Lever Filler Question

October 19, 2017

Last night I replaced the rubber sac on a Waterman #7 lever filler. Although everything seemed intact before I re-assembled the pen and the pen does fill properly, once filled the lever does not close fully. There is about a 5 degree angle from the body of the pen. Does anyone know why this is? Is it that the pressure bar is not positioned correctly on the end of the lever? I know this is a novice question and welcome the sage advice of the experts on this forum.

October 19, 2017

Perhaps you left a small piece of the old rubber sac inside the barrel, which is obstructing the lever from fully closing

October 19, 2017

Have you filled it? Are you sure you used the biggest sac that would fit comfortably in the barrel and fit over the sac nipple? The old levers needed tension from the sac pushing against them to close completely. It will probably close better when filled, but might need a one size bigger sac.

Tim

October 19, 2017

Thanks Antique and Tim. Pretty sure I got all the old sac out. Also, the lever closed flush before I inserted the new sac. As for sac size, I started with the largest size and kept downsizing until one fit all the way in. The sac is now filled with ink but the lever doesn't close all the way.

Marc

October 19, 2017

Though Tim is right that the sac can help to hold the pressure bar and lever tight against the barrel, but Waterman levers have a catch (bumps and dents on the lever box and lever that interlock) at the end that more or less locks the lever down.

Any number of things can cause the problem. Sometimes you get a bit of sac under the pressure bar, which can keep the pressure bar from laying flat against the barrel. Sometimes the pressure bar shifts and binds with the same result. You may have bent the lever or pin by pulling too hard with the dead sac in the pen. You're going to have to look carefully both inside and outside of the barrel (use a flashlight) to see what is hitting and where, before the lever closes completely.