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Sheaffer Vaccuum-Fil Repair


irish_monk

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Other than Richard and Ron does anyone else do repairs on Sheaffer Vaccuum-Fil pens, using the traditional methods, that has a reasonable turn around time? TIA

"A man's maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play."

 

Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Other than Richard and Ron does anyone else do repairs on Sheaffer Vaccuum-Fil pens, using the traditional methods, that has a reasonable turn around time? TIA

 

If you want the traditional, as closely as done by Sheaffer, repair, I believe that only Ron and Richard offer that....

There are other restorers out there that do good vacfill repairs but use a different system

Sherrell Tyree is one that comes to mind, but her lead time is also long....

You might want to contact SMG here on FPN, he is just over the border in Waterloo Canada and might be able to help you out.. He uses the same restoration system that Ron and Richard do...

Edited by OldGriz
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Cool. Thanks for the info. I'm a traditionalist so I think I may opt for the usual suspects...

"A man's maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play."

 

Friedrich Nietzsche

 

kelsonbarber.wordpress.com

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I believe Ron Meloche does these restorations in the traditional/Sheaffer way.

You can reach him at: rmelo12089@cox.net

 

Regards, greg

Don't feel bad. I'm old; I'm meh about most things.

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My understanding is that Victor Chen is one of the foremost Vac-Fil repairers. He has written articles on his technique in Pennant magazine. He works under the company name Penopoly at http://www.penopoly.com/about_penopoly.html.

 

Victor is also an incredibly helpful purveyor of tools and supplies for Vac-Fil repair.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard

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Other than Richard and Ron does anyone else do repairs on Sheaffer Vaccuum-Fil pens, using the traditional methods, that has a reasonable turn around time? TIA

 

"Traditional" can be such a challenging expression.

 

It's not clear (to me at least) how Sheaffer- ten or twenty years after building a plunger pen- rehabbed ones that went south.

 

The traditional method within the hobby has now widely (though not universally) fallen into disfavor, in favor of a fairly recent technique developed by Nathan Tardif, supplemented by materials introduced by David Nishimura and by Ron Zorn, and with technique tweaks that Zorn, Binder, Quitt and others have developed.

 

Richard's current 3 month turn around and Ron's 1.5-2 month turn around are both quite reasonable based on what some of us experience (I have couple pens out with restorers going on two years now).

 

Ron Meloche, Gerry Berg and (i believe) Sean Gosse have done nice restorations of this sort of pen. Gerry and Sean I believe have Ron's new material for the front end, and I need to touch base with Ron M to see if he is using it. El Zorno i've seen do these and have been guinea pig for new tweaks (i have lots of pens lying about, strangely enough). Indeed, I'm not at liberty to disclose some of what I've seen. I have sat in on some of his chats with Richard regarding technique mods.

 

These are not easy to fix, but once done right make very nice users.

 

regards

 

david

Edited by david i
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Other than Richard and Ron does anyone else do repairs on Sheaffer Vaccuum-Fil pens, using the traditional methods, that has a reasonable turn around time? TIA

 

If you want the traditional, as closely as done by Sheaffer, repair, I believe that only Ron and Richard offer that....

There are other restorers out there that do good vacfill repairs but use a different system

Sherrell Tyree is one that comes to mind, but her lead time is also long....

You might want to contact SMG here on FPN, he is just over the border in Waterloo Canada and might be able to help you out.. He uses the same restoration system that Ron and Richard do...

 

I am not at all certain that Sheaffer did any sort of "traditional" repair ;)

 

-d

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Just to clarify, the "new" (as near to original spec,as possible) material for the piston seal sounds the very thing to be used, postage costs to this country for it are very high, so vac fills are on hold a bit until it can be justified.

 

The back end seal, there are three methods I am aware of, David Nishimura's seal and closure washer, Francis Goosens cartridge system, and the replacing of the original felt and cork packing. I hopefully, corrcetly assume, that the latter is what is being reffered to as the "traditional" method.

 

"quote" I am not at all certain that Sheaffer did any sort of "traditional" repair

 

-d "unquote"

 

Probability being that unless barrel had an engraving, repairmen simply replaced, the barrel with a new seal in place.

Unless there is evidence that they actually did effect the repair of the back end seal. I think it is accepted that repairs are now carried out, that previously would not have been considered practical, when spares were more readily available.

 

So back to the question of what is a "traditional" repair, using the other/new methods I would say you are effecting a repair. Doing it as the pen left the factory is a restoration, if you want a pen to be used and last longer than original specification, the later developed methods would be preffered. If you have a high end collectors piece, true to original, or are a pure traditionalist, you should look for the factory specification method.

