11 replies to this topic

[quinden]

Hi everyone, I have a couple of questions on a Vacuum-Fil that I'm working on.  

 

Gerry Berg's post here: http://fountainpenbo...ick-rod-repair/

has been very helpful, but my situation is a little different; in his post, the packing unit came out of the pen - in mine, it is still inside.

 

So, here are my questions:

 

1) Would the best method for restoration be to drill out the packing unit, as I have in the Sheaffer Vac-fils that I have restored, or is there some other method I should try? 

 

2) As this is one of the thick-rod pens, should I search for different o-rings to use in the packing unit, or will the o-ring be flexible enough for the larger rod? I am using the ones offered by David Nishimura.

 

I am sure there are other questions I should ask - I'll add them as I go.  Here are some pictures to (hopefully) add some clarity:

 

 

The disassembled pen

 

 

The packing unit

 

 

Just a size comparison vs. some other Sheaffers I have

[piscov]

I am not a professional repair guy, but I have worked on some of my Sheaffers and even in a similar Oversize Vacuum fill pen. I may be incorrect in some of the things I am about to write, but I have tried them all and they worked for me.

 

 

Probably you have done some of what I am about to say, I am putting some alternative from the easiest to the hardest:

 

 

1) Are you sure the packing unit is useless, some times after soaking them for a while and putting them in the US they start working again because the felt inside goes to "his place" again. I have read that in this excellent book I have, tried it in a Sheaffer and worked, the pen is working for the last 3 months...

 

2) Have you tried soaking it for long and applying heat to see if the packing unit comes off? Leave it inside a water and ammonia solution for 2 or 3 days and then apply heat ( I use a hair dryer not to risk excessive heat that can deform the celluloid). Increase the heating time in 10s leaps starting in 30s. Apply gentle force to pull the paking unit at the end of each allowing the pen to cool for 10 s before pulling or unscrewing.

 

If it does not come out (Solution 3 and 4 will need a lathe):

 

3) using a lathe would be easier: Hold the barrel in the lathe chuck, bore just the external wall of the packing unit (rear knob side on your 2nd picture), install a new oring or Xring, machine a new external wall in hard rubber or black celluloid if you have, glue it back in place an its done. (cosmetically its not the ideal as the glued border will be visible, but is easier than the next solutions)

Here is a picture of the end result. This particular repair was not done by me but used this solution.

 

 

 

4) Also with a lathe: Hold the barrel in the lathe chuck, cut the threaded part and bore the remaining of the packing unit from the outside of the pen side (rear knob side).  Make a new packing unit install the oring, close the unit and glue the unit back on the barrel. It is radical, but is not hard to do and does not take a lot of time. For the oring / X-ring I just go to an Oring specialized store and choose the correct one for the unit/rod I just machined.

 

If I am not mistaken the thread is a single lead 30TPI

 

5) You can always try to drill from the inside part of the pen and only take the external wall of the packing unit and do the repair from inside. I don't like doing this because is harder to glue and I always get the felling I am about to break the barrel while drilling it.

 

Choosing the solution will depend on skills, equipment, and on Trial/failure of the first solutions.

 

Hope it helps

 

Best regards

 

Vasco

Edited by piscov, 17 December 2013 - 11:35 AM.

[Jim B]

Yes you can drill it out.

 

As Gary Berg mentioned in the reference, you can fit a white styrene collar into the packing unit to reduce its diameter so the standard donut washer will not move around--- the hole in the standard donut should be fine even with the thicker shaft, just silicone it when inserting. 

 

Best to drill out with a lathe. also you will need a new wall up front which you can fuse in in front of the packing assembly. 

 

This repair is all about securing the donut to be tight in the unit so it is airtight. The problem is not around the shaft hole but rather around the ouside wall of the packing unit. If the donut is tight in the space, air can't seep around it and out the back. Also if the packing unit becomes loose, best to shellac it tight.

[quinden]

Vasco, I do have the Marshall and Oldfield book, and was wondering about rejuvenating the packing unit. Thanks for the tips and pictures!

 

Yes you can drill it out.

 

As Gary Berg mentioned in the reference, you can fit a white styrene collar into the packing unit to reduce its diameter so the standard donut washer will not move around--- the hole in the standard donut should be fine even with the thicker shaft, just silicone it when inserting. 

