Wing Sung 601 Vac Filler In Parker 51 Vac

[pajaro]

I removed the filler unit from a Wing Sung 601, a Parker 51 Vacumatic imitator, and screwed it into the back end of a Parker 51 Vac.  I heard the usual suction noises, and it filled with some water.  I was surprised at this and think there must be some other shoe to fall.  The Wing 601 came with a simple plastic tool to remove and replace the filler unit.  I had ordered a replacement filler unit that comes with the diaphragm attached for under six dollars shipped.  If this works in a Parker vac filler, this would make restorations simpler and cheaper.  There has to be something wrong, it's too good to be true.

 

[BlueJ]

It will be even better if the piston-vac filler unit of later Wingsung 601 pens fits the 51 Vac, since the piston seal is likely to be more durable than the traditional diaphragm. I hope someone will try this.

[pajaro]

A piston filler in a Vacumatic 51, or in a Parker Vacumatic would be interesting.  I haven't seen the piston filling version of the WS 601.  

 

As an end user of Parker pens, getting a pen working again with Chinese parts is okay.  Collectors would no doubt want original Parker parts in the Parker Vacumatic filling pens.

 

[BlueJ]

The filler in question is not a full piston going all the way down to the section, but a short-throw spring-loaded piston that forces air out of a breather tube; the resulting partial vacuum draws up ink as in a traditional vac. It can be seen in images of WS 601 demonstrators currently on eBay and elsewhere.

[Fermata]

Thank you for posting this Pajaro, I have been looking at this pen and wondering if this would be a practical proposition.

[pajaro]

Sorry, the other shoe falls:  The Parker blind cap will not screw onto the threads on the WS 601 filler unit.  The WS 601 blind cap screws into the barrel end, not into the threads on the WS 601 filler, as the Parker blind cap does.  Although the WS 601 filler screws into the 51 Vac barrel and fills and doesn't leak, you can't screw the blind cap on using the WS 601 filler unit in the Parker.  

 

Sorry for the false alarm.

 

Maybe you could wrap the WS 601 threads with enough teflon tape to allow the blind cap to go on, but that is really makeshift.

 

[Fermata]

2 hours ago, pajaro said:

Sorry, the other shoe falls:  The Parker blind cap will not screw onto the threads on the WS 601 filler unit.  The WS 601 blind cap screws into the barrel end, not into the threads on the WS 601 filler, as the Parker blind cap does.  Although the WS 601 filler screws into the 51 Vac barrel and fills and doesn't leak, you can't screw the blind cap on using the WS 601 filler unit in the Parker.  

 

Sorry for the false alarm.

 

Maybe you could wrap the WS 601 threads with enough teflon tape to allow the blind cap to go on, but that is really makeshift.

 

 

 

Ah okay, thank you for the clarification.

 

I take your point on the teflon tape being makeshift, perhaps a stronger description would be the English phrase of 'lash - up'.

 

I like almost everything about the Wing Sung 601, it is just the Fine only nib that holds me back.

 

 

[pajaro]

I used Teflon tape on the filler threads, and the Parker blind cap stays on fairly well, but I am not really pleased with it.  

 

I thought of mating the Parker 51 nib, feed and breather tube to the Wing Sung 601, which might involve careful drilling, because the Parker nib is greater in diameter.  I would have to compare the assemblies side by side.

 

 

[FarmBoy]

I'm not sure I'm following this correctly but is there a shortage of 51 fillers that merit the need for substitutes?

[BlueJ]

Maybe it's easier to replace the entire filler unit than to replace just the diaphragm?

[pajaro]

10 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

I'm not sure I'm following this correctly but is there a shortage of 51 fillers that merit the need for substitutes?

The 51 filler units I have found recently were priced from over $30 to about $45.  Maybe I just don't know where to look for them any more.  Tge last 2 filler units I pulled from pens that wouldn't fill any more fell apart when I pulled them out of the pen.  I could send them to restorers, but I don't like them all that much anyway.  So I investigated the possibility of using the Wing Sung 601 filler and its diaphragm in a P51 Vac.  I only have three 51 Vacs any more, and only one Vacumatic Junior, so there is no real compulsion for me to spend much on them.  The Vacumatic fillers are a curiosity to me.  The only 51 I use is the aero U bought new in 1970.  

 

By using teflon tape or perhaps silicone adhesive on the Wing Sung 601 filler unit's threads to bulk them up so the P51 or Vac Junior blind will thread onto the filler, there is a sort of workaround.  There might be a piece of small hardware that would screw onto the WS 601 filler and allow the blind cap to screw onto it  --  a sort of spacer.  

 

The only thing about the WS 601 that is undesirable to me is the extra fine nib (by American standards).  P51 nibs are too large in diameter to fit the WS 601.

 

I'm probably just too cheap to buy all the Parker stuff to fix four pens.  So, they a parts source.

 

[FarmBoy]

Don't just purchase a filler, buy a junk barrel with filler and harvest what you need.  Five Star Pens routinely lists barrels with fillers in them for around 20 and there are always junk lots on eBay that are good for parts.

[pajaro]

Thanks, Farmboy, for those tips.  I suppose it would be a shame to not fix the two 51 vacs and the Vac Jr.  Still, one gets tempted to fool around with the pens and have a sense of humor and tomfoolery.  

 

[FarmBoy]

6 hours ago, pajaro said:

Thanks, Farmboy, for those tips.  I suppose it would be a shame to not fix the two 51 vacs and the Vac Jr.  Still, one gets tempted to fool around with the pens and have a sense of humor and tomfoolery.  

 

The reality is we sacrifice some pens so that others will live on...Not every pen can/should be repaired.

[pajaro]

I agree that not every pen should be repaired.  Probably I will not restore my Parker vacumatic fillers.  It is not likely I would use them, so, even if I restore them, I would just end up doing it again if I live long enough.  While I like repairing and playing with pens, there is expense involved.  I also like to look at disassembled pens from time to time.

 

[VacNut]

On 10/25/2021 at 7:06 PM, FarmBoy said:

The reality is we sacrifice some pens so that others will live on...Not every pen can/should be repaired.

Does this idea apply to pen collectors also? SG Season 2?😂😂😂😂