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Junior Vacumatic/Repair Ethics Question


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#1 Diabolical_Engineer

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Posted 25 May 2015 - 12:08 AM

Hello Everyone,

 

I picked up this Junior Vacumatic a couple of weeks ago off of eBay. It poses a bit of a problem for me at the moment. At some point in the history of the pen, somebody retrofitted a button filler in place of the original lockdown unit as well as fitting a Duofold nib to the pen. This presents me with a quandary. I could easily fit a new sac and return the pen to service as a button filler or I could track down a replacement lockdown unit. I'm not quite sure how to proceed at this point and am curious to hear the opinion of the board.

 

Thanks,

Eric

20150524 175428
20150524 175153

 



#2 david i

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Posted 25 May 2015 - 03:34 AM

The cap band/lip looks to be replaced as well. Major brassing as well. If it can work with a sac, I'd let it be. First, the parts to correct it likely are worth more than the pen in current condition. Second, the phenomenon of presumed war-era retrofitting of Vacs in Europe lends at least a smidgen of interest to the pen as is.  There is little to gain in trying to correct it and perhaps a bit to lose in trying to correct it.

 

regards

 

david


David R. Isaacson MD. Website: VACUMANIA.com for quality old pens with full warranty.
Email: isaacson@frontiernet.net

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#3 Diabolical_Engineer

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Posted 25 May 2015 - 05:20 AM

Thanks David.

 

I ended up fitting a new sac earlier this evening and the button filler actually works quite well. The conversion was done quite well as the added nipple is well integrated into the section. As it sits now, it's an interesting curiosity for me and not something that I'm likely to see again anytime soon. It's a neat little conversation piece and a fun user-grade pen.

 

-Eric



#4 ihimlen

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Posted 27 May 2015 - 01:40 AM

Yup, David's right - the repair was likely done in Europe during the war and this kind of retrofitting was not only quite common on otherwise non-repairable pens (shortage of parts) but actually worked quite well. I've even seen a few Eversharp Doric vac-fil pens converted to button fillers that were so cleverly done that one (not being a pen expert) wouldn't even suspect that the pen was never made this way. In the case of Parker Vacumatics and Eversharp (and Sheaffer) plunger fillers the transparent barrel can be a dead give-away though. But the good news is that you can stick a silicone sac in the pen and that way you will still be able to see the ink level. Otherwise it's just what the Doc ordered - the replacement parts would (likely) cost more than the pen and in addition to the lock-down vac filler unit and the bands you would also need to source a different section: in order to convert a Vac to a button filler (BF) pen it needed to be replaced with a section with a nipple for BF to work well. So do keep it as it is, this repair actually makes this vac pretty cool and it can still be a great everyday writer.


Edited by ihimlen, 27 May 2015 - 01:42 AM.

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#5 Diabolical_Engineer

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Posted 27 May 2015 - 02:24 AM

ihimlen, As I was thinking about it, I realized that this pen has seen enough over the years to make preserving it more interesting than restoring it. Somebody obviously treasured it (the button filler retrofit, and the replacement cap band) and I agree with you that it's a more interesting historical object as it sits now. I'm going to enjoy using it and track down another Vac Junior in this color in it's original configuration. -Eric



#6 JonSzanto

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Posted 27 May 2015 - 05:41 AM

ihimlen, As I was thinking about it, I realized that this pen has seen enough over the years to make preserving it more interesting than restoring it. Somebody obviously treasured it (the button filler retrofit, and the replacement cap band) and I agree with you that it's a more interesting historical object as it sits now. I'm going to enjoy using it and track down another Vac Junior in this color in it's original configuration. -Eric

 

Well done. I like your path.






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