Is there a way to cap or seal cartridges you refill ?

[zeevolking]

Hi, I was wondering if there is a way to cap or seal cartridges that are refilled with syringes...

 

I was thinking I might be able to find an eraser small enough to jam in there to keep the ink from flowing out, but is there any better way?

 

ideally, I would like to carry around 1 or 2 extra refilled & sealed/capped cartridges with me so I don't have to refill with a syringe when i'm not home.

 

Thanks

 

 

[tfwall]

Hi, I was wondering if there is a way to cap or seal cartridges that are refilled with syringes...

 

I was thinking I might be able to find an eraser small enough to jam in there to keep the ink from flowing out, but is there any better way?

 

ideally, I would like to carry around 1 or 2 extra refilled & sealed/capped cartridges with me so I don't have to refill with a syringe when i'm not home.

 

Thanks

 

Epoxy, hot glue gun, small screw...

 

Do a search, people have discussed their favourite methods before.

[jmkeuning]

Put a little cork in the hole.

 

A very little cork.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Put a little cork in the hole.

 

A very little cork.

Not the best material if you've refilled the cartridge with cellulose reactive ink .

 

For the OP, yeah look around. I think this may have been gone into in depth in the Inky Thoughts forum. It was discussed somewhere on FPN, I know. Someone even found tiny, rubber stoppers that might work.

[Blade Runner]

Put a little cork in the hole.

 

A very little cork.

:roflmho:

[BillTheEditor]

There really is not a safe, effective way to do this. It's been discussed here before, more than once.

[troglokev]

You could always cap it with a pen. That appears to be the best method.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

There really is not a safe, effective way to do this. It's been discussed here before, more than once.

I've been thinking about this for a while, and there really ought to be a way to do it.

 

I'm thinking of something like 5 nipple-sized plastic cylinders on some plastic backing, and the whole thing would encapsulate in some plastic box of the appropriate size. I suppose that one could wreck some c/c fountain pens and harvest the nipples and glue them to a plastic rod and attach it all to a plastic box of a small size. Wow, I'm really thinking of how to do this.

 

Watch someone read this, pick up on it, market the thing as "The Cartridge Refiller's Companion" and make millions on it.

[zeevolking]

found what I was looking for, thanks.

[bossy]

Okay, how about heating an unwanted butter knife on the stove, run it across the up end just enough to melt and seal the plastic over the hole. Could probably only do it once per cart though.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Okay, how about heating an unwanted butter knife on the stove, run it across the up end just enough to melt and seal the plastic over the hole.

Now you've deformed the hole. And I don't know that you'll be able to get the polyethylene to flow in such a way as to seal the hole at all.

 

If you've got a spare cartridge you could try it. I wouldn't bother trying with anything other than a long or short international cartridge, however.

 

If you do try it look at the business end of the cartridge with a magnifying glass before you put ink in it. I think you'd stand a very good chance of the ink leaking.

 

Could probably only do it once per cart though.

Yes, I suppose that there's some chance of getting lucky with this technique once, but I don't think the luck would hold for a second shot.

[Possum Hill]

Put a little cork in the hole.

 

A very little cork.

:roflmho:

See this post about tiny little rubber stoppers

[Possum Hill]

If your cartridges are the type that seal with a ball, you could cut open some used cartridges to get the balls and see if they can be reused to re-seal refilled cartridges.

 

A place like SmallParts.com might sell little plastic or metal balls of the right size.

[troglokev]

You mean something like this?

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3229/3096874638_de2ab27f25.jpg

 

It would be easy enough for someone to manufacture: you'd just use injection-molded plastic of the same kind as the cartridges, but is the demand really there?

[jmkeuning]

found what I was looking for, thanks.

 

Don't tell us. We want to guess. I will go first. . .

 

 

 

A little cork?

[RevAaron]

Man, you guys are a regular buncha Rube Goldbergs!

 

I like to use... tape! Never had it leak once. I'm sure it would leak if you use a pliers and crushed the last inch near the hole, while having it pointed hole down... But then again, so would these other delightful options.

 

I mean, I know it's no fun, but it works for me. I usually use duct tape or medical tape, because that's what is either on my desk or in the bathroom (to where I sometimes confine possibly messy experiments). I put a small stripe across the top, over the hole/diameter of the cylinder; then another around the edge to hold that sucker on. I have a bunch of these lying around, never had any issues.

 

The only potential room for problems is if you had a really inky outside on these carts- that could help wick ink out. Wipe the cart down before taping it up.

 

*shrug*

[jmkeuning]

If you were a real man you would create the whole cartridge out of duct tape.

 

Hell, you could make the whole damn pen. Including the nib.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

If your cartridges are the type that seal with a ball, you could cut open some used cartridges to get the balls and see if they can be reused to re-seal refilled cartridges.

 

A place like SmallParts.com might sell little plastic or metal balls of the right size.

You might be able to seal such a cartridge by gluing such a ball to the outside, I suppose. That ball would stick out quite a bit though. Part of the reason why the international cartridges have such high shoulders, nearly a barbette of polyethylene, around the mouth is to accommodate that ball in there when it's sealing them from the inside. I think it'd be a pretty delicate seal, very liable to be knocked open with a resultant ink spill. Then you've got to keep track of that tiny ball after you pop it off to use the cartridge. Maybe in some cases where you're just going to throw away the ball this might be an idea. Dicey to carry around in general though.

[Blade Runner]

In labs we used "parafilm" to temporarily seal tubes. That would work nicely for carts.

 

 

[Ink Stained Wretch]

You mean something like this?

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3229/3096874638_de2ab27f25.jpg

Yes, but I was thinking of a single line of posts. Maybe hinged to a little plastic box that would contain everything and keep the cartridges butted up against the retaining bar that the posts would be mounted on. That'd also keep them from getting batted off the post. maybe a clamshell arrangement around the posts. Great drawing, btw.

 

It would be easy enough for someone to manufacture: you'd just use injection-molded plastic of the same kind as the cartridges, but is the demand really there?

I think that's true. A mold would be easy enough to make, I'm guessing, just use a c/c pen's nipple to make an impression. I don't know if a person could make injection molded stuff in the basement or whatever. As for demand, probably not much. If they were truly cheap I can think of maybe 3 buyers.

 

Another great idea founders on the shoals of the marketplace .