Sheaffer Snorkel Repair

[Kelly G]

The spring sets inside the barrel. The filler tube goes inside the spring/barrel and attaches to the blind cap. The filler tube assembly then slides down over the sac protector (when you re-assemble the nib/section assembly and the barrel and it turns on the threads of the sac protector to pull the snorkel back into the feed.

 

You have to adjust the snorkel tube depth to align the end of the tube with the feed surface (this is best accomplished with the point holder gasket out of the pen - get the depth and orientation right, use a very tiny amount of shellac at the tube sac bushing (I call this the section)interface to hold the tube in place; then put in the new point holder gasket and after 24 hours to let the shellac cure, re-assemble the pen - or something about like that.

[adyf]

The spring sets inside the barrel. The filler tube goes inside the spring/barrel and attaches to the blind cap. The filler tube assembly then slides down over the sac protector (when you re-assemble the nib/section assembly and the barrel and it turns on the threads of the sac protector to pull the snorkel back into the feed.

 

You have to adjust the snorkel tube depth to align the end of the tube with the feed surface (this is best accomplished with the point holder gasket out of the pen - get the depth and orientation right, use a very tiny amount of shellac at the tube sac bushing (I call this the section)interface to hold the tube in place; then put in the new point holder gasket and after 24 hours to let the shellac cure, re-assemble the pen - or something about like that.

 

 

Thanks for the explanation. I really ought to attempt to restore a snorkel or PFM sometime. I imagine the feeling of self satisfaction after successful restoration to be rather a pleasant one.

[Kelly G]

Yes indeed - they are fun to restore, at least usually.

[dstrollo]

Thanks for this. I'm quite an amateur when it comes to repairs, so this gives me more confidence. That illustration is beautiful- it looks like the specification drawings on a patent.

[Rabbit]

When reassembling the pen and putting the snorkel tube back, should the little slit in the end of the tube be aligned in any particular way in regard to the main feed? (I'm refering to a pen with an open nib and thus a tube that does not have the triumph bevel)

 

--Stephen

[fountainbel]

Stephen,

The lengthwise slit in at the end of the snorkel tube should be aligned with the inner slit in the feed.

Francis

[adyf]

Stephen,

The lengthwise slit in at the end of the snorkel tube should be aligned with the inner slit in the feed.

Francis

 

 

Mmm, wonder if this could be my problem. I've just bought my eighth PFM which was sold as restored. When filled it writes itself out of ink quite quickly. I suspect that it's just using the ink that gets into the feed during filling and that for some reason the feed isn't taking ink from the snorkel tube. The snorkel tube seems to be set at the correct orientation compared to my other PFM's although the snorkel tube does protrude slightly out of the feed although one of my other PFM's is similar and works just fine. The snorkel tube draws and expels ink fine so doesn't appear to be blocked. Based on my observations does anyone have any ideas please?

[11Haze29]

Let me ask you this, how much ink should a repaired bladder hold?

 

I just rebuilt my Statesman snorkel. I got the lightweight bladder bags. I took out the old top O ring. That was very brittle and old and basically cracked all the way out. Put in a new O ring. But a little dab of silicone grease on the old gasket in the blind cap and on the filler tube. I put assembled it into the barrel and tested it by itself. It seemed to push air and didn't leak. After pulling the filler tube out past the top exhaust hole, I put my finger over the open end of the barrel. If I pulled out more, vacuum would draw the tube back in. If I pushed in, pressure would force it back out. So, I would have to say that portion was successful and no air leaks.

 

I marked the orientation of the snorkel to the sac protector, and measured the length from the tip of the snorkel to the bottom of the section plug, just increase it moved. I then peeled back the indents that hold down the section plug, and heated up the sac protector with a hair dryer. I pushed through a piece of coat hanger, cut to form a plunger, through the hole in the back of the protector and up against the section. The section moved out relatively easily with a little force. Cut new thin wall bladder, and shellaced on the section plug, talced the bladder lightly, and put the section back into the protector. This was more difficult than getting it out. I had to open up the sac front to make sure every trace of the indents were out. Then it went back in.

 

I went with one of those 'repair' gaskets on the snorkel gasket rather than change it out right. I haven't yet ordered the 'good' snorkel gaskets that are cut perfectly and didn't want to mess with the aftermarket to make it work. I've heard others had success with these 'fit over' gaskets. So I silicon greased the snorkel and dropped it in. I then reassembled the pen barrel. Snorkel would extract and retract properly. Overall length was good, when the snorkel was retracted it fit flush to the nip and was orientated properly. Looking at the snorkel tip with my 10x lupe, I saw that the internal plastic capilarry piece had worked its way out the tip a bit, like may 0.005". So I took a dental pick and just pushed it back in. I then put a tiny bit of silicon grease on the section threads where the barrel screws on.

