Removing nibs/feeds has to be done with care. Rocking a nib loose usually works with a steel nib, but it will easily damage a gold nib!
In the old days, repair people used nib pliers: parallel pliers can be used with padding made by cutting pieces of rubber tyre inner tube and cushioning the nib/feed with them.
Shellac is never used on a feed. It was sometimes used to build up thickness when a feed was too narrow for the section and worked loose. In such cases the shellac was applied in several layers on top of the base of the nib (on the outside). It never was used on the feed itself. Shellac was used to secure sections to barrels in lever fill pens. In such cases, heat must be used (sparingly) to soften the shellac before attempting removal of the section. In your case, you mention nibs that are stuck in the section and hard to remove. Soaking in cold water helps. You can add a few drops of household ammonia to a glass of tap water to help dissolve the caked-in ink. It is the ink that makes the removal of the nib so hard to accomplish! Soak overnight and try again: in most instances the nib and feed will come out. Use a rubber sheet (those made to loosen jar tops work great) and be careful not to damage the nib. In very tough cases, you may have to use an ultrasonic cleaner to loosen the caked-in ink and then apply heat to the section when pulling the nib/feed out.
Hope this helps!
Thanks again for the kind words!
Email me at tryphon@comcast.net
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