DIY Sac Spreader

[Have Fun]

Call me a tight wad if you like I'm not ashamed in trying to save money

 

Here are some DIY Sac Spreaders made from a long Paper Clip the first was simple the second had a double loop in an attempt to give extra spread

 

I'm always open to alternative suggestions

[Paddler]

I really don't understand why someone would need a sac spreader. I use a flattened tooth pick to spread shellac around the circumference of the section nipple and then wet the inside of the sac mouth with another bit of shellac. The sac then pushes right on. If the sac is way too small, it will squirt back off of the nipple regardless of whether it was put on with a spreader.

 

As a card-carrying tightwad, I avoid the spreader altogether.

 

Paddler

 

[Shangas]

I've never had a need for a sac-stretcher, but that looks pretty cool, anyway.

[jmkeuning]

yeah, i was ticked when i gave pendemonium $5 for one of those made from hanger wire

 

i never use it

[extrafine]

I just use my fingers. I usually end up a bit shellac'd, but considering that it's even used in food, I figure there's no real harm done other than a bit of temporary colouring...

[Have Fun]

LOL

 

I have to bow to everyone's experience.

Being a total Newbie on this I read up all the advice, saw all the pretty pictures & drawings, measured the barrel calculated the sac size, ordered 2 sacs at different sizes smaller, made my spreader, went through various dry runs & then made my first attempt at fitting the bleedin thing on the nipple. I must confess that in the end I just used the larger sac & it slipped on perfectly. Have to say that the stepped shoulders on the sac were not as dramatic as those shown on Richard Binders Site but it worked & fitted the pen nicely.

 

I will be trying another pen later this week & hope to use the other spare & smaller sac .. not sure if I will end up using the spreaders or not.

[Vintagepens]

I almost never use a sac spreader. Nonetheless, don't jump to the conclusion that they are useless! A sac spreader is very handy indeed when putting a sac over a Skyline nipple where there's also a breather tube sticking out the back. Pushing and sliding the normal way is not just awkward, but with just one slip the tube can end up shattered.

[johnboz]

I almost never use a sac spreader. Nonetheless, don't jump to the conclusion that they are useless! A sac spreader is very handy indeed when putting a sac over a Skyline nipple where there's also a breather tube sticking out the back. Pushing and sliding the normal way is not just awkward, but with just one slip the tube can end up shattered.

 

I'll say amen to that. Most of the time I just use my fingers. I just put a sac on a Skyline this weekend and although I have a spreader that I never use, it would have come in useful. Just like any tool, when used for the correct application, it's invaluable. But trying to use it when something simpler will work, you can do more harm than good (imagine cutting cheese with a table saw or something like that).

[haroldvincent]

Are there some photos or instructions with this thread. I need a sac spreader. I seem to have great difficulty getting the sac on.

[redbike]

You can buy one for about $5 from places that sell sacs. This is an old thread, and I don't see any pictures either.

[Chi Town]

Are there some photos or instructions with this thread. I need a sac spreader. I seem to have great difficulty getting the sac on.

 

Try this thread, it has a picture for how to make a sac spreader!

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/83196-my-first-estie-sack-replacement/

[OcalaFlGuy]

And now for the Reason Many Don't use a spreader...

 

Because it's ALREADY fiddly Enough. A spreader just makes it More Fiddly.

 

You just need more fingers except there's no space for them in there. There's no space for the spreader Either.

 

I will admit to not "having the touch" like some here where after the nipple is shellaced they just look mean at the sac

and growl at it and it jumps on the nipple all by itself.

 

Try this, Get a pair of tweezers. I prefer a Revlon pair that is Very Pointed but not their NEEDLE point ones (as those could

easily puncture the sac). Shellac the nipple. If we assume the section/nipple is at horizontal for illustration here, bring the

sac to the nipple from underneath at about 45 degrees to the nipple. You will thusly have say the bottom 1/3 of the sac

On the shellaced nipple. I hold it there momentarily with one of the fingertips holding the section. This clearly exposes

the Top edge of the sac for you. Grasp this top edge with the tweezees and pull it on the section. Now here's where the

Magic needs to happen.[1] (You Need More fingers I said!) In the EXACT same second, drop the tweezers and with

those two finger tips finish "cinching" the sac the rest of the way on the nipple. One issue is in that Nanosecond you are dropping

the tweezees, that sac is going to try and Jump off the nipple. THAT'S Why you need to cinch Quickly. Slowly twirl the sacced

section to be sure the sac is on straight and adjust if necessary. There. Done.

 

I haven't even done that many and I can usually get it on the first try now, always by the second.

 

Now there IS a Two Stage secret weapon. Practice a few times with the tweezers, sac and section until you get The Move down pat.

Lube with water or slobber. Lastly but really importantly, in your last practice try LEAVE the sac on the nipple for a couple hours. This will stretch the sac out just a hair and make both getting it on a bit easier And help slow it down from Leaping Off the nipple when shellaced,

 

Alcohol on a paper toweled fingertip to clean everything afterwards except the shellac on your eyelids.

 

Spreaders?, we don need na stankin' spreaders.

 

[1] Oh Master of the Fiddly

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Flounder]

Ha! I tried this once, for my first resaccing. It didn't work - serves me right for being a copycat! I don't use a book any more, just my fingers. It just sort of came with practise

 

 

Pictures here.

[PDW]

I use Marshall and Oldfield's method to install a sac.

 

Get the sac on to just enough of the nipple to hold it, then shellac the rest of the nipple and slide the sac home. Big advantage is that the heavy pushing and shoving of the sac on to the nipple is done without shellac present, so there's much less chance of shellac marring the section. And M+O say that capillarity should pull shellac under the covered part of the nipple if the mix is thin enough.

 

No sac spreader needed, and also less risk of shellac getting into the feed channels as the sac is pushed home.

[ashbridg]

Just fold the sac lip back over the sac. Lightly brush some shellac on the nipple.

 

http://ashbridg.com/sac_600.jpg

 

Then unroll the sac lip onto the nipple.

 

http://ashbridg.com/sac2_600.jpg

 

No sticky fingers and no risk of splashing shellac into the nib unit.

Edited July 8, 2013 by ashbridg

[OcalaFlGuy]

My issue with that method if I understand how you're doing it is the last part of the nipple has no shellac on it.

 

Sorry, that's a No Go for me...

I am pretty hamfisted but even I can paint (with the shellac bottle brush) JUST the nipple without getting any inside

the nipple. The "scrunching on" of the sac is also going to push the shellac AWAY from the nipple opening, not

towards it.

 

I'll pressure test a sac on a received pen to help decide whether to resac or not. For me, a sac that lifts up off the

nipple at the end (not shellaced there) usually gets resacced because of that.

 

I'm no expert but that the way I do it,

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[ashbridg]

I learned that trick from a repair guy at a pen show and have been using it ever since. Works fine for me, especially on those wide Touchdown nipples like the one in the photo. It's clean and easy, never had a problem.

[Hans R Stuber]

On 7/13/2008 at 6:41 PM, Paddler said:

I really don't understand why someone would need a sac spreader. I use a flattened tooth pick to spread shellac around the circumference of the section nipple and then wet the inside of the sac mouth with another bit of shellac. The sac then pushes right on. If the sac is way too small, it will squirt back off of the nipple regardless of whether it was put on with a spreader.

 

As a card-carrying tightwad, I avoid the spreader altogether.

 

Paddler

 

I second this motion, keep it simple