What is on your bench?

[Ron Z]

You want the ring clean for other reasons - as in you want a good seal at the back end.  The ring in the barrel centers the cone, not the thread bushing.  There is enough play in the threads that it can shift a bit.  The thickness of the diaphragm can also influence how far in the thread bushing goes. 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

21 hours ago, VacNut said:

A duofold is limited to the size of the sac. The remainder of the barrel is the j-bar. Given the much smaller diameter, the Vacs hold quite a bit of ink.
 

Other than the diaphragm the vac filler is fairly dependable with no additional washers and gaskets (unless the alum filler has been corroded by the ink).

I know most users like to remove every bit of ink from a pen when it is stored, but I don’t think it needs to be done on a vac, so long as corrosive ink is not used. The feed, nib, and barrel are robust.

 

Is the filler the plastic “plunger” type? I am assuming any residual diaphragm has been scraped from the “cone-shaped” seat for the inner collar of the filler, so the filler can sit centered in the pen? Diaphragm residue can cause the filler to be crooked when the filler is screwed down onto the seat. 

 

That's true, but a senior Duofold can safely hold an almost untrimmed size 19 sac comfortably. Size 20 if you really want to stretch it ; those are fairly large and hold a good amount of ink. It's true the diameter is smaller but the length is longer, no?

 

I also think there's an assumption with a vac that the filler is able to fill up the body of the pen 100% and in my experience, getting that full fill is very difficult. At least it has been for me. It's also difficult to know how much ink you're actually filling up. The earlier vacs were much better in that they have see-through bits but the 51 doesn't, so you just have to pump a dozen or so times and hope it filled properly. At the end of the day I know this is a very subjective thing, I realize some people really like the vacumatic filling system. It's just definitely not my cup of tea.

 

Back on topic, yup it is the plastic filler. As far as I could see I got rid of all of the remaining residue. Spent about half an hour initially scraping it, and it went back over it after my initial post to scrape it again. I got maybe a few tiny bits out the second time but it's as close to spotless as I could get it. I don't feel any resistance with the threads when screwing it in, it feels pretty smooth. I am assuming if there was remaining residue, it would catch while screwing in, especially since the threads on the filler unit are so fine.

 

 

 

 

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

On 6/21/2023 at 3:17 PM, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

 

. Maybe I need to "build" one of those patented salad spinner centrifuges...

 

 

Do it. Absofreakinglutely worth the 5-15$ and 20 minutes of your time

 

Ron’s plans/pics are a gift to the pen using community!

 

Makes using vac “51”s in rotation tolerable and lets you enjoy these amazing pens. Also great for cleaning aero “51”s and pretty much any other pen. 

 

Beautiful pen btw. Gorgeous looking cap. 
 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

5 minutes ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

Do it. Absofreakinglutely worth the 5-15$ and 20 minutes of your time

 

Ron’s plans/pics are a gift to the pen using community!

 

Makes using vac “51”s in rotation tolerable and lets you enjoy these amazing pens. Also great for cleaning aero “51”s and pretty much any other pen. 

 

Beautiful pen btw. Gorgeous looking cap. 
 

 

I really think I need to... I've been "drying" this pen for around two nights, two and a half days now. Each day I thought it was empty, and the next day I was able to get some water out of it. I guess maybe it fills fine if it is retaining this much water after I flushed it but boy is it a pain.

 

These sterling silver caps are my favorite type of Parker 51 cap, I love the texture on it. The picture makes it look a little better than it is in person but this one is pretty nice. There's one or two very shallow scratches but nothing too major.

 

 

 

 

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

14 hours ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

 

I really think I need to... I've been "drying" this pen for around two nights, two and a half days now. Each day I thought it was empty, and the next day I was able to get some water out of it. I guess maybe it fills fine if it is retaining this much water after I flushed it but boy is it a pain.

 

These sterling silver caps are my favorite type of Parker 51 cap, I love the texture on it. The picture makes it look a little better than it is in person but this one is pretty nice. There's one or two very shallow scratches but nothing too major.

