Full Size Transitional Sac Length? * Both * "options"?

[OcalaFlGuy]

Wow. I can't believe I'm asking this. Larry, this is all Your fault.

 

So I bump into this from back in '08. I am copying it to this thread so it will be easier for others to find later on.

 

Js will have the sac support tray. Some of the transitionals will have the support. Often times the tray was left out when the pen was serviced. One time I got a large number of supports from a pen store--apparently it was common there to just leave them out. Like Ron mentioned, Esterbrook used the tray and spacers behind the J-bar to enable it to use the same sac on all the pens in production at the time.

If you have a transitional WITHOUT the support it may not have had one. Look closely at the section nipple--It will be larger than you expect. Compare it to the sac nipple from a SJ/LJ section. A tray less Estie of the full size takes a #18 sac considerably longer than the 1-15/16" #16 that is the common thread in J series pens.

Todd

 

Ok, so we know all the #16's in DJ J's should be 1 15/16" long.

 

However, I also have a post from Herr Estie Doktor Farmboy that says a #18 sac in a (trayless) Dollar pen (full size) should be 2 3/16" long.

 

Ok, from the last sentence above, I'd say that a Tranny with *a #18 sac* should Also be 2 3/16's long, right FB?

 

But that's really only my secondary question NOW.

 

The majority of the Tranny's *I* see DON'T have the larger nipple section, they have the same size as a DJ in diameter. Thusly, until now, I've been cutting the *smaller diameter* Tranny sacs to the same as a DJ, 1 15/16".

 

So FB, how long should the sac be in a Tranny with BOTH the #18 and #16 sections?

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

[Ron Z]

The transitional without the sac tray should be a #18, hence the larger sac nipple. But length? I don't measure. Long enough that it goes to the end of the barrel, but short enough that it won't hit the end and bunch up when the section is fully inserted. I can't see any point in measuring down to the 16th of an inch.

[OcalaFlGuy]

As mentioned there are both #16 and #18 sized nipples in full size Transitionals without sac trays. In fact, I've never seen a Tranny With a sac tray.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[OcalaFlGuy]

But length? I don't measure. Long enough that it goes to the end of the barrel, but short enough that it won't hit the end and bunch up when the section is fully inserted. I can't see any point in measuring down to the 16th of an inch.

 

Sorry, but I don't think it's Always a good comparison of how you, Ron, do something with how someone in this forum who does the same procedure once every third blue moon does it.

 

You are a pro who does it so often it is nearly second nature for you. There are very few people Anywhere who have become or will become That familiar with resacing. There are probably More people in this forum who will Only work on an Esterbrook, no other pens, than any other brand on FPN. I contend that the Safest, Easiest way for Those people is to cut the sac to the same length the factory did.

 

IMO, any Other sac "measuring" method interjects Some possibility of messing up and making it shorter or longer than it should be. Measuring it to the same length it was when it left the factory is Fool Proof.

 

I'm not saying Ron that your's isn't the Right answer, just that in this case, in This sub-forum it might not be the Best, Right, answer.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[crescentfiller]

I agree with Ron completely. I believe this method is as valid for the amateur as it is for the semi-pro and pro. If I feel the need to "measure," I pop the sac in the barrel, eyeball the variance for the section and nipple, and snip.

The important thing is, as Ron states, you don't want the sac to bunch up--much like your shorts!

 

Best,

Daniel

[Ron Z]

My point Bruce, is that a sac a bit short or a bit long really isn't going to make a heck of a lot of difference in how much ink a pen holds. Really, it isn't. Certainly not enough that most people will notice or care, nor can you damage the pen if it's a tad short. Granted if it's too long it'll bunch up and won't fill properly, but it's unlikely to break the pen

 

What do you do when you don't have a precise length given for a pen (any pen, not just an Esterbrook), or you have a pen that has a replacement pressure bare, or has the plug in the end removed? (you do know that some Esterbrooks have a rubber plug, like an eraser, in the end of the barrel, right?) You encounter that as often as you do an intact Esterbroook J. You pop the sac in the barrel, cut the sac off even with the end of the barrel. Hold the sac against the shoulder on the section, cut it off a bit shorter than where the sac nipple shoulder is. Cement it on the sac nipple with shellac and you're done. Measuring to a precise length is fine if you want to do it, but it's not necessary to be that precise or a sin if you aren't.