What is on your bench?

[eckiethump]

4 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

I would think he single point cuts the threads on the lathe. 

I turn them down so far on the lathe then use a die for the thread final cut, I have a full set of Bergeon watchmakers taps and dies. The Stainless steel rod I have though is very hard to cut threads on, using a lot of cutting fluid and patience.

Eric

[es9]

2 hours ago, eckiethump said:

I turn them down so far on the lathe then use a die for the thread final cut, I have a full set of Bergeon watchmakers taps and dies. The Stainless steel rod I have though is very hard to cut threads on, using a lot of cutting fluid and patience.

Eric

Thanks!! Do you mind sharing what the die specs are? I do not think I have the wherewithal to cut new rods myself — at least not yet. I finally got a lathe, however, and might try shortening one a little bit. Shortening the rod will be no problem; cutting the appropriate threads is another story. 

[VacNut]

9 hours ago, eckiethump said:

Yes, they work on a bicycle pump type, syringe filling system, very much like the Dunn pen, but far more complicated with precise moving parts.

The Safety aspect is that there is a spring to the rear of the barrel that compresses the section against the inner cap when the pen is capped

Eric

I have rebuilt safety pens in the past and thought the mechanism were complex, but there is no comparison between the helical spiral and the Ford filler. The end cap on my Ford pen has a little play. I was going to attempt taking it apart, but after seeing your parts bin, I think I will keep it intact.

[VacNut]

21 hours ago, eckiethump said:

I don't get too many Sheaffer plunger pens to service, not so common in this country. It can be a trial when the rod needs replaced, getting it the right length, from my spares. If required I make them, threading the stainless steel rod stock if required to, is equally tiresome.

 

 

When you get the chance, can you take a photo of the plunger parts? I would be curious to see the mechanism. It seems uncommon to have such a long rod inside a pen. Doesn’t it take up space that could be used for more ink?

[Ron Z]

1 minute ago, VacNut said:

When you get the chance, can you take a photo of the plunger parts? I would be curious to see the mechanism. It seems uncommon to have such a long rod inside a pen. Doesn’t it take up space that could be used for more ink?

 

There is a cutaway plunger filler pinned at the top of the repair form.  There are a few variations, but the filling system stayed pretty much the same through out its production.    The main differences are that the WASP and very early OS Balance packing units threaded in, and the diameter of the packing material.  Then the later "cartridge style" fillers that came  out and had the packing unit at their back end.  But the same basic principle was uses in all.

 

There were something like 11 different lengths of plunger rods made for these pens.  I should find the table and post it. 

[VacNut]

Ron

Thank you for the notice. I see there is no real way of understanding the filler without sacrificing a barrel. The mechanism is simple, without springs, diaphragms, or complex moving parts; but I can see it could be problematic  removing the seals/gaskets. How does the filler not expel ink with the last push forward of the filler to screw on the blind cap? Is there a filler tube?

[FarmBoy]

1 hour ago, VacNut said:

Ron

Thank you for the notice. I see there is no real way of understanding the filler without sacrificing a barrel. The mechanism is simple, without springs, diaphragms, or complex moving parts; but I can see it could be problematic  removing the seals/gaskets. How does the filler not expel ink with the last push forward of the filler to screw on the blind cap? Is there a filler tube?

The seal falls into a wider portion of the barrel to release the vacuum and allow ink into the barrel. 

[Ron Z]

The seal falls into a wider portion of the barrel to release the vacuum and allow ink into the barrel.

 

 

....and all of the ink is up behind the seal (or most of it), so moving the head gasket forward a bit doesn't push anything out of the pen.

[VacNut]

I can see how the system works, assuming there is a small amount of air between the gaskets and the ink, and the blind cap is slowly pushed back in place.

I have this image of ink squirting like the 3 stooges if the piston is too quickly. 😂😂😂

[GlenV]

I just worked on an Onoto vacuum filler that is essentially the same as the method used by Sheaffer, very cool and predated the US pen by 20 years or so.  It makes quite the vacuum too!

 I need to get some tap and die sizes… which ones are most useful?

[FarmBoy]

All the useful taps I can think of are not standard commercial taps. 

[es9]

As long as we’re on the topic of sheaffer vacuum fillers — and dies — is it safe to add a little black dye (zing!) to the epoxy when reinserting a packing unit that needed to be replaced? I had to drill the packing unit out of the back of one. I used to just use a rotary tool to shave down the edges until I could just work the last bit out with some heat and a little scraper. This time, however, I thought I’d put my fancy new lathe to work. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to check to make sure the barrel was perfectly aligned. It turns out I didn’t chuck it quite right and I drilled out a tiny bit of the barrel. 
 

The good news is that I really only got the tiniest bit of the barrel — a replacement packing unit still fits snuggly. But obviously the black celluloid paint is missing. Which got me thinking: Is there any reason I can’t just add a little black dye to the epoxy? Or any reason why I couldn’t use a black epoxy like 3M DP420 in black? 
 

[eckiethump]

On 5/25/2022 at 4:10 PM, Ron Z said:

There were something like 11 different lengths of plunger rods made for these pens.  I should find the table and post it. 

I knew there was few, thanks for the confirmation on at least how many.

