A cheapskate's approach to Vacumatic diaphragm replacement

[Methersgate14]

This works for me! If you wreck a pen trying this, I take no responsibility!

 

Tools and equipment:

 

1. Pair of pliers

 

2. Seven inch length of dead cycle inner tube, cut into a 4" and a 3" section

 

3. Talcum powder

 

4. Pencil

 

5. Sharp knife to cut diaphragm to length

 

6. Pin to get pellet out.

 

7. Small bottle brush for cleaning out barrel with soapy water

 

7. Oh, and a spare new Vac diaphragm!

 

Unscrew the blind cap. Fold the short bit of inner tube into itself twice so you have a 1" long bit of triple thickness, Fit this over the vac. unit thread, grip with pliers. Put the other bit of inner tube over the barrel, and unscrew the vac. unit. Use the same technique to unscrew the section. Clean the barrel, remove dead diaphragm, extricate pellet (re-usable if you are a real cheapskate) fit new diaphragm using pencil, screw unit back into barrel and screw section back on.

 

Of course, if you are a Vacumatic enthusiast, you will buy the correct tools. But if you just have one, this is a practical means of servicing it.

[burmeseboyz]

  Methersgate14 said:

2. Seven inch length of dead cycle inner tube, cut into a 4" and a 3" sectio

 

If you have a thick rubber tube, it'll probably work better if it fits around the threads. Of course, there's always the chance that you strip the threads so be very careful when you do this folks. Vac wrenches are not expensive and makes life so much easier. And they're well worth it since once you get one vac, you end up getting many more!

[Ron Z]

That's grand.... until you bugger up the threads, or can't get the filler out. I've seen many that have chewed up threads, and the inner tube may not protect the threads completely. I started repairing vacumatic filler pens 20 years ago. My first wrench was made out of wood, and I have experimented with blocks made of aluminum steel, and what have you. The wrench

like the one sold by FPH is the safest tool to use - and well worth the cost if you want to avoid damaging a filler. Fillers aren't cheap to replace when you break one.

 

I can also tell you that I tried the pin approach to removing the pellet many times, and it works sometimes. I have found the Dremel to be the best way to get the pellet out of the cup with the least risk of damage. (see note above about replacement costs)

[burmeseboyz]

Ron, you should also mention that you have instructions on how to make a vac tool on your awesome website.

 

Methersgate14, although your method with bike inner tubes work, you might want to be weary about doing that again. There just isn't much room for error. And filler units aren't cheap. I broke one after playing with a pen while tired. Which is always a bad idea. As for the pellet, I hope you're not prying it out with the pin. It preserves the shape of the pellet cup if you break apart the pellet with a knife/pin/nail/dremel/etc. I use a nail and a pointy hobby knife to cut apart the pellet before using tweezers (actually eye brow removing tweezers :embarrassed_smile: ) to fish out all the junk.

Anyway, if you're just doing one, I'm glad it worked out fine. What size and color vac?

[Vintagepens]

Penny wise, pound foolish.

 

What next -- do-it-yourself dentistry with tools found around the house?!

[repairperson]

  Ron Z said:

That's grand.... until you bugger up the threads, or can't get the filler out. I've seen many that have chewed up threads, and the inner tube may not protect the threads completely. I started repairing vacumatic filler pens 20 years ago. My first wrench was made out of wood, and I have experimented with blocks made of aluminum steel, and what have you. The wrench

like the one sold by FPH is the safest tool to use - and well worth the cost if you want to avoid damaging a filler. Fillers aren't cheap to replace when you break one.

 

I can also tell you that I tried the pin approach to removing the pellet many times, and it works sometimes. I have found the Dremel to be the best way to get the pellet out of the cup with the least risk of damage. (see note above about replacement costs)

 

 

Just wait until he or she has to buy a new filler! Nearly the price of a vac wrench.

