Hi Folks!

I'm repairing my first vac. Of course I don't have the tool to remove the threaded filler mechanism. Does anybody know that thread size? My pen is a late model 5" major. The threads are either 8mm or 5/16" I don't know the pitch?

Any creative ideas on how to build a simply tool to remove them without having to buy a custom tool?

Thanks in advance,

Robert

Buy the tool or pay a professional to do the work for you. The threads on your pen's filler are 5/16-36, a decidedly unusual thread. If you opt for building your own tool, you will have to buy the tap, and because it's uncommon it's more expensive than the usual 5/16-18 or 5/16-24 taps. Add the cost of other materials, and add the cost of your time, and you'll end up losing on the deal.

You might want to read my diaphragm replacement instructions to get a sense of what you're in for.

Hi Richard and thanks for the quick reply and the thread size.

I must tell you I love your web site and refer to it almost daily. I'm envious of your collection. But I understand that "Rome wasn't build in a day!"

Yes, your are probably right that it is "cheaper" in the long run to just buy the tool. However, I love the experience of developing my skills by doing things myself. How will I learn if somebody does it for me?

1 Parker Vintage Vac Pen on Ebay, $30
1 Parker diaphram, $3.50
Tool building experience, priceless
For everything else there is Mastercard.

Thanks again,

Robert

Why reinvent the wheel....
Buy the proper tool and do the job yourself....
Richard is not saying you have to send the pen to a professional...
BUT, as someone with more than a little bit of experience in doing Vac fillers... if you are not careful you can ruin a good pen...

To add to the above comments...

Richard and I both make our own tools. I like to make my own tools, and I have a whole tool box full of special tools that I've made. I used a vac block that I made for years. But two years ago I bought both sizes of the FPH vac tools and use them exclusively. Haven't touched my vac block since I bought them. They work far better than the vac blocks do, so are well worth the money!

OK, I get your point. Since I'm new to this stuff I'll heed your advice. I'm reminded of Proverbs 12:15: A fool thinks his own way is right, but the wise listens to advice. And our Lord said: A student is not above his teacher.

Thanks for the helpful tips and information.

Robert

A student of Proverbs will be a wise man indeed. 31 books, 31 days, it doesn't take long for them to sink in. I find that the book is a great study of human character traits.

Does anybody know the thread size of the larger vacumatic pump system. Please also confirm that he smaller thread size is 5/16-36 This is a really hard tap to find.

Thanks

Robert

5/8-36.



MSC item #04841367.

--Daniel

Here's another supplier.

Victor. Check under Threading Tools.

Regards,

Gerry

I'd like to add something here, after using my FPH tool for many years, several years ago I lucked into a Vac Repair Kit at the local flea market, intact with everything (including some ossified diaphragms) except the spirit lamp.

I used the original Parker block once for the experience. I have used it by preference since then. Other tools are great, especially for installation on the lockdown, but for removal nothing can touch the original.

And I won't even tell what my first tool was made of (hint, it included a wooden clothespin and channel locks)

Yup. My first vac wrench was made out of wood. I knew that I had to protect the threads, but didn't have a way to make a proper wrench. So I drilled an undersized hole in a piece of wood, then cut the block down the middle. I don't remember how I clamped the two halves together over the threads. I still have the pen though. A cedar blue 51 with a sterling cap, my first 51.

Is this what you switched to Rick?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...77223&rd=1&rd=1

The auction pictures show most of the sides - except the business end for clamping the filler unit. Any chance you could provide a picture with that view?

BTW, I see both you and Ron had the same idea regarding protecting the threads without having to find the appropriate tap. How did it work? I was contemplating using brass myself, since it is so much softer than the steel threads it shouldn't hurt them any more than the wood, but having found a source for the taps, and from reading this thread, I have decided to look around for a real tool...

Regards,

Gerry

How did it work? OK I guess, on the fillers that were already a bit loose. But I did make one a few months later. The wood protected the threads, but couldn't give enough of a grip for the really tight filler units, which is why I made a block type vac wrench.

The advantage to the threaded one is that you grip on all of the thread area - not just the top edge of the thread, so you get a much more solid grip on the filler.

I used my home made aluminum vac block for over 10 years, but switched to the vac wrench a couple of years ago. My son Aaron bought a DJ vac jr at the DC show, and of course handed it to me to repair. Free naturally. At a pen show even.

