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It's Aliiiiiiiive! - And It's 'cause Of You Guys!


Komitadjie

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First, a great big thank you to all the guys in here who've been giving me advice, to Ron for supplying the grease and section sealant, and to Richard for his awesome restoration guide at http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/repair/touchdown.htm and for supplying the O-ring and sac for this one.

 

I started this particular adventure last Saturday, with a find up at a local antique place of a few decent Sheaffer pens. One in particular caught my attention, and it was helpfully identified by you guys as a Tuck-away. Externally, it was in fine shape, just in need of a bit of cleaning. The sac, of course, was completely ossified, as was the Touchdown O-ring. This photo was taken after rinsing the nib externally, and wiping the whole pen down with a damp cloth to remove the gunk that was on it from storage.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/PENS-3_zpse61b9fc9.jpg

 

So, after finding out what it was, my next thought was "how do I get it working again?" A quick search for "touchdown restoration" pointed me to Richard's site, and specifically his page on that precise topic! Oh, sweet, step-by-step instructions! A quick order of spare parts from his conveniently-linked ordering pages (seriously, it's awesome, he's got the links to buy the stuff right as he lists it, so you don't even need to search for the right thing, just click the link!) and another quick order from Ron of section sealant and silicone grease, and I was on my way!

 

While I was waiting for that stuff to arrive, I broke the whole thing down (again following Richard's directions) to small parts, and cleaned them out thoroughly. Tip unit got flushed thoroughly, sonicated for a bit, then flushed again until it was totally clean. Body was wiped down thoroughly inside and out with my usual 10% ammonia mix, then flushed with clear water. Cap got sonnicated as well, and an AMAZING amount of crud came out!

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140713_091040_zpsefb98feb.jpg

 

I was rather excited when the mailman showed up today, bringing the components I needed! Grabbed my tools, and got to work!

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_141112_zps66cc4ff0.jpg

 

Trimmed the sac to length

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_141418_zpse449a789.jpg

 

Some carefully-applied sac cement, and the sac went on. I was expecting a lot more of a fight, it went on nice and easily, and squared up well. I went ahead and added a thin band between the sac and the section shoulder as well, just to be sure.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_142214_zpsb2bab5da.jpg

 

Waited an hour (went out for lunch, actually) then came back and dusted the sac lightly with pure talcum powder. I ended up getting mine from a dive shop, the sort intended for dry-suit seals and the like.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_153449_zps57ee652e.jpg

 

Sac protector popped right back on with no trouble at all.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_153537_zpsf6f2abe5.jpg

 

Next, the O-ring was greased, and went into the cap (that IS a bit like wrestling with a tiny, grease-covered squid!). I found I had my best luck using the stick from a wood-handled cotton swab to hold one edge into the gland, then using my tweezers to fit it slowly the rest of the way around. Only took about thirty seconds to do, I was expecting more of a fight with that!

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_142339_zps75d0de08.jpg

 

The touchdown tube went back in, blind cap screw, star washer and blind cap re-installed, and I gave the touchdown tube a very light ring of grease down near the base with it fully extended, then rolled and exercised it several times to make sure it was thoroughly spread around. As was mentioned in the instructions, plugging the end with my finger resulted in a slight suction on Touchdown tube extension, and a very audible "puff" of air on close.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_155737_zps4c30089c.jpg

 

After that, it was a simple matter of using my embossing heat gun to warm up a little bit of section sealant on the end of a toothpick and spread it around the section threads. It started to set as I did so, so I very gently warmed the entire section as I threaded the body back on, just enough to keep the sealant relatively liquid.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_160004_zpsfcb6c419.jpg

 

Then the acid test! I chose Waterman Blue for this one.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140718_163224_zpsd471f263.jpg

 

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Thanks for posting this excellent thread. Very helpful no matter what type of pen you're working on. Personally, I have 4 Snorkels - some already dis-assembled - that I intend to attempt to repair and get at least a couple into working order. For me - at this stage of my FP experience - this will be a challenge and I will probably be online here for advice. The snorkel has been called the "most complicated" pen of all time.

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Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I tend to have a bit of a thing for photographing projects like this rather a lot. If you're looking for a great how-to on the Snorkels, Richard's site has an entire page dedicated to them as well, with a step-by-step how-to for working them over!

