Parker Vacumatic diaphragm sizes

[RichKen]

I'm working on restoration of 2 Parker Vacumatics, one I believe is a Major and the other a Demi-Vacumatic.

 

Richard's site says the Debutante diaphragm is used in the following pens:

Deb,

Speedline Major,

All plastic-plunger Vacumatics except Maxima.

 

Both pens are plastic-plunger Vacumatics. I'm not sure what a Speedline Major is vs. a Major.

 

Should I be using Debutante diaphragms on both pens? Can a Standard diaphragm be used on the Major (Pen's OD 31/64" or 12.3 mm).

 

I have restored one other Major using a standard diaphragm. It fit the barrel snuggly, but went in with lubrication. The pen fills. Should I be concerned with the snug fit of the standard?

 

All this adventuresomeness a result of going to the DC Supershow and a few finds at antique shops on the road returning home. What a heady experience that weekend was.

 

Credit where credit is due - watching Ron Z restore my first ever Vac at the DC show and Richard's reference site for Care and Feeding: How to Replace a Vacumatic Diaphragm.

 

Thanks for your comments in advance.

[SMG]

A Plastic filler Major can use the Debutante diaphragm, it's what I use basically all of the time except for Maxima and OS vac's.

 

The Sub Deb will obviously use the deb diaphragm as well.

 

Speedline Major pens have a metal filler tube which does not lock down in place, thus taking less time to refill, hence the speedline moniker.

 

Standard diaphragms will fit your major, but as you noticed, will be a little snug. I prefer the debutante diaphragm as it will not bunch up as easily, and you don't get the little "pop" noise of the diaphragm sticking on the barrel wall when you are filling the pen.

 

Hints: make sure that the breather tube is not so long that it will interfere with the diaphragm at the bottom of it's stroke. Also, trim the diaphragm to about 1 1/4" before trying to roll that sucker inside out. Alot less rubber to curse at that way

 

Make absolutely sure that all of the old diaphragm is gone, especially on the filler seat taper or you will at best have a bulged pen, at worst a broken one.

 

Take a look at Richard Binder's site again, look for the design features section and it should illustrate the different Vacumatic fillers.

 

Cheers,

SG

[kirchh]

Make absolutely sure that all of the old diaphragm is gone, especially on the filler seat taper or you will at best have a bulged pen, at worst a broken one.

On that topic, here's a picture of two sets of special-purpose tools I crafted that I recently delivered to a pair of restorers; the tools dress the filler seat tapers on the three sizes that appear in Vac-filling Parkers. The two sets of tools have different style handles per the restorers' preferences.

 

--Daniel

Edited August 20, 2006 by kirchh

[OldGriz]

Daniel, I got to see one of those tools briefly when we spoke at DC...

But I really did not get the idea of what they do..

Could you better explain, preferable with pictures for those of us a bit denser than other, exactly what they do... and just as important how much they cost...

The workmanship on the one I saw was absolutley fantastic, as are all your tools...

[kirchh]

Tom -

 

The tools are special-purpose reamers designed to remove foreign material from the tapered filler seat and dress the seat.

 

Here's a picture of a Vac filling unit in a cutaway barrel without the diaphragm omitted; note the tapered white metal collar that mates with a tapered area machined in the barrel. The diaphragm's end fits between those two tapered surfaces, and the barrel seat must be clear of remnants of any old diaphragm or cement, and it must also be smooth and nick-free to ensure a good seal:

[kirchh]

...and here's a picture of the tool in working position. There are cutting edges with the appropriate geometry (rake and relief) to remove material while permitting fine control so the seat itself is not easily reamed out of existence (I use a smell test while checking my progress -- scraped sac has a distinctly different odor than does scraped celluloid). of course, the working part of the tool is tapered to match the filler seat's taper:

[SMG]

Daniel, in your estimation, which version of the reamer is easier to control? I have seen both types that Ron Zorn has, and without having tried either of the tools, it would appear that the one with the knurled cutting surface would permit a newbie repair person more feel than the heavily raked two cutting edge version.