Pen repair is constantly being improved upon and evolving, I do think some workshop repairmen of yore, would be lost in the company of the Ron Z and Binders of the present day. This is not to be taken as detrimental to either group of people, in honesty, it was a job back then, today it is a passion for pens, that drives improvement on.

et

 

 

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge (Charles Darwin)

http://www.wesonline.org.uk/

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Sheaffer was not repairing the vaccum fillers, or "wire" pens as they called them. I talked to one of the last repair people who worked for Sheaffer when I was in the repair center last year about the pen. When I asked how they repaired them, she looked at me fora long minute, and said "I've worked here for 25 years, and I've never repaired one."

 

The reason that Richard and I were two of the three repair people asked to be authorized repair centers for vintage Sheaffers was in part because we were at the time the only repair people repairing the pens the right way. The people involved at the time had done quite a bit of research before they asked.

 

 

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I am not at all certain that Sheaffer did any sort of "traditional" repair ;)

They certainly were not doing so for the last few decades (see Ron's comment), but Sheaffer did service VF pens by maintaining or replacing the packing unit for a time. I do not know when they stopped performing those specific procedures.

 

--Daniel

"The greatest mental derangement is to believe things because we want them to be true, not because we observe that they are in effect." --Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Daniel Kirchheimer
Specialty Pen Restoration
Authorized Sheaffer/Parker/Waterman Vintage Repair Center
Purveyor of the iCroScope digital loupe

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For what it's worth, I highly recommend the "Father Terry" plug system of repairing these pens. The technique is the least destructive, fairly easy, and works well. I realize that this repair technique does not fully duplicate the original specs of the pen, but it gets the pens to fill reliably so that they can be used.

 

I've broken several Vac-Fils while trying to remove the original packing unit. Even in pens whose packing units I've been able to successfully remove, I've had only partial success in replacing those units with the Nishimura rubber gaskets and sealing washers. No doubt the fault is more with my skill level than the method; that said, I've restored 100s of pens of various sorts, so I'm not a full-on newbie.

 

The Father Terry plug method has worked without fail for me, and has never led to a broken pen.

 

The trick with all these methods is that you have to remove the nib/feed unit, which is of varying designs depending on the model of pen. Once the nib/feed/collar unit is removed, it's straight-forward to use the Father Terry plug method. Remove the piston, insert the plug, replace the piston washer, and reinsert the piston. It's always worked for me.

 

Yes, this is not a "traditional" repair. But it works, it's reversible, it's non-destructive, and it is less risky. Some of these Vac-Fils are my favorite daily writers (particularly those striated 1250 models with the wide cap band and Triumph nib). I'm grateful to the Father Terry method for turning these pens into reliable writers.

 

Just my two cents, from a humble non-professional.

 

Richard

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For what it's worth, I highly recommend the "Father Terry" plug system of repairing these pens.

Richard

 

And the Fr. Terry method will fail, sooner rather than later. Richard and I have undone dozens of these repairs that have failed. One is in the show now.

 

I tried it on one pen some 15 years ago, decided that it was not the way to go, and refused to repair the pens until I found out about replacing the 0 ring inside the packing unit. Richard and I then spent over a year tweeking our procedures to improve the process before we went public with the repair.

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I have been doing these pens for the last year or so, and as of last summer was one of the first outside of Ron and Richard to purchase the materials which they use to replace the piston seal. I have had a couple of pens which did not want release the felt washers, but other than that have had great success with this method.

 

The one issue which has stumped me a couple of times is that the piston rod was corroded or the plastic sheath was rotten. In these cases I have been able to replace the rod, but am out of replacements at the moment (yes Lisa I am speaking of your pen).

 

I originally learnt my technique for these pens from reading David Nishimura's excellent article on them, and have since improved my methods and materials to where I am confident in offering this to my clients.

 

Cheers,

Sean Gosse

 

PenRx is no longer in business.

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Other than Richard and Ron does anyone else do repairs on Sheaffer Vaccuum-Fil pens, using the traditional methods, that has a reasonable turn around time? TIA

 

All of my Vac-Fil pens have been restored by Francis Goossens (FPN member fountainbel); so far I'm very happy with his work plus price and turnaround time are great.

 

His method is completly reversable as fat as I know.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

 

 

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Ron, I'd appreciate more detail about how the Father Terry method fails. Does the plug slip forward toward the nib? Does the hole in the plug expand with use so as to lose the air-tight seal? Does the plug decay?

 

In general, how long would it take a plug to fail?

 

Thanks again for all your excellent contributions to the board,

 

Richard T

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The pen just quits filling. There is resistance to movement of the rod, but you lose vacuum and the pen won't fill, or you get a leak around the rod. In some cases the rubber hardens. It can be a royal pain to remove too.

