Cs Filling System

[Joso]

I have bought through eBay a Conway Stewart Churchill, to discover that it features an unseen before (by me) filling system in a CS.

Could anyone tell me about it? Is it similar to a Vacumatic? (?)

[Effin1]

It's a button filler. Put pen in ink and pump a few times. I usually do 5. Leave pen in ink after last pump for about 10 secs. Remove and wipe nib with tissue. Easy Peasy as my grand daughter would say.

[Joso]

Thank Effin, actually I had figured out the filling procedure. I am curious about the inner mechanism. Is it based on a pellet (like old Parker Vacumatics) or rather on a pressure bar?

[Effin1]

If It's like vintage button fillers inside ( I don't have many modern pens) it has a sac and pressure bar unlike 'vac' which has a diaphragm and barrel is used as ink receptacle.

[Joso]

Thanks, Effin.

[Matlock]

As Effin says it has a sac and pressure bar. Not one of the erstwhile CS company's best designs. I had mine coverted, by CS, to a c/c. Too late for that now.

[northlodge]

As Effin says it has a sac and pressure bar. Not one of the erstwhile CS company's best designs. I had mine coverted, by CS, to a c/c. Too late for that now.

 

Effin was referring to the vintage models, which are also the only ones I have any experience of. I have two Duro 30 button fillers like this and have found the filling system pretty good.

 

The pressure bar is an arrangement more like the the two legged bar found on some depression era Parkers (Moderne, etc), rather than the type that butts up against the section.

 

I guess this is different to the modern incarnation

[Matlock]

 

Effin was referring to the vintage models, which are also the only ones I have any experience of. I have two Duro 30 button fillers like this and have found the filling system pretty good.

 

The pressure bar is an arrangement more like the the two legged bar found on some depression era Parkers (Moderne, etc), rather than the type that butts up against the section.

 

I guess this is different to the modern incarnation

 

The modern CS button fill pens had, like their lever fill sister pens, a tendancy to damage the ink sack and then leak. The princible was the same as the older pens but very poorly executed. I have a Rolls Royce Silver Duro which needed attention so I got CS to convert it to c/c at the same time. I now have a great pen.

It was an interesting excercise as the work was done quickly,to a very high standard and at a reasonable price but communication was terrible. Probably due to the lead up to CS's demise.

[SteveE]

Too bad there's "no one home" at CS. I have an early lever-filler Churchill that I'd love to convert to cartridge/converter. It seems that CS never got it right with any filler that had a sac.

[Matlock]

Too bad there's "no one home" at CS. I have an early lever-filler Churchill that I'd love to convert to cartridge/converter. It seems that CS never got it right with any filler that had a sac.

Very true. Trouble is the conversion needs a whole new front section.

[SteveE]

Hmmm . . . I wonder if any of our resident pen turners would consider making an alternate section for the pen?

 

Do you know if the sections are friction fit/shellacked into the barrel or threaded? I haven't taken mine apart.

[Matlock]

Hmmm . . . I wonder if any of our resident pen turners would consider making an alternate section for the pen?

 

Do you know if the sections are friction fit/shellacked into the barrel or threaded? I haven't taken mine apart.

My Duro is screw fitted, can't comment on the Churchill.

[dneal]

Too bad there's "no one home" at CS. I have an early lever-filler Churchill that I'd love to convert to cartridge/converter. It seems that CS never got it right with any filler that had a sac.

 

It's the Churchill's that were problematic. I have a 58 and Marlborough that are lever fillers, that have no sac damage issues.

 

 

Hmmm . . . I wonder if any of our resident pen turners would consider making an alternate section for the pen?

 

Do you know if the sections are friction fit/shellacked into the barrel or threaded? I haven't taken mine apart.

 

The C/C pens are threaded, and the lever fillers are friction fit. Theoretically you could have a new section turned, but the concern would be the thickness of the barrel and if it could accept the corresponding threads being cut into it without creating a weak spot that might crack. The nib/feed unit should be ready to go for a C/C.

 

As an alternative to shellac in a friction-fit section, you could use rosin. The section will be more easily removable with a little heat under a hot tap or hair dryer. To make the rosin: Get a bar of violin rosin or pure rosin flakes, warm it on the stove to melt, and add a few drops of castor oil. Stir well and let cool. You want to end up with a consistency of taffy, and you'll probably have to repeat the warming/oil-adding process a few times until you get it right. The harder the rosin mix, the more securely it will hold the section; but it's harder to apply (and may require warming). The softer the mix, the easier the application but the section will turn if you twist it. Clean up any rosin seep with alcohol applied to a rag. I'm assuming your pen is acrylic.

[SteveE]

Yes, my pen is acrylic, but after hearing that the section is likely a friction-fit, I am far less likely to try anything like an alternate section for c/c use. I will hold on, and maybe try to find one of our resident pen mechanics who can re-design the lever filler mechanism so that sacs last a normal lifetime.

 

I knew I should have had the CS factory convert the pen to c/c while they were still in business. . . although I'm almost sure they would have just moved my nib/feed assembly to a new barrel/section rather than spending a lot of time reworking the lever-filler.

[dneal]

See this post on FP Geeks for a solution