sheaffer snorkel Dissecting a Sheaffer Snorkel Crest

[VijayGS]

Last Sunday afternoon turned to an afternoon of deep cleaning, re-sac and restore a 70 year old Sheaffer Snorkel Crest. An idle and boring afternoon with temperature soaring over 36 degree Celsius and non other place to be, took my thoughts to check on my vintage FP collection. During the casual check ups it was surprising to find the elderly Sheaffer Snorkel crest missing the satisfactory "pffft" of exhaled air during the final phase of the closure of the plunger, and that was the start for one of the most exhilarating and exciting Sunday afternoon in the recent past. After checking and confirming the availability of spares from my beloved workstation, it was time time to dive deep into the process.

 

 

Disassembly of the Pen - The procedure started with opening the endocarp and extending the plunger and carefully opening the nib section with the extended snorkel. I was fortunate to find the nib section in my pen not glued to the barrel. Nib and feeder removal was a piece of cake as the triumph nib was a screw on on the nib section. After soaking the removed sac protector and the snorkel in lukewarm water for 20 mins, it was easy to remove the sac protector exposing the sac. The Next and final disassembly was the plunger from the end cap. A tiny screw which had been in place for unknown about of time unscrewed with minimal resistance and Thus this elderly 70 year old Sheaffer Snorkel was ready for the overhaul.  

 

 

 

Problems noticed - Point Gasket, Sac, 'O' ring and the end plate washer were worn out. Mild degree of rust formation was noticed on the spring and end cap nut. Gunk deposits in the cap, plunger tube, barrel and sac protector.

 

 

Restoration process - The Process started with a deep and through cleaning. All the twelve parts on the pen including the cap was soaked for 45 minutes in lukewarm water with few drops of dish-wash soap. General rub a dab of Colgate tooth paste was applied to all hollow parts excluding the feeder, Nib and the snorkel and was soaked again in lukewarm water for 45 mins. a through run over with an electric toothbrush removed the rust and gunk deposits on the pen parts. All the parts were dried with paper towels. The new Latex Sac was Cut and fitted on the snorkel using shellac and a subsequent wait for 3 hours for the shellac to cure. A gentle coat of silicon grease on the plunger, spring, the sac protector, the threads on the nib section was applied. the final process included the replacement of point gasket, 'O' Ring, and end cap washer. The pen was later reassembled by refitting the plunger to the end cap. Aligning the snorkel along with sac and sac protector, feeder, the triumph nib and the spring and the wedlock between the nib section and barrel.

 

 

Final Touches -  Polishing with turtle wax and chrome polish and the elderly gentle man was back in action good as new. 

 

 

Parts from https://vintagepensacsandparts.com/products/sheaffer-snorkel-tm-sac-repair-kit?_pos=3&_sid=693d85f88&_ss=r

 

 

[Bristol24]

 

5 hours ago, DrVijayGS said:

During the casual check ups it was surprising to find the elderly Sheaffer Snorkel crest missing the satisfactory "pffft" of exhaled air during the final phase of the closure of the plunger, and that was the start for one of the most exhilarating and exciting Sunday afternoon in the recent past.

Very nice.  I have done this twice myself and wish there had been photos like yours.  I agreed to fix them for a friend and had never seen one before.  Richard Binder's site was my guide.  Ultimately I need to get a Snorkel.  Thank you for posting this.

 

Cliff

[VijayGS]

7 hours ago, Bristol24 said:

 

Very nice.  I have done this twice myself and wish there had been photos like yours.  I agreed to fix them for a friend and had never seen one before.  Richard Binder's site was my guide.  Ultimately I need to get a Snorkel.  Thank you for posting this.

 

Cliff

Thank your Cliff. I do this on my own pen and though a couple of pictures wouldn't hurt. Marking the parts was an idea out of the blue prior to typing the post. I am glad you liked the post. My reference was Grandmia Pens on Youtube. Its a great way to kill time on a Sunday afternoon.

 

Vijay

[hairlame]

Thank you for posting this!  I have a Sheaffer Snorkel Sentinel that needs a new  sac and/or seals, and I appreciated seeing your photos detailing the parts and process. I am looking forward to finally undertaking this repair on my own pen.

[Ron Z]

On 10/5/2022 at 9:43 PM, DrVijayGS said:

My reference was Grandmia Pens on Youtube.

 

Richard is a better choice for repair information.  Long story behind that comment. 

[es9]

Is Grandmia the same person who suggested shellacking sections onto barrels? 

[bsenn]

Pretty good snorkel rebuild info here: http://dirck.delint.ca/beta/?page_id=709

 

 

 

[VijayGS]

@hairlame Good luck with the restoration.

[VijayGS]

7 hours ago, es9 said:

Is Grandmia the same person who suggested shellacking sections onto barrels? 

@es9yes, you are right. but I skipped that one. Shellacing the section to the barrel is basically a death sentence to the snorkel. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by DrVijayGS