How to tighten a cap

[Ernst Bitterman]

 

I'm going to try to resurrect a very old thread. I have a Triumph Imperial that has a loose cap, but the clutch is tight. In other words, the clutch grips the cap tightly (so the cap does not fall off), but the cap (with the clutch) still wiggles. This is because the clutch ring itself does not appear to be tight and has some play in it. Is there a way to tighten the clutch ring between the retaining ring and the tube?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

It may be that the threaded connector itself has gotten loose-- is the play in the point/tail axis? I'd suggest backing the connector out, clearing off the old sealant, applying new (I use Tryphon, but I think Ron Zorn's looks a little better), and resetting the connector to snug things up. Actually, a bit of a dry fitting before new sealant would be a wise thing.

[ljwahl]

 

I'm going to try to resurrect a very old thread. I have a Triumph Imperial that has a loose cap, but the clutch is tight. In other words, the clutch grips the cap tightly (so the cap does not fall off), but the cap (with the clutch) still wiggles. This is because the clutch ring itself does not appear to be tight and has some play in it. Is there a way to tighten the clutch ring between the retaining ring and the tube?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Same pen (but mine is labeled "Lifetime"), same issue as mentioned above-- cap is held tight but moves back and forth (away from body) just enough to be annoying. Square holes that house the three gripping tabs seem to be maybe 1/64" larger than the tabs themselves. Could the plastic have shrunk since 1963? Any ideas?

[Athensink]

I got a Sheaffer 797-F fountain pen recently--all metal--from eBay, only to find the cap was loose. After some failed attempts to get the cap to fit better on the point section, I put a tiny O-ring around the threads that are exposed when you screw the pen apart to put in an ink cartridge. Allowing the point section go slightly deeper into the cap seems to make it fit right. Not sure I have the ideal size of O-ring for this, have to see what's available.

[Athensink]

I couldn't find an O-ring quite thin enough. I tried another fix, which was to take some silver Mylar tape--the kind that used to be used for assembling 35mm slides--thin, tough, and glossy, and sticking a layer (one thickness of tape) to the inside of the cap, on the area corresponding to the middle of the point section. I had noticed that the inside of the cap had a slight ridge going around inside within this middle area of the cap. This repair works great so far. The tape is glossy and should withstand contact with the smooth plastic and metal of the pen. Plus it's a reversable procedure if it doesn't keep working.

You can put the tape in easily if you do it with three rectangles going in lengthwise, rather than trying to form a loop that will go around in a continuous band.