Sheaffer Touchdown Snorkel Blind Cap Seal Is Leaking Air

[greeeeb]

Hi Folks,

 

I bought a sheaffer snorkel from ebay. It has all the snorkel parts alright. I bought a repair kit, and I replaced the sac and the o-ring. I also replaced the seal that comes in the nib section.

 

yet, the pen does not suck ink. I followed the advice in another post here and tested the barrel by submerging in water; I found that the end of barrel has a macro crack. So, I went on and used a tap to seal the crack just for testing purposes. Then, I found the blind cap also has air leak.

 

I found a plastic glue in the hardware store to fix the crack. My problem now is how to fix the blind cap leak. I disassembled the blind cap and it has a rubber that does not seem to be bad.

 

Is there a way to fix the blind cap seal? maybe by applying adhesive or replacing it with any rubber piece. and how?

 

Thanks.

 

[3rdlakerobert]

Hi Folks,

 

I bought a sheaffer snorkel from ebay. It has all the snorkel parts alright. I bought a repair kit, and I replaced the sac and the o-ring. I also replaced the seal that comes in the nib section.

 

yet, the pen does not suck ink. I followed the advice in another post here and tested the barrel by submerging in water; I found that the end of barrel has a macro crack. So, I went on and used a tap to seal the crack just for testing purposes. Then, I found the blind cap also has air leak.

 

I found a plastic glue in the hardware store to fix the crack. My problem now is how to fix the blind cap leak. I disassembled the blind cap and it has a rubber that does not seem to be bad.

 

Is there a way to fix the blind cap seal? maybe by applying adhesive or replacing it with any rubber piece. and how?

 

Thanks.

 

 

It's pretty routine when restoring a Snorkel to replace the blind cap seal. If you have some scraps of latex sac material, cut a little square, make a little slit in the center, and drive the blind cap screw through it. Put a little dab of silicone grease on the end of a screwdriver to hold your blind cap screw/seal on it, then insert it into the plunger tube and work it through the hole at the bottom. Thread on the blind cap and you should now have an airtight plunger/barrel/blind cap assembly.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Robert111

[greeeeb]

Thanks, Robert. I will try it tonight and report.

[redbike]

 

It's pretty routine when restoring a Snorkel to replace the blind cap seal. If you have some scraps of latex sac material, cut a little square, make a little slit in the center, and drive the blind cap screw through it. Put a little dab of silicone grease on the end of a screwdriver to hold your blind cap screw/seal on it, then insert it into the plunger tube and work it through the hole at the bottom. Thread on the blind cap and you should now have an airtight plunger/barrel/blind cap assembly.

Rather than a slit, I use an narrowly pointed awl to poke a hole in the sac material. It takes some effort to get the blind cap screw through that hole, but it makes for a good seal.

[greeeeb]

It worked fine.

 

I caused another problem by fixing the filler mechanism: I used super glue to fix the crack, but there is a thick layer of dried glue on the barrel

 

I will see to that later, what matters now it fills fine.

 

 

 

Thanks.

[Ron Z]

Superglue is not the stuff to use. It will eventually fail, and then you'll have a contaminated surface in addition to a crack.

 

These barrels respond well to solvents used for model building like Tenax 7R, or any solvent containing methylene chloride. You will still have to blend and polish the repair area, but the repair will be much stronger. You'll find it at most hobby shops.

[greeeeb]

Hi Ron,

 

can I get rid of the super glue? by heat maybe?

 

Thanks

[Ron Z]

can I get rid of the super glue? by heat maybe?

You don't really, which is the problem. Any solvent, like acetone, that will remove the superglue will also react with or attack the surface of the plastic. It does bind to the plastic, so II don't know that soaking it in warm water will work.

[mitto]

Scratch the glue very very lightly with a razor blade. It would come off but not at once. You would see tiny layers coming off with each stroke of the blade. Do the scratching until the layer of the dried glue is no more.

 

Polish the surface after you are done with removal of the glue or do the repair afresh if so required.

Edited November 1, 2015 by mitto