[Methersgate14]

OK! OK! I did say that this was a cheapskate's method; it can work, and if you find yourself with one odd Vacumatic you can get it going this way. Of course, the serious collector of Vacumatics will either buy the right tools, and a copy of Fountain Pen Repair, or send it to a professional repairer. :embarrassed_smile: :embarrassed_smile:

Edited October 7, 2008 by Methersgate14

[Methersgate14]

  burmeseboyz said:

Ron, you should also mention that you have instructions on how to make a vac tool on your awesome website.

 

Methersgate14, although your method with bike inner tubes work, you might want to be weary about doing that again. There just isn't much room for error. And filler units aren't cheap. I broke one after playing with a pen while tired. Which is always a bad idea. As for the pellet, I hope you're not prying it out with the pin. It preserves the shape of the pellet cup if you break apart the pellet with a knife/pin/nail/dremel/etc. I use a nail and a pointy hobby knife to cut apart the pellet before using tweezers (actually eye brow removing tweezers :embarrassed_smile: ) to fish out all the junk.

Anyway, if you're just doing one, I'm glad it worked out fine. What size and color vac?

 

Thanks; actually there are two - a Canadian black/translucent DJ lockdown with a broad nib dated 3Q 38 and a US green stripy celluloid/translucent plastic filler with a fine nib which I take to be 1947.

 

I just had these two long dead pens rolling around at the back of a drawer from when I started getting interested, and it was a rainy afternoon - I started off by having to replace the sac in an AF Duofold - I opened my copy of "Fountain Pen Repair" and saw the recommendation to remove the filler with a vac tool to fit a correct size sac. Not having one, I tried the inner tube and pliers and it worked...so I tried it on the two Vacs, to see what they are like to write with. My son likes Parkers; I have become keen on Onotos - which have a very different nib - and my wife of course likes Conway Stewarts...

 

I promise not to do it again! :embarrassed_smile:

 

 

 

 

 

[Ron Z]

  Methersgate14 said:

OK! OK! I did say that this was a cheapskate's method; it can work, and if you find yourself with one odd Vacumatic you can get it going this way. Of course, the serious collector of Vacumatics will either buy the right tools, and a copy of Fountain Pen Repair, or send it to a professional repairer. :embarrassed_smile: :embarrassed_smile:

 

I may have come across a bit harsh in my response, and if so I apologize. But my point is that even with that one odd Vacumatic, you could find yourself in trouble if you use the wrong approach or the wrong tools. You may get it going, and then again you may find yourself with a broken pen.

 

I like to encourage creative ideas in pen repair, which is why I have posted a series of "what is this and what do I do with it?" posts, and have written the articles on cheap tools. But that interest in doing thing inexpensively has to be balanced with an understanding of the pen, the materials, and the consequences of screwing things up if and when an idea goes south.

 

The biggest issue with the inner tube is control. The layers could shift, and you could end up chewed up threads on the filler, maybe mar the barrel, and/or the pump could snap off if it shifts. I also know that you will encounter fillers that are so stuck, that you simply will not get them out that way. It's why I use a vac wrench instead of a block. You need a really good grip on the threads and heat to get them out. Sometimes even that isn't enough. Use pliers and rubber tubing on those fillers, and something will give way, and it won't be the blindcap nipple! (unless it's a plastic one, in which case you're already in trouble with pliers and tubing)

 

The point is, know the material, examine the risks, use the right tools. That doesn't eliminate home made tools or a simple approach, but I've broken enough pens to know that it's easier to break them than it is to get the replacement parts!

 

 

[antonio ilmonaco]

Hi,

 

Having seen many a stripped thread on a vacumatic i made a quick removal tool a while ago, took me about 15 minutes to make and works great.

First cut a length of brass rod and drill a hole, then ream to size :

 

Then gear the lathe to get the required 36tpi thread :

 

Grind yourself an inner threading tool and cut the threads slowly :

 

Use a vacumatic plug to check final diameter adjustment :

 

When the vacumatic plug can be screwed in stop threading :

 

Get the tool under the sawmill to cut a groove :

 

Then use a v-block and small drill to stop the groove :

 

The tool can now be used in combination with a pair of pliers or a bionic wrench and removal of the plug is no more a nightmare.