 

I have four more Touchdowns to work on (this was my only non-TM Touchdown), then I think I'm going to tackle one of the Snorkels I've picked up myself. Just need to order some snorkel tube seals first on that one. This is all kinds of fun, I was expecting it to be a lot more frustrating than it turned out to be. I can't wait to start work on my next one! :)

Edited by Komitadjie
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Hey, thanks, Craig! It really is a good feeling, I've done restorations on old tools and things before and really get a kick out of it, but this is my first time trying it with a pen (aside from a Parker 51, that hardly counts as "restore") :lol:

 

Made one more adjustment just a bit ago, actually. I noticed that when I wrote with it, it was a bit on the scratchy side, which seemed really unusual for a Triumph point. So, grabbed my 10X loupe (actually a Bosch and Lomb pair of lenses that clips onto my glasses) and took a look. The "left" tine (looking down on the pen, as I would hold it while writing) was bent slightly upward from the right, to a distance equal to about 1/4th of the tipping height. I very, very carefully used a toothpick with the tip cut off diagonally as a probe, and bent it slowly back down. Took me about 5 adjustments, with just a little bit of pressure, then look at it again, then just a hair of pressure again, to get it lined up just perfectly with the other. Tried it again, and the scratch is totally gone! :D

Edited by Komitadjie
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And with a big thanks to FloridaBlue for the encouragement, to Richard Binder for the awesome directions, and to David for the parts... I just completed my first Snorkel refit!

 

Picked this one up as a "toss in for free" along with a Feather Touch nibbed pen with a standard Touchdown. This was advertised as "and I'll throw in this Snorkel too, it's broken and the tube won't retract". Turns out, it was a gold tube "first year" model, and they'd apparently taken it apart at some point, and didn't get the guide rails properly aligned when they put it back together. So the "fat" rail was shoved down into one of the "thin" slots. After a good bit of soaking, just to be sure it wasn't inked in place as well, a careful, steady pull barehanded was able to slide it out with no damage at all! Replaced the sac and point seal following Richard Binder's instructions, and restored the Touchdown back section just like the others I've been working on. Held my breath, put it all back together again, then shot the cat with a stream of water from ~5ft away! :D

 

Ran out of time tonight to ink it and test it out, but that's on the docket for tomorrow morning!

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140724_223517_zps1f80a59a.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140724_223550_zps87b75c8a.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20140724_223606_zpse224546e.jpg

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Nice. It's a great feeling to take a "this can only be good for parts" pen and put it back in service, isn't it?

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

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It really is, Ernst! There is a very slight buckle in the Snorkel tube on this one, just the slightest sign of a dent, and perhaps a ~.003 offset at the tip when held parallel to a straight-edge down the tube. I'd guess it's a side-effect of the previous attempt at removing the ink system from the pen. Doesn't seem to impact performance, though, everything still slides smoothly in the section. :)

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Awesome! Congrats on your first Snorkel restoration as well Komitadjie!

 

What a coincidence that we both fixed 1st year Snorkels :)

 

That gray is quite nice. I think it's Statesman model. I have one just like it in burgundy.

Parker: Sonnet Flighter, Rialto Red Metallic Laque, IM Chiseled Gunmetal, Latitude Stainless, 45 Black, Duovac Blue Pearl Striped, 51 Standard Black, Vac Jr. Black, 51 Aero Black, 51 Vac Blue Cedar, Duofold Jr. Lapis, 51 Aero Demi Black, 51 Aero Demi Teal, 51 Aero Navy Gray, Duofold Pastel Moire Violet, Vac Major Golden Brown, Vac Deb. Emerald, 51 Vac Dove Gray, Vac Major Azure, Vac Jr. Silver Pearl, 51 Vac Black GF Cap, 51 Forest Green GF cap, Vac Jr. Silver Pearl, Duovac Senior Green & Gold, Duovac Deb. Black, Challenger Black, 51 Aero Midnight, Vac. Emerald Jr., Challenger Gray Pearl, 51 Vac Black, Duofold Int. Black, Duofold Jr. Red.

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Yeeeeeeup. I've done a dozen or so Touchdowns now, but this was my first Snorkel! :thumbup:

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  • 3 weeks later...

congrats on the repairs :thumbup:

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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