Screw Rusted To Touchdown Cylinder & Blindcap On 1949 Sheaffer Tuckaway

[ajalstude]

I'm restoring my uncle's 1949 Sheaffer Tuckaway with touchdown filling mechanism and ran into a small problem. The small screw that holds the steel cylinder to the blind cap appears to be rusted. No amount of elbow grease applied in counterclockwise movement is getting it to unscrew. I figured that some sort of wd-40 or liquid wrench could work, but I'm hesitant to apply anything before finding out if it might melt, discolor, or crack the barrel on the pen. Has anybody every had this problem?

 

Also, the old sack is fused to the sack protector. I soaked it in water, and have been able to knock out a fair amount of the old sack - are there any recommendable solvents that should be used for this, or am I doing the right thing?

 

 

[Ron Z]

Yup. This is when a simple TD or snorkel repair gets snotty and where the pros earn their living. It's even worse with a PVM IV with the metal piece over the end, or a Triumph or Masterpiece pen where the threads are machine threads instead of sheet metal

 

The threads in the blind cap are plastic, so what's holding it is the rust in the touchdown tube. You can use Liquid Wrench or WD-40. Neither will melt the Forticel.

 

Soaking in water simply exacerbates the problem and can trigger rust. Use an appropriate size drill turned by hand to cut the old sac out of the touchdown tube. I have three different sizes for the different size tubes, and don't remember off the top of my head what they are. IIRC they're number drills. But you can come close with the fractional drills close to the sac sizes.

[ajalstude]

Glad to hear that WD-40 or Liquid wrench work. Hopefully that screw budges! I'll play around with the drill bits that I have to see if I can clear out all of the dried sack.

 

Many thanks,

Albert

[pen lady]

Thanks Ron, good tip about using a drill bit to ream out a sac protector. Sounds like a much better tool than my previous "go-to" a fine crochet hook.

[Ron Z]

You have to be careful with the snorkel sac guard in particular. Any bulge in the metal caused by scraping or whatever can bind on the TD tube and cause problems extending and retracting the sac guard/snorkel assembly. A drill takes care of this. Just be careful not to drill through the end of the sac guard.