Button, Button ... Who's Got The Button (Or Can Repair One)?

[Dickkooty2]

I've run across three really handsome horizontally striated button fillers from the 50's, made in Germany - one for the Dutch market.

 

Can button fillers be repaired? One, indeed, is missing the button. What should I expect to pay per stuck? Who are the buttonmeisters in the States?

 

Missing some of my buttons,

 

Dick

 

 

[fabri00]

You can get it from any cheap button filler pen available on the market.

Size of the button is not critical and almost the same.

[Flounder]

Source escapes me but you could definitely buy new buttons from somewhere. Think I have a few (aluminium) ones somewhere.

[Dickkooty2]

Thank you Fabri and Flounder. I am glad to hear that the button itself can be easily replaced, though probably not by me.

 

The other two have buttons but the description says 'doesn't work' on each.

 

I need your opinions on whether button-fills are easily repaired and who might be a good USA-based source for the repair. And what a typical repair might cost.

 

If the repair cost is more than the value of the pen, that is a real trade-off to ponder.

 

Thank you again for the advice !

[Wandering Man]

Danny Fudge with The Write Pen just repaired a button filler desk pen for me. $15 for labor, $5 for parts. He got it done in less than two weeks.

 

I had dropped off my son's pen at the Dallas Pen Show.

 

http://www.thewritepen.net/index.html

[Flounder]

Thank you Fabri and Flounder. I am glad to hear that the button itself can be easily replaced, though probably not by me.

 

The other two have buttons but the description says 'doesn't work' on each.

 

I need your opinions on whether button-fills are easily repaired and who might be a good USA-based source for the repair. And what a typical repair might cost.

 

If the repair cost is more than the value of the pen, that is a real trade-off to ponder.

 

Thank you again for the advice !

 

Generally yes, they're fairly easy to repair, with less to go wrong than a lever filler (for example). Standard pressure bars as well as buttons are available new. The pens that are described 'doesn't work' probably just have solidified sacs. I'm based in the UK, so follow wandering man's advice.

[ac12]

Or rusted/broken pressure bar springs. Replacement pressure bar is $5, but fitting the bar might add $$.

[Dickkooty2]

Danny Fudge with The Write Pen just repaired a button filler desk pen for me. $15 for labor, $5 for parts. He got it done in less than two weeks.

 

I had dropped off my son's pen at the Dallas Pen Show.

 

http://www.thewritepen.net/index.html

Thanks, Wandering Man,

 

Danny received the pen today!

 

Best,

 

Dick

[PaulS]

B/fs are definitely the easiest to repair, but probably need to make clear that we're referring here to those examples with simple pressure bar and sac only, and not Vacumatic types. ............... the button - brass, chrome, plastic, can usually be wiggled free from the rear end or nocked out from inside the barrel with very thin but blunt drift, once the dried sac has been cleared away, and taking care not to mangle the bar assuming it's in o.k. condition. When the old sac has been cleared away, the bar sometimes simply drops out of the front end of barrel, or can be tweezered out if it has become stuck in the button.

If the button is found to be a tad too loose when re-assembling, the segments can be moved outward very slightly to give a tighter fit.

With some b.f. pens of a slim shape it can be easier to fit new sac to peg, fit section to barrel and then insert pressure bar through the button end of barrel, finally pushing button home, making sure of course it does encase the pinched end of the bar. In fact from memory this is the only way to re-assemble some of the older Duofolds where the pressure bar has a locating tab that sits outside the rear of the barrel.

 

Obviously if the pressure bar needs replacing then make sure to get the correct size, they do vary in length, and whilst it is possible to alter the length, it's fiddly and not the best option, but overall this sort of repair is very basic when compared to some complex pen repairs.

Edited October 30, 2016 by PaulS

[Dickkooty2]

And got the repaired pen back on Nov 5 from Danny Fudge. $15/time, $20/parts.

 

Fast and works great ...

 

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[estie1948]

Congratulations! It is a great looking and good writing pen. I think you made a wise choice to go with

Danny Fudge. Enjoy that pen!

 

-David (Estie).

[corgicoupe]

That is a classy looking pen. Danny does good work, quickly, and for a reasonable price.