Fitting Touchdown O Ring

[Larry Barrieau]

I have a touchdown Craftsman and I'm trying to get the o ring into the groove near the end of the barrel. I've been to a number of sites describing this repair and they all say that it will be finicky, frustrating, difficult, and other non optimistic descriptions and I agree with all of them. I've tried Richard Binders "tweezer" method, I've used a rod that ends just before the groove in the barrel, and I've spent over an hour and a half in twenty minute sessions nudging, cajoling, swearing, pushing, pulling, and it still laughs at me. There must be some trick to this that I haven't found. Those who repair pens for a living can't afford to spend this kind of time.

 

Any help? Thanks

Larry

[zchen]

For me the key is getting the right size rod (I've found several different ballpoint pen barrels that fit exactly) to place it below the grove and prevent the o-ring from shifting further down in to the barrel, get a part of the o-ring into the grove first then work the rest of it.

 

my first repair took a while too but once you get that first one done everything after becomes much easier.

[Larry Barrieau]

Thanks Zchen. I do have the right length rod and it's the correct diameter. I'll keep trying.

[CraigR]

I also have two dowels that are just under the size of the inner diameter of the barrel. I insert one from the front to just below the O ring groove and use the other to tamp the O ring into place. The 0 ring is given a light coating of silicone grease. I gently turn the top dowel as I push the 0 ring into place.

 

Now the patience and frustration battle begins. Just as I am about to give up, the 0 ring slides into place and all is well with the world again.

[jar]

You also need to make quite sure there are no remains of the old ring or other material in the groove.

[pen lady]

I use a variation on the "dowel" method. I have an "el cheapo" mechanical pencil that I put in the barrel so that the shoulders are close to the "O" ring groove and use a very, very fine crochet hook to nudge the ring into place. But it is still an exercise in dexterity and patience! Good luck.

[Roger W.]

Dowels help then it won't sink past a certain point. Maybe I got a knack for it but, I usually skip the dowel and just give it little pushes back and forth on the part that bulges past the groove (or inside and outside if you like) til it pops in - works for me anyway. Most people seem to have a lot of trouble with O rings. Perhaps this is my talent in life - really? I can't do better than being really good at putting in O rings?

 

Roger W.

[Larry Barrieau]

Thanks everyone, I will try each suggestion. Keep 'em coming.

[BT-7274]

I usually just do it by hand, sans tools thanks to having somewhat smaller hands for my stature. Takes about a minute or two at most. Or, if it's being really stubborn, use one of those plastic flosser/toothpick hybrids to help edge the o-ring into place. They tend to have a very fine point on the toothpick end, making it surprisingly useful.

Edited November 10, 2014 by White Expressions

[whereisandy]

I use a variation on the "dowel" method. I have an "el cheapo" mechanical pencil that I put in the barrel so that the shoulders are close to the "O" ring groove and use a very, very fine crochet hook to nudge the ring into place. But it is still an exercise in dexterity and patience! Good luck.

I use an even more "el cheapo method" of 2 unsharpened pencils from opposite ends of the barrel to get the O-ring close. Then I use needle-nose tweezers to help guide the ring in to the groove. Like others have said, you have to be sure that the old O ring is completely removed.

[Larry Barrieau]

Thanks, still trying.

[bsenn]

Dowels help then it won't sink past a certain point. Maybe I got a knack for it but, I usually skip the dowel and just give it little pushes back and forth on the part that bulges past the groove (or inside and outside if you like) til it pops in - works for me anyway. Most people seem to have a lot of trouble with O rings. Perhaps this is my talent in life - really? I can't do better than being really good at putting in O rings?

 

Roger W.

Hey, don't knock it. Maybe you'll save the world someday by getting the o-ring in place in the nick of time down at the nuclear plant.

 

I'm still not sure what my super power is...

