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jor412 · Vintage

Sheaffer balance plunger fill opinions please

Chthulhu · Rawr.

It really boils down to how "original" you want the pen to be. If you just want it to work and don't mind that you're not restoring it to factory specs, Nathan's method is fine and won't hurt the pen. If you then sell the pen, let the buyer know that you've made this small change.

Some people won't accept a restoration that doesn't use original factory parts or at least reproductions of those parts, but it's an esthetic thing rather than a practical one.

I enjoy Nathan's videos, especially his love-hate relationship with Massachusetts.

jor412 · Vintage

ok, thanks, Mike. As long as it won't hurt the pen, then I'm fine with it. It's certainly easier than reconstructing the packing unit. I do plan to sell the pen and will then tell the buyer about how I "restored" it.

It was a really interesting video. I think that the drilling a hole in the existing packing unit can be done in other ways given that the object is to remove it. But I think I'll start with following the instructions to the letter before I experiment.

I haven't watched enough of his videos to take note of anything to do with Massachusetts though. The one thing I've noticed is that he's got the camera angle pretty darn near perfect so that I can see most of what he's doing.

Mahutr · Seasoned

I have some of them waiting for the right rod....

There are both stainless steel rods and carbon steel (plastic coated) ones. The second kind tends to become rusty inside the plastic, and when the surface is not smooth and regular they just don't fill right (not enough vacuum I guess). Making your own rods seems to be the right solution... as long as you buy jewelry tools and make lots of them!

I am not specially worried about the packing unit, though. As long as you keep the original one, you can always fill it with felt. In the meantime, the more functional solution is OK for me.

Just MHO.

Martin

jor412 · Vintage

I'm waiting for the o-rings and gaskets. Nothing else came out of the barrel except a worn gasket. Is this something to worry about?

Otherwise, there's nothing wrong with the rod and the barrel has great clarity. I'm wondering though if it's a frankenpen vac fill. The feed doesn't have the long thin end and it doesn't look like it was broken off. Maybe I'll post pictures of it when I have the time to take a few.

DWL · ***

Another option to consider with the plunger/rod fillers. Turn them into Eye Dropper fillers. Leave the rod in place but lose the damaged gasket. Use a little adhesive to seal down the blind cap. A schmear of silicon grease on the section & your ready to go. They hold a lot of ink this way & are virtually problem free.

jor412 · Vintage

I'll consider that as well if I can't do the repair right. :p Thanks Dennis.

emaho · Newbie

A late contribution to this topic, but I wanted to add my experience with a Sheaffer Jr vac-fil. Beautiful pen with a fantastic nib but, unfortunately, a war era model that was made with the steel, celluloid (I've heard)-coated plunger rod. An experienced restorer didn't want to fix it and basically warned me away from trying it myself since it would be my first. Touchdowns are no problem and I've done 6 of them, but the vac-fil seems beyond my skill level and the expense and trouble of locating parts is discouraging in itself.

So, following my instincts, I removed the rod, sealed the blind cap with teflon tape and put a couple ccs ink in the barrel. Voila! One of my favorite writers is back in use. So far, no problems with leakage, "burping", etc. My only concern is that long term use will lead to discoloration of the inner barrel and ruin the gorgeous transparency of the very attractive green/black striated barrel. I clean it thoroughly with each fill and, so far, haven't noticed any staining or ink buildup. Keeping my fingers crossed!

For those that want to repair their vac-fil, a fellow on eBay has designed and sells a replacement for the packing unit. From what I read at FPN, it's pretty successful. He lives in Europe. As soon as I find his name, I'll try to post it here in a follow up.

Hope my experience helps anyone facing a similar situation.

All the best,
Bill

emaho · Newbie

OK. The gentleman's name is Francis Goosens and he posts at FPN as "fountainbel".

I'd like to mention, also, that Tyler Dahl (www.777penrepair.com) tells me he's gpoing to be offering repair of vac-fils soon. He's great to work with.

Bill

DWL · ***

Francis is one hell of a great guy.His system works very very well. I've used it several times. Honestly,if your not up for the job, I like the ED conversion. I wouldn't use Teflon tape, a little shellac works just fine to seal it up.

jor412 · Vintage

I finally got my gaskets. I thought I had removed all of the old packing unit but apparently, it was still in there. Anyway, I got it out, installed the gasket, and set it aside for a day. When I put it back together, the suction was great :)

DWL · ***

Rock on & job well done!

georges zaslavsky · Experienced

I have four vac fill powered sheaffers and two of them are my daily writers, reliable and very sober too.

jor412 · Vintage

My vac fill is fine and now I have another on my plate. I've disassembled it except for the section which I'm presently soaking because it's stuck. (These stuck sections are a major pain.) Anyway, this pen came with the barrel plug not attached to the barrel. That makes repacking really easy but what glue is advisable to reseat the barrel plug?

jor412 · Vintage

bump� smile