Sheaffer Triumph Tuckaway Repair/resoration Help

[Sheaffer270]

Hello all,

I recently acquired what I believe to be a triumph tuckaway (white dot!!) from ebay for the modest price of $26. I've been trying to buy one for sometime now but hesitated because of my tight wallet. Now that I finally have one, I need to see about repairing/restoring it. I've done some research online and the forums here and am a little intimidated. The pen was not all that expensive, but I have wanted one for a while and do not want to ruin anything.

When I received the pen, the nib was already free-spinning on the feed, though it is still attached to the section. The nib appears to be in good overall condition (see pics attached). The plunger and rod, however are completely frozen and will not budge. I have been soaking the nib/section in warm water and ammonia for several hours but am still unable to remove either. Any tips for getting it free? Also, what should I do about the rod/plunger if I can't get it moving?

I'm wondering if I should just play it safe and take it to a local pen shop (IndyPenDance if any of you are curious) and have them take a look at it. I don't really want to spend a lot of money on it, but I figure its probably the only one I'll get and I'd like it to be in good working order.

Any help or advice is appreciated, thanks!

[jar]

I think there are few people I'd consider for repairing a Sheaffer Plunger fill; Ron Zorn, Sheryl Tyree or Joel Hamilton and Gerry Berg are the ones I'd recommend.

[crescentfiller]

Congratulations! The Tuckaways are wonderful little pens.

 

If you have not repaired a pen like this before, I would definitely consider making the investment to have it repaired professionally. There's no sense in damaging it yourself when you can have it repaired properly. Perhaps have IPD give you an estimate and then see if it is worth the investment. It may actually prove to be more cost effective to buy one that is in working order.

 

Good luck!

[AAAndrew]

I'm a twice-satisfied customer of Gerry Berg, and the others jar mentioned are all quite good as well. This kind of filler is not one for the faint of heart or the amateur to attempt. But once they're fixed up, they are great pens that hold a ton of ink. I have a Statesman and one of the Sovereigns with the huge open nib and love them both. One or another of them (and sometimes both) are constantly in rotation.

 

Good news is you got a great pen, and $26 is a good price.

The bad news is that you really should have a professional restore it.

The best news is that once you do you'll have a terrific pen for still a good price.

[adyf]

I was scrolling down the post and wondering if it would be a touchdown or vac fill tuckaway. The pictures confirm it's a vac fill. Much more difficult to restore than the touchdown, so I'd recommend professional repair. It will likely need a new shaft seal, packing unit drilling out and resealing. Not to mention they're difficult to take apart, with a good chance of damaging the feed.

[Sheaffer270]

Thought I'd post a small update this morning. I let the pen soak overnight and tired removing the nib and feed one more time. This time it popped right out and appears to be undamaged. The plunger and rod, however, are still frozen in place. I think I'll take everyone's advice and get it professionally repaired, I've only re-sacked a few pens and aside from that my pen knowledge is pretty rudimentary.

[Sheaffer270]

Thought I'd post a small update this morning. I let the pen soak overnight and tired removing the nib and feed one more time. This time it popped right out and appears to be undamaged. The plunger and rod, however, are still frozen in place. I think I'll take everyone's advice and get it professionally repaired, I've only re-sacked a few pens and aside from that my pen knowledge is pretty rudimentary.

 

[graystranger]

If you are interested in using this wonderful vintage pen, you should get it professionally restored. There are seals/o-rings, special resins, special techniques for disassembling, etc. that are need to be done correctly. The cost is not high, often about $30 or so.

 

On the other hand, if you are willing to do the research and learn all about how to restore your pen, you can do it yourself. You need to do some research, learn about all the in's and out's of this model pen, the proper way to disassemble, what special seals are required (all need to be replaced on an old pen), the proper and best sac to use, etc. If you don't do this you may ruin the pen. Don't just jump into because you think you know what to do, get the facts first.

 

I would not do this just for one pen, only if this is a branch of the pen hobby you are interested in getting into. It can be rewarding and a bit profitable too, but only if you want to spend the time on research, equipment, and restoration. Not worth it just to get one pen working IMHO.

Edited June 19, 2015 by graystranger

[adyf]

I think it best to send it to someone. I may be wrong but on your first picture directly above, the lime green coloured inner ring is a plastic collar that actually forms part of the nib and feed assembly and should have come out with the nib and feed. I don't believe all is lost because it may be intact and can still be unscrewed from the barrel. Just my thoughts, others more experienced may put me right.