 

Best to drill out with a lathe. also you will need a new wall up front which you can fuse in in front of the packing assembly. 

 

This repair is all about securing the donut to be tight in the unit so it is airtight. The problem is not around the shaft hole but rather around the ouside wall of the packing unit. If the donut is tight in the space, air can't seep around it and out the back. Also if the packing unit becomes loose, best to shellac it tight.

 

Jim, that is exactly what I need to know - extremely helpful!

[Gerry Berg]

It's worth keeping in mind a couple of things that make repairing one of these thick-rod Vacuum-fils different from repairing the standard Sheaffer.

 

First, sizes of the packing unit and the rod make it very difficult to use standard parts. You can try a standard O-ring, but you will still need to reduce the internal diameter of the packing unit in order to hold the O-ring solidly in place (as Jim B notes) . The internal diameter of these packing units is substantially larger than the standard. If you have managed to extract the thick rod from the pen with its plastic coating intact, however, the thick rod's larger diameter makes the standard O-ring too tight a fit to work nicely.

 

Second, these packing units do indeed screw out of the pen. Given the shenanigans you need to employ to overcome the "odd" sizes of packing unit and rod, it's worth investing a lot of time and energy (soaking and heating) to remove the packing unit before restoration. Remember: the packing unit has a REVERSE thread.

 

I look at these problems as opportunities. Being able to remove the packing unit in the same way it was installed allows a more "authentic" (dare I use that word!) restoration. These pens do NOT have a thin hard plaqstic disk that covers the bottom of the packing unit. In the standard method, one drills through this to clean out the packing unit from the front end of the pen. Instead, attached to the inside of the barrel is a "wall" through which the thick rod passes. When you remove the packing unit, this wall remains in the barrel. When you've re-packed the packing unit, you can then place a soft rubber disk onto the "wall" and tighten down the re-packed unit until it seals. This is the way the original packing unit was installed. It has the great advantage of easy removal should one wish to re-pack the unit at a later date, and it makes dealing with odd sizes a little easier.

 

The net result for me is that when I restore these pens for customers, I can offer to restore them in a way that is very close to the original. In this system of restoration, there is no need of the O-ring or the styrene closing ring. Instead, I use the original technique of packing: two felt disks, enclosed on both ends with soft  "rubber" disks, all of which screw down onto the "wall" faced with yet another, larger, "rubber" disk  . The appropriate felt is available from Nishimura. It takes extra labor to do it this way, but if you want something closer to the original, These early thick-rod pens offer the opportunity to try it.

Edited by Gerry Berg, 17 December 2013 - 02:17 PM.

[quinden]

Gerry, thanks so much for that! It sounds like this will be a fun project. When you re-install the packing unit, do you use a sealant of any kind (rosin or shellac)?

[piscov]

I was very skeptical about the rejuvenating technique when I read it, but it worked for that particular pen, and was a lot less work.

[Jim B]

Gerry,

 

Thanks for the additional info. I've only done a couple using the "old way" but I have some of David's felt and will try your newer ( more original) way.

 

Would you say that all the thick shaft pens have screw in packing units? They are all reverse thread?

 

Thanks 

 

Jim

[Gerry Berg]

Gerry,

 

Thanks for the additional info. I've only done a couple using the "old way" but I have some of David's felt and will try your newer ( more original) way.

 

Would you say that all the thick shaft pens have screw in packing units? They are all reverse thread?

 

Thanks 

 

Jim

 

Hi Jim:

 

No doubt, were I to say that ALL  about anything, somewhere some one would find the one exception.

So let me put it this way:

1. ALL Vacuum-fils with thick rods that I have ever worked on have threaded packing units.

2. ALL Vacuum-fil threaded packing units that I have ever removed are reverse threaded.

Having got that off my chest, I can also say that in one case that I know of directly, the threaded packing unit was improperly sealed (epoxy resin?) and I could not remove it.

[Gerry Berg]

Gerry, thanks so much for that! It sounds like this will be a fun project. When you re-install the packing unit, do you use a sealant of any kind (rosin or shellac)?

 

I use a rosin sealant that is less viscous than most.

[quinden]

Gerry,  thanks again! 

[Jim B]

Thanks Gerry.

 

Note the couple I did the old way, I used a different sized donut o-ring. I have 3-4 different sizes in my inventory.

Edited by Jim B, 19 December 2013 - 10:26 PM.