On an occasion a stumbled upon a glued plug which wouldn't get loose. I used loctite thread locker on the tool and let it dry overnight. The next day, with the tool glued to the plug i applied a fair amount of bruteforce and the plug came loose. Had to melt the glue in the oven afterwards to separate the tool from the plug but no damage since the plug was metallic on the unit.

Also had to machine a new aluminum plug on the lathe for a vacumatic 51 whose threads had been stripped by some previous wannabe repairman...trust me you don't want to make one everyday so be careful when dismantling those fillers.

 

All the best,

antonio

[burmeseboyz]

Antonio, thanks for the sweet pictorial. I got flashbacks of metal shop in high school and now I really want to get a lathe even though there's no space in my apartment.

[twdpens]

  antonio ilmonaco said:

Hi,

 

Having seen many a stripped thread on a vacumatic i made a quick removal tool a while ago, took me about 15 minutes to make and works great.

 

Very neat. In fact my own Vac tool is not dissimilar to yours except mine has a locking screw. A large diameter knurled outer means that I can grip the barrel in one hand (usually using a rubber sheet) and the tool in the other. If I come across a stubborn filler I can grip the tool in a pair of pliers.

 

But to the OP: Ron is right. You got away with it this time so use the cash saved on repair (I can do voodoo economics just as well as that wunch in the City) to buy a proper tool!

 

Martin

[david i]

  repairperson said:

  Ron Z said:

That's grand.... until you bugger up the threads, or can't get the filler out. I've seen many that have chewed up threads, and the inner tube may not protect the threads completely. I started repairing vacumatic filler pens 20 years ago. My first wrench was made out of wood, and I have experimented with blocks made of aluminum steel, and what have you. The wrench

like the one sold by FPH is the safest tool to use - and well worth the cost if you want to avoid damaging a filler. Fillers aren't cheap to replace when you break one.

 

I can also tell you that I tried the pin approach to removing the pellet many times, and it works sometimes. I have found the Dremel to be the best way to get the pellet out of the cup with the least risk of damage. (see note above about replacement costs)

 

 

Just wait until he or she has to buy a new filler! Nearly the price of a vac wrench.

 

Retail today $20-50 depending on the filler type/size. I have harvested many a beaten-to-death Vac for parts.

-d

[antonio ilmonaco]

  Quote

there's no space in my apartment

 

...well i guess i have one of the smallest workshop on earth...goes totally unnoticed in my living room...

 

 

 

All the best,

antonio

[fountainbel]

Very nice job Antonio, bravo !

I also love your mini shop, very inventive.

Surely look forward to see more of your work !

Francis

[APPLEMAN]

  antonio ilmonaco said:

  Quote

there's no space in my apartment

 

...well i guess i have one of the smallest workshop on earth...goes totally unnoticed in my living room...

 

 

 

All the best,

antonio

Can we get some close ups of your setup and some measurements please. I really like your setup. So close by and easy to hide away.

 

Thanks

[antonio ilmonaco]

Yeah, sure, width of the shelf is 1.20m and height 1.80m, depth 0.30m only. I've added lights and have lathe, mill/drill press, bench grinder, dremel, vice, EDM machine, and various electronics-oriented equipment (soldering station, oscilloscope, and the like)

I cannot add close-ups until next week because i've left the camera elsewhere and won't retrieve it before tuesday.

Allt he best,

antonio.

[SMG]

EDM machine?? You have got to be kidding. What the heck do you use an EDM for when repairing pens??

 

The last wire EDM I saw was twice the size of the cabinet you are using and ran on 575V.

 

Cheers,

Sean

[antonio ilmonaco]

Hi the EDM machine is not useful for pens, it is not wire edm but ram type, homebuilt, and i use it mostly to remove broken drill bits or taps.

All the best,

antonio

[SMG]

You Sir, are a God, and possibly my new hero.

 

Awesome.

 

Cheers,

Sean