I've got a really nice Shaeffer 500 in striated brown that I picked up off eBay for $10.00.

It has a #5 feathertouch nib, and a section that's threaded into the barrel. The only cosmetic issue is that some jerk chewed on the blink cap a little.

The section came off, and I've straightened out the nib tines and smoothed it out. Used as a dip pen, it's a really, really nice writer. So still outstanding is the fact that it won't fill. When I first tried it with water, it ended up with some liquid in the inside, but bubbles where popping around the shaft where it emerges from the back of the barrel.

So it looks like the packing needs to be replaced. Sigh.

But how to get the blind cap off the piston? With a good grip on piston with a pair of pliers, I can get the blind cap to spin around stiffly. but it doesn't come off. What's up? Da Book mentions needing to remove a spanning washer, but it isn't clear what that would be either.

What's up?

There is a screw fitting with a hole in it and two notches that screws into the blind cap. The plunger goes through the hole in the center. There is a hard rubber or celluloid "knob" that screws onto the plunger rod so the rod is held into the cap.

You need something to grip the fitting to unscrew it.

Peter

get a dremel cut off disk and groove the center of the blade of a 1/4" wide blade flat screwdriver (so you can stick the blades in the slots of the spanning washer wich is a threaded part that retains the plunger into the blind cap) and you're good to go.

Aha! The lightbulb goes on!

Thanks guys.

After cutting the groove in the blade, put a slight bend in the "tines" - that makes it easier to access the slot in the spanning washer.

with the bend on the "tines" it's easier to twist the screwdriver and you can end up marring the threads and/or the spanning washer. The utility of this tool without the bend would be holding the spanning washer while you unscrew the blind cap carefully avoiding any undesired contact between the tool and the shaft and threads.

That doesn't make sense. With the piston shaft gripped, the blind cap can be spun around to no effect and the washer stays still relative to the piston shaft. It looks like I need to grip the piston shaft and then use the screwdriver dohickey to twist the washer relative to the piston.

Which is, of course, why I said "slight". You only need enough bend to put the shaft of the vac filler and the shaft of the screw driver out of the same physical space, which should actually make the fit of the blade to the slot more in square. I would agree that you don't want enough bend to make using the tool awkward. And, I suppose as with any 'home built' tool, it's what works best for the particular user. My tines remain slightly bent.

That seems odd. In my experience with a number of these pens, you have two kinds of cap to shaft arrangements. In some models, I suppose the older versions (but I'm not sure about that), the shaft screws directly into the cap. When you turn the blind cap off of the filler unit, the plunger shaft turns with the cap. To remove this cap, you grip the shaft and turn the cap - some heat is advisable as these are usually shellacked in place (again, in my experience).
The other version has the slotted bushing that screws into the cap. The shaft runs through the busing and has a "nut" on the end of the shaft that holds it in the bushing but allows the shaft to turn free of the bushing and cap. This is why, when you engage the tool in the slot of the bushing, you turn the cap free of the bushing. The "nut" at the top of the shaft can then be removed as the bushing will slide down the shaft and out of the way. Again, sometimes a bit of heat is useful.

If your pen is acting otherwise, something is unusual.

Hi Stickman,
Ideally one should apply the torque in in the centerline of the plunger rod to loose the blind cap enclosure screw.
I therefore make a stainless screwdriver knob to remove the blind cap enclosure screw, as well as for replacing the Orings in the fountainbel plunger rod cartridge.
Using such a tool avoids all risks to damage the screw slot (hence making removal impossible) & one only very occasional needs to apply heat on the blind cap.
I gladly send you a picture of the tool if you contact me directly with E-mail
Regards, Francis

You got all the cool tools Francis!

OK, the blind cap is off.

I picked up a $1.00 screwdriver from a surplus store, and 5 minutes with a Dremel cut-off disk turned it into two-prong blind cap tool.

I didn't bend the prongs, as it didn't seem necessary.

The prongy tool fit nicely into the slots in the blind cap, then I gripped the shaft with some pliers and applied torque between the prongy tool and the shaft. Bingo!

A very small turn loosened the washer, and then the prongy tool had completed its job. The blind cap came off aftert that by twisting it on the shaft.

So it turns out that the do-dad with the slots was actually a locknut. That's all. The part of the blind cap that was threaded can spin around inside the blind cap, although the fit is somewhat tight and you need to grip the shaft with pliers in order to get enough torque to make that happen.

Thanks to everyone who helped out!

Now that I can see it, the plunger gasket looks to be in pretty good shape. I expected this to be the case, since I was able to work up some good pressure by putting my finger over the front of the barrel and pushing the plunger down. I might be tempted to replace it anyways, while I've got the pen apart.

I'm still trying to decide how I'm going to repair/replace the packing seal.