 

Like I said before, I tried it maybe 15 years ago on one pen, and just didn't feel at all comfortable with the process, so therefore never used it again. The first spark of interest after that came when I saw David Nishimura's post about the 0 rings 3 or 4 years ago. It works, and with the new head gasket material, the pens fill far better than the pens restored any other way. With most nearly to, or all of the way to, the top. In one stroke.

 

 

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As I recall, the factory-authorized Sheaffer method specified in the old manuals was to drill out the whole packing unit, threads and all, and cement in a new one. All well and good if you have spare "new ones"!

 

True. They also used a graphite impregnated rubber for the head gasket.

 

Sheaffer had trays FULL of NOS barrels when they closed the repair center years ago. Sitting there for 70 some odd years. But they hadn't repaired the pens for decades.

 

I should point out that your 0 ring method is reversible too - all that has to be done is to remove the retaining washer. Francis method requires removal of, and discarding the old packing unit. I've had to replace some of them too, as the material of the replacement unit has cracked or broken.

 

They can be a tough pen to repair.

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Well, I suppose I ought to stick my oar in here, since everyone else whose opinion I respect has done so along with some whom I consider to be misguided. :)

 

The Father Terry method (which is the "traditional" method to which David Isaacson refers) relies on shoving a thick, stiff rubber washer up the pen's barrel to take over the duties of the failed Sheaffer packing. Sometimes the washer won't stay put and has to be glued. Sometimes the washer stays put but doesn't seal well enough, necessitating the addition of a second. Or a third, which I've actually seen in a failed pen that I restored. The rubber washer will -- not might, will -- cause the plunger to move with difficulty instead of slipping smoothly and easily as it did when Sheaffer made it. The rubber washer will -- not might, will -- harden and fail to seal. Nathan Tardif used to keep, and still may have, a couple of quart jars filled with failed Father Terry washers.

 

The plunger-head washers that Father Terry used to supply were cut rather roughly, frequently with the center hole off center. The rubber was neither the correct thickness nor the correct firmness to work as Sheaffer's washers did, and it would not infrequently jam and pull off the plunger.

 

The best method would not be to do what Sheaffer did, i.e., replace the packing unit with an identical part. The greased felt in Sheaffer's packings will -- not might, will -- fail eventually, as the surfactant in ink gradually destroys the grease and replaces it in the interstices of the felt. The ink in the felt can then dry out, rendering the felt hard and casing a seal failure.

 

The best method known today -- which may not be the absolute best method because technology is always advancing -- is the method Ron and I developed; as Ron says, we spent over a year in perfecting it. We stood on the shoulders of giants; David Nishimura did most of the initial discovery and development, and Francis Goossens made plunger-washer punches to my specifications so that we could cut parts the right size with centered holes.

 

Ron, Sean, and I are using this method. (Gerry Berg is using some, maybe all, of it; I'm not sure what material he's employing for the plunger washer.) We drill out the front end of the packing by working up through the barrel. Remove the felt and replace it with a Viton® O-ring of the appropriate size, and devise a method for ensuring that the O-ring won't pop out during use. For the plunger head, the best method is to use a high-grade nitrile rubber that is the correct thickness and the correct firmness. Ron sought out this material and found it in the form of a tag end from a custom order: the right stuff is not something you can buy off the shelf anywhere. Ron bought the entire supply to ensure that there would be plenty for the foreseeable future, and he and I offer it for sale at prices that allow you to make your washers for less than 10¢ each.

 

Francis Goossens' method seems to work, but I'm not convinced that it's the best method; his Mark I cartridge requires removal of the original packing, and his Mark II cartridge eats up a nontrivial space in the barrel. I've seen several catastrophic failures of Francis' cartridges; it's my belief that the person installing them simply did not have the skill and the necessary machine tools to do the work precisely enough. My solution for these failures has been to replace the original packing unit housing and then proceed with the method Ron and I developed.

 

A further advantage of the method Ron and I use is that it's adaptable to pens not made by Sheaffer. I currently restore Sheaffer, Wahl-Eversharp, Pilot, Onoto, and Conklin plunger fillers. Neither the Father Terry washer system nor Francis Goossens' cartridges will work for me in all these applications.

sig.jpg.2d63a57b2eed52a0310c0428310c3731.jpg

 

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If one can find fault with Richard's discussion on the restoration of a Sheaffer Vac Fill it is this"

 

In the line "rendering the felt hard and casing a seal failure." the word casing, I believe, should have been causing. :thumbup:

 

 

AHHH, finally I get even for having my grammar and typos corrected.... :roflmho:

I do know, however, that I will end up paying for that correction next time I see Richard :gaah:

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