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Sheaffer Vac-Fill Balance


fpn00b

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Did complete restoration on grey pearl vac, front gasket and rear seal washer installation. Then on to vacuum test it.

 

When I moved plunger without water I got a great pop result at downstroke. However, after putting it in water I found hardly any drawn in. Long story short I found a 1/4 inch crack along the lines of the clear inclusion material and the colored celluloid on a diagonal right above the barrel threads for the cap. When I took out nib and covered end, the spot hisses there on downstroke.

 

Is this a total loss or can I seal it somehow? I hope there is a way since it is a beauty and in dip testing the Lifetime nib I fell in love with its wet XF line.

 

Please help :(

250437_189318464453433_100001258437392_556898_3480999_s.jpg From citizen soldier to flying pigs, gotta love the 'nati 248291_189317704453509_100001258437392_556895_5070930_s.jpg
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It's repairable, but not by you. The celluloid is rather thin in this area, and if the barrel is going to break it's here. I've tried solvent welding just this area behind the ring and it doesn't work. Flexing as you write just opens it up again. I repair it by cutting off the section, and then repairing it with either a new section or a celluloid bushing solvent welded in the barrel. Once done, it's solid invisible.

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It is odd because upon further examination this fissure appears to be on a diagonal that can be seen spiraling the entire barrel length. This 'line' looks to possibly be how the barrel was made. Like the celluloid was wrapped in a spiral around a cylinder and possibly fused at this point where the different colored elements met, which has failed at this point.

The leak is at the line immediately above the blue tape at the bottom of pic starting at end of tape and ending where tape spirals out of sight around pen.

 

Edited by fpn00b
250437_189318464453433_100001258437392_556898_3480999_s.jpg From citizen soldier to flying pigs, gotta love the 'nati 248291_189317704453509_100001258437392_556895_5070930_s.jpg
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It is odd because upon further examination this fissure appears to be on a diagonal that can be seen spiraling the entire barrel length. This 'line' looks to possibly be how the barrel was made. Like the celluloid was wrapped in a spiral around a cylinder and possibly fused at this point where the different colored elements met, which has failed at this point.

 

This is one of the fabrication methods Sheaffer used, along with solid stock, straight-seamed tube, and butt-jointed tubes of these various styles. The seam can be a weak point.

 

--Daniel

"The greatest mental derangement is to believe things because we want them to be true, not because we observe that they are in effect." --Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Daniel Kirchheimer
Specialty Pen Restoration
Authorized Sheaffer/Parker/Waterman Vintage Repair Center
Purveyor of the iCroScope digital loupe

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I misunderstood. For some reason I was thinking that this was a Triumph - the fumes from turning hard rubber must have gotten to my head.

 

Cracks can be repaired at the threads. The seam has revealed it's vulnerability so you'll want something more than just MEK or acetone to fill the gap. Blending in the area of the threads can be a challenge. I do a lot of crack repair, but would want to see the pen before commenting on whether it will be possible to do a good repair.

 

Check inside too. Sometimes you'll see the seam on the inside or even a string of pin pricks down the seam, which can allow a leak so that the pen doesn't fill completely. These are tough to repair even if you lay a line of liquid celluloid down the crack because the material shrinks as the solvent comes out of the celluloid. Multiple applications can be needed.

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Is liquid celluloid sold under a brand name? Doing a web search doesn't bring up what appears pen related, in fact the first Google result is most likely offensive to easily 50% of people or more. Would you discourage using cyanoacrylate forced out through the crack by plunger stroke from inside application at point of the failure?

250437_189318464453433_100001258437392_556898_3480999_s.jpg From citizen soldier to flying pigs, gotta love the 'nati 248291_189317704453509_100001258437392_556895_5070930_s.jpg
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Liquid celluloid is not a commercial product. I make it for my own use.

 

Superglue will not work. It will break down with exposure to heat and moisture (read ink, warm body), and it is much softer than celluloid, so when you go to blend the repair, it wears away more quickly so the crack line is visible again.

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Visit Main Street Pens
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Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

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