I couldn't get the filler loose. No way, no how. Elaine was sitting across the table and said "I have my FPH wrench in the room, want to try it?" She went and got it, I tried it, and it worked so well that I bought one the next day, then the Maxima size a month later.

I suspect that the problem with my aluminum block wrench was that the aluminum eventually wore enough that it couldn't close down completely on the filler. It would unscrew off of the filler instead of gripping it tightly and transfering the torque. Richard mentioned, and I found it to be true, that the block type can crush the plastic fillers. I can do that with the wrench type, but it's harder to do.

hi,

martin at wood-bin (e bay name) hasi n his e bay store a vac repair kit for 99.00.

Thanks for the insight Ron. Yes, I thought it would be tough on the plastic fillers. Almost put that in my post earlier.

Aunt Rebecca, Martin actually bought the Parker block on eBay referred to above - for $215 I think.

Regards,

Gerry

Well, hooray, a wooden clothspen, a bit of heat, and a pair of pliers work perfectly to get the filler loose on my 1948 51 vacumatic.

However, I now have another problem -- the locking collar is stuck well and truely to the metal taper (badly eaten away at the bottom, must have had Suprechrome ink in it when the filler died).

Any hints on getting this apart without breaking the plunger?

I'm heating and sonicating in the hopes that it's some stray shellac and not corrosion.

Peter

Got it apart -- just dried superchrome. Slips nicely now, so all I need to do is get the pellet out (big pain, I think!) and a new diaphram and I'm ready to go.

Peter

Good for you Peter!

A word of advise - use a dremel or similar device, with a small burr to get the pellet out. I know that Victor Chen in a Pen World article says use a heated pin or a dental pick to get it out. I'll refrain from editorial comments, other than to say that this is an excellent way to break the pellet cup. They DO break easily. A dremel to break up the pellet is the safest way to get them out with the smallest chance damage to the filler. The voice of (painful) experience.

Dremel makes some nice battery powered units, and you can buy cheapo units at Harbor Freight that will work too.

Thanks Ron

I've got a Dremel (and also an Exacto with that long, thin blade).

I was hoping the pellet would pop out when I turned the remains of the diaphram upside down and pulled it out (it was still flexible), but no, it tore instead.

While I could probably make a replacement cup, I'd rather not. That would let me make a new retainer taper, though -- this one is corroded. Maybe I'll take a pic today and post it.

Peter

That happens more often than you might expect, and lots of folks overlook it when they put the pen back together. The usual result is a torn diaphragm because instead of the blind cap nipple turning freely, it turns the taper, and the end of the diaphragm bunches up then tears. That allows the "newly restored" pen to leak since air can get into the back end of the pen instead of through the feed.

Grip the nipple with a vac tool, and use pair of pliers to grip the raised edge of the taper near the blind cap nipple. You may be able to work it loose. If you do, then you can clean the corrosion off with a carbon wire* wheel in your dremel. Use an xacto knife to clean the crud from the inside of the nipple. Plier marks on the raised edge of the taper can be cleaned off with a fine file. The tapered part is a little more criticle, bue even so it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth - the rubber of the diaphragm compresses to provide the proper seal.

*the stainless wire brushes/wheels are too stiff, and tear up the aluminum of the taper.

Ron:

Hot water and a trip to the sonicator bath allowed me to gently pry the nipple away from the taper. It was filled with dried ink, so I carefully scraped it all off so that the retainer spins freely on the taper.

I figured it was necessary for the nipple to turn freely, as I didn't see any other way to get the diaphram to hold still.

I'm ordering some diaphrams from Giovanni -- I figure I'd better get more than one so I have a backup on my first try on installation.

I'll use a pointed burr to get the pellet out later.

This is fun!

Peter

YUP and for all the other Vac fillers you are going to end up buying

Hey Giz - I'm going to wave a red 3 band standard under your nose in Philly. It's one I'm going to keep, but it's a great pen for "bring and brag" (recognizing the true nature of "show and tell" at pen shows)

Oh, I already have one (1947 Demi) and another on the way.

These things are like Lays potato chips.... (if you are old enough to remember that commerical).

Peter

You better be waving it from way out of arms reach....