 

Brian

[gweimer1]

For some reason, I have no problems getting the O-rings in place. After I make sure the channel is clean, I put some silicone grease on the ring, and then I gently start the ring in the groove with 3/64 screwdriver. I can get about a third of the ring set in place that way, then I use a short section of 3/16" dowel rod for the rest. I gently push the remaining protruding part of the ring straight into the barrel, and when I get the spot, the ring starts setting in the groove. I then just rotate the dowel around the inside of the whole ring, and I'm done. It takes me less than 5 minutes.

[Larry Barrieau]

I'll try that even though I put the pen away out of frustration. Thanks

[AZBennett]

I have noticed one thing that got me on two different Touchdowns. I purchased 10 O-rings from a Pen repair store, 2 of the 10 are SLIGHTLY larger than the other 8. And those 2 will not go into ANY of my touchdowns. I have used 6 of the correct sized O-rings and they all went in after about 5 minutes worth of work (I use a dental pick and a very small screwdriver along with silicone grease). The size differential is in the millimeters, but enough to be noticeable to the naked eye if I were to stack a correct sized O-ring atop the slightly larger one I noticed just a slight variance. So that might be your trouble, I fussed with one of these "larger" O-rings for the better part of 2 hours one night before tossing it down and just happened to land next to a correct sized O-ring and when the "red" cleared from my eyes I noticed the difference. If you have another O-ring lying around, try that one instead. Otherwise keep at it and be patient it will eventually pop in.

[redbike]

Like others noted above, using dowels or, in my case, unsharpened pencils, to locate the o-ring in its groove can be a solution. Occasionally I will need to use a dental pick type tool to nudge a section of the o-ring into the groove. I hope with the above information you are able to get the job done without hours of frustration. Good luck.

[jspen765]

That reminds me of my first Snorkel--also my first O-ring. After an hour and a half of trying to get the O-ring in, I got a better light--and I was trying to install the new O-ring on top of the ossified old O-ring! A pin to encourage disintegration of the old O-ring, and then used the pen to pull out the old hard ring in pieces. Then tweezers to fit the new one. Once I got it right it was less than 10 minutes later and the new O-ring was in.

 

So put a light to it and make sure you have a clear clean groove to put the new O-ring into. And MAGNIFY!!! to be sure of it. I need 4.00 reading glasses or a stereo zoom microscope (I read with 1.00 reading glasses). Or those nice head mounted magnifiers.

 

And sometimes the old O-ring has compressed enough it looks like part of the plastic. Especially in black pen bodies.

 

I have occasionally tried to put the larger size O-ring for the fat touchdowns or tuckaways in the thin model/snorkels, or vice versa. They don't look much different even side-by-side. If it is too big it won't go in. If it is too small it won't go in. And when I figured out I had the wrong O-ring I began to wonder how I became an engineer. That time I had to wait 2 weeks to order and get the right one.

 

So verify the size!!

 

I have no trouble with at least 4 out of 5. I just coax the ring in with dull tweezers. The fifth--yes I have spent a half hour or more coaxing the fifth one in. No visible reason, just a trial in patience. It gave up about the time I went looking for an unsharpened pencil to block its squirming into the bottom of the pen.

 

Jon the eclectic penner

[Larry Barrieau]

Thanks, these are all great suggestions. I will take the pen out and try again this weekend.

[londonbooks]

There is a tool available on Pentooling.com made especially for Touchdowns & Snorkels. It costs $15. Look under Brushes & odd tools. It's called a "Sheaffer Snorkel & Touchdown O-ring seater".

[AZBennett]

Pulling out one of my Touchdowns I noticed that the O-ring I put in about two months back is now complety un ususable. Upon further inspection, I am thinking the barrel end is slightly shrunk. I have replaced the ring twice now and run into the same issue as the pen works for a a while but eventually it pulls free and gets "rolled" up, for lack of a better word. I haven't had any issues with any of my other o-ring replacements. Could I bendoing something wrong or is it possible this pen has some slight barrel issues? Any suggestions?