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Sheaffer Pushbutton Converter Repair...


BamaPen

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I have a couple of the Sheaffer pushbutton converters, one works slightly, the other not at all. I realize that this is not a particularly valuable item, but I'd like to try to make them work again if that is possible.

 

Has anyone tried, and hopefully succeeded in repairing one of these?

 

John

The Moonwalk Pen - honoring Apollo lunar landings
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No, but if you do figure it out, I have a couple of those old things myself.

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OK, I decided to go ahead...after all, what was there to lose? Close examination showed that there are four tiny dents in the metal housing that lock the housing to the black plastic end cap. I used a number 61 drill bit in a pin vise to drill out each of the dents, then wiggled the end cap out of the housing.

 

Inside, I found an ink sac and a miniature spring/pressure bar just like you would find in any button filler fountain pen - think Parker Duofold, for example. Pressing the button flexes the spring and squeezes the sac. Releasing the button allows the spring to flatten out and the sac to return to normal shape, sucking in ink.

 

In my case, the ink sac was nearly completely hardened and it tore into pieces as I extracted it with my tweezers. The spring/pressure bar was pristine. The button slid freely but wanted to stay in the housing, so, all I really needed to do was to fit a new ink sac.

 

I used a number 16 ink sac, cut to length to fit into the housing and shellacked it to the nipple on the end plug just as one would attach a sac to the nipple on a fountain pen section. After the shellac has set, I dusted the sac with talc and slipped the spring/pressure bar, and sac/end plug into the housing. There is a small notch in the side of the end plug that secures the end of the spring. The two ends of the spring are of slightly different lengths. The short end goes toward the button and the long end is captured in the notch. The flat side of the pressure bar goes toward the ink sac.

 

I found that the end plug seemed to stay in place just fine despite my having drilled out the dents that had secured it to the housing. If it were loose, I think some shellac would hold it just fine.

 

Once the assembly was complete, I tried a water test, pressing the button three times, pausing between presses, and the converter took up a small but acceptable amount of water. Reports are that these converters were not very effective, and I can believe that.

 

Below is an annotated picture of the disassembled converter for your reference.

converter-parts.jpg

The Moonwalk Pen - honoring Apollo lunar landings
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You don't always have to drill out the holes. If you use a wire cutter and section pliers, you can usually just carefully wiggle the end cap off. The wire cutter's blade can go between the metal casing and the bottom edge of the end cap. Just don't squeeze too hard. I agree about the limited capacity for ink though.

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Teri

I'll take you up on that, the next time you are in the Bay Area, or I'm down your way.

 

Gary

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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Thank you for this post. I have a Waterman converter on which the spring bar has slipped sideways, leaving the thing barely usable. I never thought of trying to fix it before, but I could probably do it the same way you did.

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If you are resacing the converter, you would do well to use one of the PVC (they call them silicone) sacs from Woodbin. The red end converters have the PVC sac. Chances are that you won't have to do it again.

 

You can put an appropriate size drill (smooth end) into the hole to support the plug, and then wiggle the plug out. Bump the indentations out with a pair of pliers before reassembly, then use an awl to stake it again to keep the plug from coming out again.

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If you are resacing the converter, you would do well to use one of the PVC (they call them silicone) sacs from Woodbin. The red end converters have the PVC sac. Chances are that you won't have to do it again.

 

You can put an appropriate size drill (smooth end) into the hole to support the plug, and then wiggle the plug out. Bump the indentations out with a pair of pliers before reassembly, then use an awl to stake it again to keep the plug from coming out again.

 

Could you do that with a Sheaffer Slim converter?

Nathaniel Harter
Sheaffer Pen Museum Volunteer
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The assembly method for converters is the same for the squeeze converters - sac attached to a nipple on the plug, the plug pushed in and staked in 3 places. The size of the piercing tube is the same for all Sheaffer pens, so the drill to support the middle should be the same. The sac will of course be a smaller size for the slim converters.

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Drills are usually not necessary.

 

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Drills are usually not necessary.

 

But they can help to keep the plug and hole from deforming, which can be useful. I like to use them because they provide support.

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  • 1 year later...

Thanks so much for this, esp BamaPen's excellent annotated picture. I have just completely my first sac replacement on a push-button converter and it works brilliantly.

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Hi folks... I have disassembled my push button converter (from a Lifetime), unfortunately the spring has broken and needs replacing. Can anyone advise if the spring is a locatable item, or would it be best to hunt for a salvage converter?

 

By the way, I used a dental hook to very gently pry the plastic end cap out from the inside, worked very well, no need to drill out the indents.

 

Many thanks to BamaPen, it was his website found by google searching the topic that made me realize the converter is indeed a repairable item.

 

All the best,

Wade

Edited by WadeNoble
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Before I found the reproduction pressure bars from Woodbin, I used to make my own replacement springs. You can make a spring out of a piece of spring steel or phosphor bronze. It's used for clock springs and such. Look for spring steel shim stock. Some is listed on eBay. You could check with a clock repair shop to see if they'll sell you a scrap piece. They might if you explain what it's for. You could also take the spring from a Woodbin pressure bar and trim it down to fit using a pair of tin snips.

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Thank you Ron, that will be very useful advice indeed! Teri from Peyton St Pens is very kindly sending me a few dead Sheaffer push-button converters to salvage for parts in hopes one of them may have its spring still intact, however with this knowledge, maybe I'll try to source some spring steel and restore all of them. I was thinking the same as your earlier post about using PVC sac instead of latex. As I look at the broken spring in mine, I'm thinking the reason it broke was due to corrosion from exposure to ink when the original sac dried & ruptured.

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Ron Z said it, but I'll repeat here with a link...It may be possible to trim a pressure bar for a pushbutton filler pen to fit in the Sheaffer converter. Woodbin sells a 66mm long pressure bar that looks like a good candidate. I suggest that trying one of these might be easier and more satisfactory than sourcing suitable spring steel. Here's a link to the page on the Woodbin site. Scroll down to the "Pressure Bars and J Bars" section:

 

http://www.woodbin.ca/PenSacsAndPressureBars.html

The Moonwalk Pen - honoring Apollo lunar landings
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Thanks BamaPen, Woodbin is where I bought my sacs and some other tools, will happily do business with him again.

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Following up. With the instructions in this thread and four dead push-button converters, I have managed to salvage together TWO now functioning push-button converters! Of the two remaining dead converters, both have broken springs, I may still grab a couple push-button pressure bars from woodbin.ca and see if I can make a further go of them... but bottom line is I now have a functioning original equipment push-button converter for my Sheaffer Imperial Lifetime Autograph, and a spare, which I'll be sending back to Teri in appreciation of her contribution.

 

Cheers,

Wade

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