My Sheaffer Vac Filler's Piston Is Stuck

[loudkenny]

Hello all,

 

I finally bought my grail pen on ebay a week ago... an Ebonized Pearl nonwhitedot vac filler Balance.

 

It finally came today, and it has a very interesting issue - the piston rod is very firmly stuck in the bore.

 

What is the best way of freeing the piston rod without damaging the pen?

 

Thank you,

ken

 

 

[anideaweb]

I've not restored many of these yet, but I would guess that the plunger gasket needs to be replaced. These get very hard with age, and in order for the plunger to move freely, the gasket needs to be pliable so it can flip back-and-forth. Having the filling system restores should take care of it.

 

This is assuming you purchased an unrestored pen. If it was supposed to have been restored already then you may want to see if the seller will fix it for you.

[Paul80]

Hi

 

There could be a number of reasons for this. As said above the gasket/washer on the end of the piston could have gone hard, there could also be dried ink or rust on the piston rod making it jam in the packing by the blind cap.

 

See if you can unscrew the section, that will give you access to the piston washer, you could then unscrew the retaining nut and the piston rod should then move freely, if not its a rod or packing issue. With the piston washer/seal removed you could give the pen an overnight soak which will remove dried ink from the rod and might also regenerate the felt washers in the packing peace.

 

You might well want to seek out the help of a professional restorer though, especially if the packing seals need changing as that is not a job for the feint hearted.

 

Was it sold as a working pen, you might want to contact the seller if it was, either for a refund or contribution towards the repair costs.

 

Paul

[Ron Z]

Please do not try to take the head gasket nut off with the rod still in the pen. I'll explain below....

 

I'm usually surprised when I find a Sheaffer wire pen that isn't stuck when I pick it up. In general, when you buy a Sheaffer wire pen in the "wild" (and eBay fits the category), you should expect to have to restore it unless you know that the pen has been restored correctly. Paul is correct when he says that the head gaskets are usually hard. Sometimes they've simply fallen apart. But most often a rod is frozen because ink was left in the pen and it has dried and hardened around the rod and packing unit, and maybe the head gasket is stuck in place in the barrel wall because of the dried ink. To make things more interesting, the black rods are celluloid coated and the coating often splits and rusts inside the pen. Not always, but often enough that it's something I prepare for when estimating repair costs. When they rust they can freeze in place and be difficult to remove. Even the stainless rods can develop pits where they came in contact with the felt in the packing unit and get stuck.

 

Now, the head gasket nut. These are made out of celluloid and can be a bit fragile. You can make a real mess of one if you try to take it off in the pen so it's always best to take them off the rod with the rod out of the pen. The threads can strip quite easily, and when this happens you have to find a replacement or make one. If the pen has a black rod, the threads can rust down inside the head gasket nut even if the rest of the rod is OK. Try to force it off and you can either strip the threads in the head gasket, or even worse have the rod simply snap off leaving the threads in the nut. But with the rod out of the pen you can warm the nut with a heat gun and coax the nut off. You simply can not do this with the rod in the pen.

 

Soaking the pen may be an option to try to free the rod, but if the rod is black it can exacerbate the problem and either start the rod rusting or rusting again. In any case, I recommend having the pen restored by a qualified pen mechanic, especially since this is a grail pen.

[welch]

The best Shaeffer restorers who can repair a vacuum filler, as best I know, are:

 

- Sherrell Tyree (see ink-pen.com). I think Teri M. sends Peyton Street's Sheaffer vac-fills to Sherrell

 

- Ron Zorn, as above: perhaps too bashful to mention it.

[Indy_Pen_Dance]

To make things more interesting, the black rods are celluloid coated and the coating often splits and rusts inside the pen. Not always, but often enough that it's something I prepare for when estimating repair costs. When they rust they can freeze in place and be difficult to remove.

 

This is one you have to be real careful with. Sometimes these are so bad you cannot get them to move at all to even get the blink cap off. If you force it, you will most likely make the back rod hole of the packing unit much large in diameter if you do not break it. When you have rods like this you will need to source a donor rod.

