first! Very little heat is required. Don't use an electric hot air gun!

You might also like to read the very active alt.collecting.pens-and-pencils group (I might have the name wrong) where such things are frequently discussed There's also the late Frank Dubiel's book on the topic.

Shellac dissolves in alcohol/ketones, is eaten away by alkali. It also does melt. Curious - why risk the melt with the other two obvious choices?

Why wouldn't one simply soak it in ethyl alcohol?

Thanks people This fellow is newsgroup savvy..I'm surprised he doesn't know about the usenet group on collecting pens I'll let him know Jerry

Because using heat is quick and localised. There are a lot of things on a pen (including other shellac-locked attachments) that you don't want to dismantle at the same time.

Also I doubt if soaking would work in any useful time. We're talking about a shellaced screw thread here between two thin-walled cylinders. Heat through the cylinder is a short quick path, alcohol along the joint is a long and narrow path that would probably take weeks.

Ahhh, I see. Thanks for the explanation -- I really had no idea.