 

 

 

 

You absolutely should do it

 

i fill the pen with water, shake it gently a few times back and forth, centrifuge it. Repeat 3 or four times then let it dry nib down in a cup with paper towel in the bottom for two days before putting them away. 
 

i only have one silver cap and it’s in rough shape but it’s still one of the prettiest caps i have. I wanna get more but they are out of my budget at this time. 
 

 

[GlenV]

This is a bit unusual as I painted this pen, minimal restoration needed otherwise and nice pretty nib

 

[GlenV]

One more cool repair, this overlay was in sad shape also had a broken section that I didn’t know about and it must have been far too long on the section/ nib to wear through the top of the cap. It’s slender like a 52 1/2 size and I put in a favorite warranted nib

 

[GlenV]

It’s ok if you don’t like the painting of the John Holland pen, don’t fear though I used acrylic paint and although I haven’t tried to should be pretty easy to remove.

[cat74]

3 "new" pens to work on...two are easy and 1 I'll see about

 

Esterbrook late transitional J with rare sunburst nib - needed a new sac - done!

Watermans??? no idea what model..my first Watermans. It came with no sac so I need to add one.!

Sheaffer 1000 vac filler with triumph nib!...this one has a little screw in the blind cap that I'm not sure I can get out... I'll try because other than that the videos out there don't seem that hard

[VacNut]

On 6/30/2023 at 7:40 AM, GlenV said:

One more cool repair, this overlay was in sad shape also had a broken section that I didn’t know about and it must have been far too long on the section/ nib to wear through the top of the cap. It’s slender like a 52 1/2 size and I put in a favorite warranted nib

 

Did you repair the overlay? Is there someone who can repair the overlay?

[es9]

1 hour ago, cat74 said:

Sheaffer 1000 vac filler with triumph nib!...this one has a little screw in the blind cap that I'm not sure I can get out...

Congrats! Those are awesome pens. I think the Sheaffer is a Statesman from the mid 1940s, before the company shifted over to the removable cartridge approach. These pens have a pretty steep learning curve, however, and a few specialized tools are required. See this thread for some recent discussion. Once restored, and assuming you avoid risky inks, it should be a very long time before additional service is required—beyond the occasional bit of silicone grease on the plunger rod. 

[cat74]

31 minutes ago, es9 said:

Congrats! Those are awesome pens. I think the Sheaffer is a Statesman from the mid 1940s, before the company shifted over to the removable cartridge approach. These pens have a pretty steep learning curve, however, and a few specialized tools are required. See this thread for some recent discussion. Once restored, and assuming you avoid risky inks, it should be a very long time before additional service is required—beyond the occasional bit of silicone grease on the plunger rod. 

 

yikes!! Just a quick glance at that threat and I'm already thinking of sending it away rather than attempt myself!!! Some long contemplating and further investigation required!!

[GlenV]

2 hours ago, VacNut said:

Did you repair the overlay? Is there someone who can repair the overlay?

Well I did repair this one, but not the way I wanted to,  as the cap lip is swaged or crimped and I did not think I could remove the overlay.  Lots of overlays can be removed though. I have only removed one myself, though. And it worked out well, I’m sure there are some who do this. 
I removed the remains of the top of the cap made a new part for missing hr of the cap, and fashioned a replacement metal part.  I was hoping to solder but had to epoxy. I did a similar repair to a Delaco pen recently and happened to find a perfect fitting gold filled dome in my parts box super lucky there, I was able to solder that one.

 

[ralfstc]

3 hours ago, es9 said:

Sheaffer 1000 vac filler with triumph nib!.

 

I'll have a go at most pens without too much fear, but Triumph nib vac fillers need a special tool to minimise the risk of spinning the nib off the feed (irreparably). The tool can be bought or made, but it's actually cheaper to send it to the excellent Gerry Berg to be fixed. I am a strong advocate of his work, which is quick, affordable, and of the highest quality. Ron and a few others also do excellent work on these pens, but the turnaround is slower.