 

I let the shellac dry for about 6 hours and tried the pen with water.

 

The pen now works as designed. With water in a clear container, I can visually see that 'all' the air leaving the bladder is going through the snorkel tip. I can wait for a count of ten, and then if I pull back slowly on the filler tube, at the end of the stroke you get a little 'spit' out the snorkel. If I then push down the filler tube, you get a 'stream' out the snorkel.

 

My question is how much should the bladder be filled. I would say based upon the amount of liquid I am expelling, that my bladder is only filling 1/3 to 1/2 of its capacity. What is considered a normal fill. I wouldn't think one could expect a 100% full bladder.

 

I didn't put any shellac on the section to sac protector connection, but don't see how this would be a problem anyway.

 

Any thoughts.

[Flounder]

With a new standard (not the thin wall version) ink sac, barrel seal and a 'proper' point seal from Martin Ferguson, I get about 0.8ml of ink. I measured it by expelling the ink into an upturned ink bottle cap, and sucking it up into an inkjet refill syringe, so there might have been a tiny amount still in the pen, or a tiny drop left in the cap.

[miket_nyc]

I just put a new sac in a Snorkel (with standard nib). But it has another problem I'm not sure what to do about -- the tip of the Snorkel tube is partly broken off. There are the two horizontal slits but there's a large ragged section where the tube broke off, I think between the two slits that run lengthwise. I've attached a photo. Reading this thread, I also see now that the plastic piece inside the Snorkel tube is upside down -- on the bottom half rather than the top.

 

Are replacement tubes available somewhere, or do you have to cannibalize old pens? It occurred to me that I could also just cut the ragged end off this tube and make a new end with the proper slits. But that would be a complicated job, and it would leave me with a shorter Snorkel tube, so I'd have to be careful when retracting it.

 

Despite all these problems, the pen writes very well now (though it writes a little bit "wetter" than I'd prefer, but I'm not sure the Snorkel tube has anything to do with that). It shows no sign of running out of ink. So would it be better just to leave the pen as it is?

[redbike]

Cannibalizing old pens is definitely an option. You may be able to buy one from a member; try posting a WTB in the classifieds forum. Good luck.

[Ron Z]

Nobody has come out with reproduction snorkel tubes. They're not an easy item to clone.

[ironwampa]

Why even cut off the tip of the broken snorkel tube if it still works? Just leave it be or if you don't like the jageddy part just file that down. To make the pen write dryer see one of the many nib tuning videos or guides.

[miket_nyc]

I want to fix the tube because Sheaffer must have had some reason for making it the way they did, even if "it still works." As Fountainbel explains above, the lengthwise slit should be aligned with the inner slit in the feed. Why would Snorkels be set up this carefully if it doesn't even matter whether there IS a lengthwise slit? So if I get it right, I assume it will work better.

 

By the way, does anyone have a close-up photo of what the end of this tube is supposed to look like? My only other Snorkel has a Triumph nib, which has the slits completely different.

[3rdlakerobert]

I want to fix the tube because Sheaffer must have had some reason for making it the way they did, even if "it still works." As Fountainbel explains above, the lengthwise slit should be aligned with the inner slit in the feed. Why would Snorkels be set up this carefully if it doesn't even matter whether there IS a lengthwise slit? So if I get it right, I assume it will work better.

 

By the way, does anyone have a close-up photo of what the end of this tube is supposed to look like? My only other Snorkel has a Triumph nib, which has the slits completely different.

 

 

On Richard Binder's site (http://www.richardspens.com/) find the article "How to Restore the Snorkel/PFM filling system byt entering "snorkel" in his search engine. Then scroll down a little beyond the midway point in the article to find a very good closeup.

[miket_nyc]

Thank you! That photo shows one lengthwise slit. I was wondering whether there were two, because my Snorkel tube seemed to have the part broken off that was in between TWO slits.

[rsegev]

 

Mmm, wonder if this could be my problem. I've just bought my eighth PFM which was sold as restored. When filled it writes itself out of ink quite quickly. I suspect that it's just using the ink that gets into the feed during filling and that for some reason the feed isn't taking ink from the snorkel tube. The snorkel tube seems to be set at the correct orientation compared to my other PFM's although the snorkel tube does protrude slightly out of the feed although one of my other PFM's is similar and works just fine. The snorkel tube draws and expels ink fine so doesn't appear to be blocked. Based on my observations does anyone have any ideas please?

 

After replacing the sac and gaskets in a PFM, I am facing the same problem. If I put the pen in a cup the the nib upward, as usual, for a couple of hours, the pen will write a short line and then will stop writing. Hold it for a couple of minutes with the nib down, and it starts writing again. I removed the snorkel tube and put it in an ultrasonic container, same with the feed, but these did not help.

 

Any ideas will be most appreciated.