 

See picture courtesy of pentooling:

 

http://www.pentooling.com/Images/SH%20FEED%20E.JPG

Edited June 19, 2015 by adyf

[Sheaffer270]

I think you are correct adyf, unfortunately it was not a friction fit as a I first thought. I just got done speaking with my local pen shop and they said it would be $50 to repair the filling system ONLY, they won't know how much it is to replace the nib till they can source a replacement. Looks like I really got burned on this one.

[adyf]

Have they said that the nib needs to be replaced? Even if the plastic collar is damaged removing it, Pentooling has replacements for sale.

[Sheaffer270]

They said that if the nib is free-spinning on the feed, then it will more than likely need to be replaced. Wondering if I couldn't just buy a replacement feed and then send it off to have the filling system repaired...

[Ron Z]

Well, you got the nib out, but in the process you broke the nib unit. The collar and threads are still in the section, and have to come out before the pen can be restored. Whether or not the nib can be repaired remains to be seen. Sometimes the extracted collar can be repaired, often not, in which case you need to buy a new nib which can be hard to find. The nibs on the early Triumph pens with the short section like this, use have a multi-start thread, while the later ones have a single start thread, so they are not interchange. The early style nibs were made for a couple of years before the changeover, so are in short supply compared to the others.

 

This reinforces what I've said in many threads, which is that 1] you need to read up on how to repair a pen before starting, and 2] your chances of getting one of these pens out with out the proper tools (in this case fountainbel's nib removal tool) is 50/50 AT BEST, VS 99% chance of success with the tool.

 

Repairing a plunger filler is not rocket science, but there are a host of pitfalls waiting for you if you are not prepared and watching for them.

[Sheaffer270]

Thanks Ron. I sort of knew going into this that that was always a possibility. I read all your posts on the other repair threads on the triumph pens and was admittedly intimidated. I did as much research as I could after I ordered the pen and thought I had a pretty good grasp on what I was getting myself into. I thought that just loosening the nib would be a safe bet and was genuinely surprised when it popped out this morning. I did find a website that sells replacement feeds though, would it be possible to replace the feed only and keep the nib? The feed or sale comes with the clearish plastic collar. If not then I guess I'll just hand it over to my local pen shop and have them repair it. Its definitely not going to be fast or cheap.

[adyf]

Hopefully Ron Z will drop into this thread at some point soon. He will be better able to advise.

[jar]

I think you are correct adyf, unfortunately it was not a friction fit as a I first thought. I just got done speaking with my local pen shop and they said it would be $50 to repair the filling system ONLY, they won't know how much it is to replace the nib till they can source a replacement. Looks like I really got burned on this one.

 

Please contact one of the folk mentioned above and ask them about getting the pen serviced. Local pen shops are often not the place to go when trying to get a vintage pen fixed. The people mentioned above KNOW Sheaffer pens and what is needed to really work. The price you were quoted is certainly not out of line IF, and only IF they really knew how to repair Sheaffer plunger fill pens.

[Ron Z]

I would be careful handing this over to just any pen mechanic. There are only about half a dozen people that come to mind who can really do these the right way. But if you're talking about Mike and Linda Kennedy, they can handle it and will do a good job. Jim Baer, Gerry Berg, Joel Hamilton, Sherrel Tyree also do a good job. I can do it too of course, but not until early fall - I want to get the queue down first.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I think it best to send it to someone. I may be wrong but on your first picture directly above, the lime green coloured inner ring is a plastic collar that actually forms part of the nib and feed assembly and should have come out with the nib and feed. I don't believe all is lost because it may be intact and can still be unscrewed from the barrel. Just my thoughts, others more experienced may put me right.

 

See picture courtesy of pentooling:

 

http://www.pentooling.com/Images/SH%20FEED%20E.JPG

A little off-topic, but those monster feeds! Like prehistoric sharks.

[Sheaffer270]

Thanks for all the help everyone, and yes Ron, I did speak to Mike and Linda; they would be handling the restoration. Thanks for your offer too! Now I'll just have to save up a little cash for the repair. And I'll have to part with the pen for several weeks.

[jar]

Thanks for all the help everyone, and yes Ron, I did speak to Mike and Linda; they would be handling the restoration. Thanks for your offer too! Now I'll just have to save up a little cash for the repair. And I'll have to part with the pen for several weeks.

 

It will be worth it in the end. They are wondrous pens.