In article . com, "Andy Dingley " wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:

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

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.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.