 

I spoke at length with Ron regarding these tools during the Toronto show and just wanted to get your side on it. The smell test is good, but I would prefer to go by feel if at all possible.

 

Will you be making these available as a standard product, or would these be on a bespoke basis??

 

Thanks for the great pictures to help support my statement above.

 

Cheers,

SG

[kirchh]

Daniel, in your estimation, which version of the reamer is easier to control? I have seen both types that Ron Zorn has, and without having tried either of the tools, it  would appear that the one with the knurled cutting surface would permit a newbie repair person more feel than the heavily raked two cutting edge version.

 

I spoke at length with Ron regarding these tools during the Toronto show and just wanted to get your side on it. The smell test is good, but I would prefer to go by feel if at all possible.

 

Will you be making these available as a standard product, or would these be on a bespoke basis??

 

Thanks for the great pictures to help support my statement above.

 

Cheers,

SG

I think you may have confused two different tools. The tool with the knurled working part is not a Vac filler seat reamer -- it's a Parker "51" inner cap wrench.

 

The filler seat reamer has two very large flutes to accommodate the removal of large chips and chunks of material without clogging, but do not confuse the volume of those flutes with the degree of rake of the cutting edges, which has been carefully chosen.

 

The smell test is just one of the ways the restorer can judge progress. Of course, visual inspection of the filler seat is crucial, as is feel; the odor provides another mechanism for determining the state of things during use.

 

I would like to make these standard products, along with other tools. Pricing is not yet set, but each tool will likely be in the $80 range. I wish I could make them available for less, but they are handmade to high standards in small quantities. As you can see, I have not skimped on the handles, and the steel is heat-treated to stand up to professional use.

 

--Daniel

[fountainbel]

Thanks for shearing the pictures of your Vac-fill barrel seat reamer Daniel.

Surely professionally designed & really artisanally made .

Beautifull !

By the way, are the reamer's cutting edges flame harden or nitrided ?

Edited August 20, 2006 by fountainbel

[kirchh]

Thanks for shearing the pictures of your Vac-fill  barrel seat reamer Daniel.

Surely professionally designed & really artisanally made .

Beautifull !

By the way, are the reamer's cutting edges flame harden or nitrided  ?

Thank you for your kind words; it has taken me quite a lot of time and effort to achieve the results seen here, and there are always improvements to be made.

 

The tool steel is not flame hardened or nitrided; it is through-hardened (though those familiar with tool steel heat treatment will know more precisely the composition of fast-quenched tool steel after through heating). Hardness of the cutting edges is about RC65.

 

--Daniel

[Ron Z]

Daniel keeps coming up with new and tempting tools....

 

IIRC Daniel and I started talking about this a couple of years ago at the NYC show. There are two tools that I really wanted. 1] A thread chaser to clean out the threads, and 2] a quick way to clean the seats on the barrels. What you see here is the result of some serious thought and development on Daniel's part.

 

Daniel passed a few prototype tools along for testing in the interval. His first seat reamer just didn't cut well enough, and the tool quickly clogged. But a later version worked quite well, and I just didn't let it go back to Daniel! That prototype was for he demi size filler (and P51). But many times I've wanted the larger standard and OS reamers. I bought the complete brown "signed limited edition" set at DC.

 

The other tool that he is working on is a thread chaser. SO many times the threads are filled with junk, so much so that the filler does not want to go back in. I want a thread chaser not so much to re-cut the threads, but to clean out the junk that's there, or to clean up damaged threads. I have one prototype that I use so often that you'll have to pry it out of my fingers when I'm dead. I'm looking forward to testing the others.

 

A word of caution on the seat reamer - this puppy really removes the dead diaphragm fast. You shouldn't crank away with it. Only a gentle twist or so, then look to see how much is removed. The change is fairly obviouse.