Eric

[eckiethump]

On 5/26/2022 at 2:27 AM, GlenV said:

 

 

On 5/26/2022 at 2:27 AM, GlenV said:

I just worked on an Onoto vacuum filler that is essentially the same as the method used by Sheaffer, very cool and predated the US pen by 20 years or so.  It makes quite the vacuum too!

 I need to get some tap and die sizes… which ones are most useful?

5BA left hand and right hand which can be purchased here, https://www.tracytools.com/

Eric

[VacNut]

I can understand why the seals and gaskets will need replacement. Is it common to also replace the rod? Are they aluminum that gets corroded from being immersed in the ink?

[FarmBoy]

5 hours ago, VacNut said:

I can understand why the seals and gaskets will need replacement. Is it common to also replace the rod? Are they aluminum that gets corroded from being immersed in the ink?

Yearly rods were coated mild steel. Later rods were stainless steel. 
 

Sometimes there is corrosion where the rear seal is sitting. Often you can flip the rod to get around finding a replacement. 
 

the coating on the mild steel rods often has failed to protect the now mostly rust rod. 
 

PS your fillers are bored out. 

[VacNut]

3 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

Yearly rods were coated mild steel. Later rods were stainless steel. 
 

Sometimes there is corrosion where the rear seal is sitting. Often you can flip the rod to get around finding a replacement. 
 

the coating on the mild steel rods often has failed to protect the now mostly rust rod. 
 

PS your fillers are bored out. 

Good to know about the bores. I will have to post the 51 and emerald max when I am finished with the pens. 

[VacNut]

I was fortunate to comes across a few uncommon pens these last few months.

 

I acquired a Brown Maxima Vacumatic Band Pen and Pencil, and a Senior Vacumatic.

 

You can search this forum for more information on the Vac Bands. The pen is identical to the typical Double Jewel Maxima, with the exception of the band, which is a very smart design statement for the pen. I much prefer it to the typical \\\///\\\/// pattern of the later Maxima Pen. It is a shame Parker dropped the band after a few months.

The Senior Vac is a bit of a platypus. It is a double jewel pen with a lockdown filler and a slightly longer blind cap. The clip and the tassie is stepped a little differently than the Maxima. The nib is slightly smaller than the typical Max nib, but it is larger than the typical Vac Major nib. It has the typical 9-quills of the Max pen. The larger middle band reminds me of the banding on Conway Stewart Pens

Pens and Pencil were in relatively good condition. I had to rebuild the filler of both pens and thoroughly clean the barrel interior, but not much more was needed.

[VacNut]

Larger Brown Vacumatics are not my favorite color, but I can definitely appreciate the Art Deco look when a series of the pen are displayed together.

A collection of the larger Vacumatics in brown.

It is interesting to see the design progression from the Oversize Pen down to the last Maxima Pen with the narrow band. The Double Jewel Max makes a bold statement. The last Max Pen is almost understated. (I am not sure if the clip is correct for this pen, as I suspect it should have the split arrow type clip, but this is how I found it so I left it as-is.)

 

Time permitting I will have to post a collection of the other colors.

[VacNut]

My standards for DNR Orders on a pen are probably higher than most collectors. I rarely part out a pen unless there is absolutely no hope of restoration. 
 

I came across a 3rd Gen Emerald Max. Cosmetically the pen looked complete. I tried to fill the pen with water. I could hear and feel the diaphragm working, but no water was being pulled into the pen. When I took the pen apart to clean it, I realized a few items were wrong.

The filler is an earlier alum lockdown filler with an incorrect brass top.

The section was particularly difficult to unscrew. After repeated dry heat applications the threads of the section broke off inside the pen. I thought I had applied too much force and thoroughly mucked up, until I took a closer look and saw that there was epoxy inside the section. It had been epoxied into the barrel along with the feed. The feed was also broken and epoxied together misaligned - the channel did not align on either side of the section. There was even residual epoxy on the nib. The front end of the pen was a complete hatchet job.

 

At this point I was prepared to strip the pen for parts, except the imprints were crisp. There was almost no wear to the cap band or clip. The filler still had a functional diaphragm, and the nib was smooth.

 

The only way to safely remove a broken section is to have it bored out. I intend on purchasing a high quality lathe when I retire, but until then I had to send it out to be bored.

 

I was fortunate to have find a replacement section in the bins that matched the threads of the barrel and the outer diameter of the barrel. 
 

I had a difficult time aligning the filler to the barrel. The last few turns were extra tight and the end cap would not align with the barrel end. After half a dozen attempts, I took a closer look at the diaphragm and realized it had also been epoxied into the collar. It was thicker on one side of the filler and causing the filler to misalign when it was compressed onto the tapered seat. I had to remove the diaphragm and scrap the epoxy off the feed.

 

The pen was more work than anticipated and I was lucky to have the replacement parts. I see that some WWII Vacs were assembled from available parts, so I didn’t bother replacing the lockdown filler, as it may be original. 
 

I don’t know if Parker manufactured fewer 3rd Gen Vac Max Pens because of the war, but I have encounter far fewer of these narrower band vacs than the 2nd Gen or the typical wider band 3rd Gen Max pens. 

I think it was worthwhile in the end, but unskilled pen enthusiasts should really leave well enough alone and not try to rebuild pens. The pen as parts were worth more than my purchase price.