Help With Sheaffer Admiral Touchdown

[Ruth Feiertag]

Apologies if my question has already been answered. I did a search and didn't find what I want to know.

 

I have the Sheaffer pictured (I hope) below. I've used it a couple times without problems, but now the filler mechanism has become almost impossible to move. I looked up a couple videos on servicing touchdowns, but none were quite like the one I have with the window. The barrel of others in the videos seemed to unscrew from the feed section easily; mine won't budge and before I try to persuade it further, I thought I'd ask here if anyone knows whether the section and barrel are supposed to come apart on these models. If not, do I merely need to lubricate the metal tube of the mechanism to get it to move again? What questions should I be asking?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone has to offer.

 

Ruth

 

[Misfit]

I can’t help, but farmboy here on FPN got my Sheaffer snorkel resacced. If you don’t get any answers, maybe send him a PM.

[acornham]

Its not a Snorkel-its a Touchdown.

[Ruth Feiertag]

Thanks, Misfit. I got a DM with a promising lead from another member, but if that doesn't pan out, I'll contact Farmboy. Even though my pen's a little different, it's good to know Farmboy's familiar with the brand. I gather Touchdowns are easier to deal with than Snorkels, so anyone who can service a Snorkel is worth keeping in mind!

 

Ruth

[wags]

I usually apply a thin coat of silicon grease to the plunger on my touchdowns and snorkels. I would give that a try before I tried to remove the section. If that doesn't sort it out, then I suppose it would be a good time to look at installing a new o-ring. That would require removal of the section. Always a little scary if they don't come apart easily.

[Ron Z]

This is a Sheaffer Statesman AKA a "fat touchdown), one is on my website as I write this.

 

Repairs are fairly straight forward. The section unscrews, the sac guard should pull off. The sac if hardened, usually stays in the sac guard, so you'll have to get it out, which is usually the hard part. The remains of the old sac have to be removed from the sac nipple, and a fresh one installed and secured with shellac. Use either a 17 or 17 1/2 sac. While its apart clean and flush the nib unit. Don't take that apart unless you have to.

 

The barrels have an 0-ring at the end that should be replaced. The pen may not fill if it isn't, and even if it is functional I always replace them because the pen fills better when you do. They take the same 0-ring as the PFM, i.e. the larger of the two 0-rings that Sheaffer used in touchdown and snorkel pens. David Nishimura sells them. Remove the screw at the inside end of the TD tube, remove the blind cap, push the TD tube out of the barrel, and you'll see the 0-ring inside. Reverse order for assembly. Put a little silicone grease on the TD tube before reinserting in the barrel.

 

Though evidence from NOS barrels I have suggests that Sheaffer used white lithium grease to lubricate the tubes, I think that silicone is better and safer.

[Ruth Feiertag]

I usually apply a thin coat of silicon grease to the plunger on my touchdowns and snorkels. I would give that a try before I tried to remove the section. If that doesn't sort it out, then I suppose it would be a good time to look at installing a new o-ring. That would require removal of the section. Always a little scary if they don't come apart easily.

 

 

Dear Wags and Ron,

 

Thank you both for getting back to me. I'm not going to attempt removing the section myself. It won't unscrew, even with a fair bit of force, so I think I'm going to send the pen away for repairs rather than risk breaking it (which I've done before, though fortunately only on old junker pens that I got for the purpose of learning what I can and can't do). Usually I'd be more adventurous, but this pen just writes so smoothly that I don't want to mess it up.

 

Wags, the problem has gotten worse. I now can't get the tube to budge enough to apply the grease. I would have to apply more force there too than I am comfortable using.

 

If I could get the section to come off, Ron, I'd happily use your instructions, the clarity of which is exemplary. I'm liking the challenge of learning to do low-level restorations. Maybe I'll try to find another Touchdown whose section will come off nicely just to practice taking it apart and putting it back together.

 

Thanks again, both of you.

[Ron Z]

Sheaffer used thread sealant on the section threads. You need to warm the barrel to soften the thread sealant.