 

To be more specific about the problem, Sheaffer appear to have used some sort of adhesive to secure the feed into the front of the pen. Over time, the melting point of this adhesive comes quite close to the (low!) melting point of the celluloid (it's pretty thin around the section and feed area). I had a junk pen where I experimented, and discovered the celluloid would malform long before the glue let go . . . .

 

Good luck whatever you decide!

 

Ralf

 

[es9]

5 hours ago, ralfstc said:

To be more specific about the problem, Sheaffer appear to have used some sort of adhesive to secure the feed into the front of the pen. Over time, the melting point of this adhesive comes quite close to the (low!) melting point of the celluloid (it's pretty thin around the section and feed area). I had a junk pen where I experimented, and discovered the celluloid would malform long before the glue let go . . . .

I believe Sheaffer used a rosin-based thread sealant.* It does indeed harden over time, especially after all the castor oil in the mix has evaporated. And dried ink that seems to deep into the threads can sometimes add to the challenge. Unless something is already broken, I’ve pretty much always been able to get these nibs to succumb with heat (~165). Very occasionally a little soaking or some naphtha to the joint helps too. It’s true that you need to be careful of temperature, but the situation is no different than removing a Vacumatic section. Parker also seems to have used a rosin-based thread sealant. Too much heat with either is a problem. A non-contact thermometer is a huge help unless you really know what you’re doing. 
 

Importantly, no sealant is applied to the feed per se. The triumph nib units are comprised of three parts: the nib, the feed, and a threaded collar that holds the two together. The only part that is secured to the pen itself with the sealant is the threaded collar. Friction holds the feed in place. 

 

*Ron and others sell it. I highly recommend picking some up. There are also recipes out there to make you’re own, but I don’t see how doing so would be cost effective. A little jar lasts a very long time. In my humble opinion, it’s just as essential as shellac. 

[VacNut]

Between repeated dry heat and occasional soaking in water most Vacumatic section can be removed. I have never warped a barrel, but I have had technicians warp barrels that were sent to them (no names,please. Stuff happens). 
 

[GlenV]

Sheaffer Triumph vac fillers are not an easy repair and you encounter way to many problems for a less experienced repairer, if you aren’t comfortable just don’t wreck your pen especially if it’s a special one. Personally I think they are a flawed design compared to Parker vac just were not designed to hold up in my view but nice pens when back in nice working order.  Ron is a great resource and has shared his expertise here lots of times regarding them.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

I think the design is fine as far as functionality goes (IMO, far superior to vacs in terms of how easy and efficiently they fill - but I won't lie, I kind of hate the vacumatic filling system so maybe I am biased) but where they really fall apart is ease of maintenance. Sheaffer put zero thought into "future proofing" these. Or at least making them repairable. 

 

I find it interesting that both Sheaffer and Parker both went back to much simpler "sac" based filling systems after their respective "vac" filling systems. Sheaffer to the touchdown and snorkel fillers, and Parker to the aerometric, with a brief stint with the "VS" button fillers. Kind of funny that the "Vacumatic Successor" was really just a button filler like they used for decades before. Clearly the reparability or ease of maintenance aspect was catching up to them.

 

There's also Waterman's brief experiment with their Ink-Vue filling system which is IMO one of the worst filling systems of all time. Incredibly overcomplicated for what is essentially a bulb filler, and not one that works all that well either.

 

 

[FarmBoy]

30 minutes ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

 

There's also Waterman's brief experiment with their Ink-Vue filling system which is IMO one of the worst filling systems of all time. Incredibly overcomplicated for what is essentially a bulb filler, and not one that works all that well either.

Mine work quite well. 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

Good to know. The one I have struggles to fill more than 50%. I had it "professionally" restored because I didn't want to deal with making a new cork seal, so it's not down to my poor restoration skills either.

 

There's a chance maybe I just have a defective pen or the repair was not done very well, but I am not rushing to get another one to compare. They're not super cheap and there are other pens at that price point I'd rather buy that have filling systems that are more usable for me.