[Ron Z]

When you have rods like this you will need to source a donor rod.

Or you call the guy with the traffic light logo who can make one for you.

[framebaer]

Thank Goodness for that amble cache of NOS factory stainless rods, in almost all the lengths, I got several years ago from a parts source.

[FarmBoy]

What is the going rate for NOS, serviceable OEM, and reproduction rods?

 

I do not need any nor am I selling any, I just need periodic calibration.

[Ron Z]

I charge $15 for a rod, custom made to match the original, using stainless rod stock. With so many different sizes I like to copy the original rather than try to go by description.

[berlinairlift]

I charge $15 for a rod, custom made to match the original, using stainless rod stock. With so many different sizes I like to copy the original rather than try to go by description.

 

Ron,

 

Is there a way to repair this rod or best to order a custom made? Everything else in the pen is fine.

 

Jon

 

[FarmBoy]

Jon,

I would replace the rod.

Todd

[berlinairlift]

Todd,

 

Thanks, I'll work on getting a new/better one.

 

Jon

[berlinairlift]

Lately I have been working on Sheaffer's vac-fil pens with the plastic covered iron plunger shaft and all look very much like the picture in the above post - or worse. None are salvageable.

 

A problem is the retaining nut and washer are stuck onto the rod due to the rust and removing them in good condition seems to be a problem. I have lost one nut when it snapped off with the tip of the rusted rod inside and am now more careful.

 

I've looked up on the forum how to best deal with rust and thus far have only tried Ballistol which was mentioned in a thread and received very high marks on another non-pen site. I have a rusted rod soaking after some ultrasonic now and have not lost faith.

 

I have some questions as I may be missing part of the process:

 

What is the best method for removing the rusted-on parts?

Is there something better than Ballistol?

Is it possible to make my own retaining nut? Advisable?

 

Thanks,

 

Jon

 

 

 

 

[Ron Z]

Sometimes the rusted rod snaps off no matter what you do or how careful you are. You have better success warming it over a heat gun. The material may distort when you grip it, but the celluloid has a memory and often goes pretty much back to shape if you gently warm it. That means farther away from the heat source, taking more time so it doesn't ignite.

 

I find that the threads strip more often than the rod snaps off. I make replacements out of Delrin. The thread is a standard 0-80. Taps and drills are available at most hobby shops.

[berlinairlift]

Sometimes the rusted rod snaps off no matter what you do or how careful you are. You have better success warming it over a heat gun. The material may distort when you grip it, but the celluloid has a memory and often goes pretty much back to shape if you gently warm it. That means farther away from the heat source, taking more time so it doesn't ignite.

 

I find that the threads strip more often than the rod snaps off. I make replacements out of Delrin. The thread is a standard 0-80. Taps and drills are available at most hobby shops.

 

Ron,

 

Thanks, good to know. I'll try the heat first and see what I can do with the Delrin.

 

Jon

[berlinairlift]

Success.

 

[3rdlakerobert]

Sometimes the rusted rod snaps off no matter what you do or how careful you are. You have better success warming it over a heat gun. The material may distort when you grip it, but the celluloid has a memory and often goes pretty much back to shape if you gently warm it. That means farther away from the heat source, taking more time so it doesn't ignite.

 

I find that the threads strip more often than the rod snaps off. I make replacements out of Delrin. The thread is a standard 0-80. Taps and drills are available at most hobby shops.

 

 

Thanks for this post Ron. I always wanted to know the size of those threads. Now can you give me the diameter of the stainless rods?

[Ron Z]

Now can you give me the diameter of the stainless rods?

Off the top of my head no. A pair of calipers will tell you pretty quickly though. Larger than the 0-80 thread diameter. The rod is in effect a shoulder bolt, with the ends ground down to a smaller diameter for the threads.

[3rdlakerobert]

Ah, yes I can see they look like shoulder bolts. This is very helpful. Those rods made during the war that they covered with plastic always seem rusty. I find it very difficult to find replacements, especially for the longest ones.

 

Thanks again.