Vacumatic reassembly

[Marco63]

Good morning, just a question on how to reassemble the pen.
The 'Pen Repair' manual says to put talc on the diaphragm.
The various websites I've been browsing only sell French chalk.
Is there any difference between baby talcum powder and French chalk ?
Thank you
Marco

 

[tankerjohn]

Good morning, just a question on how to reassemble the pen.
The 'Pen Repair' manual says to put talc on the diaphragm.
The various websites I've been browsing only sell French chalk.
Is there any difference between baby talcum powder and French chalk ?
Thank you
Marco

I don’t know what French chalk is, but don’t use baby powder! Pen shops that sell repair parts have the correct grade talc. I got mine from Anderson Pens. Get some silicon grease while you’re at it. Handy stuff.

 

[Legion]

Not much. French chalk is a talc, made from magnesium silicate, basically soapstone. Baby powder might have some scents added, but talc or talcum powder is French chalk. The stuff from the pen shop is probably more pure, but I’ll bet regular talcum powder will work as well. It is just used as a dry lubricant

 

[Marco63]

Hi David, John,
thank you very much for your replies. Will order both French chalk, purer, and silicon grease.
M

 

[Marco63]

Stuff arrived. It is now time to reassemble the pen. Will let you know how it goes

 

[Marco63]

This is what the reassembled filler looks like after I chalked the diaphgram and folded it back on itself. To get it like this required a few trials though.
I then inserted the filler into the pen barrell, before I greased the outside of the diaphgram with silicon grease to make it slide in better. This too required a few trials but aided by a flashligt, from the section end of the barrell, I checked that everything was in properly without creases and twists.
I screwed back the filler, although not completey, and checked if it was air tight by blowing into the barrel, no air escaped from the top.
I have to finish screwing the mounting bush.
I pushed the plunger and the diaphgram makes a nice plop sound and I can see it unfolding properly and evenly.
I placed the thumb at the end of the barrel and pressed the plunger to see if some sort of suction was generated but nothing happens. Is this normal ?
The last picture shows how I'm goign to get the section to screw on the barrel and at the same time be water / ink tight.
I'm planning to use teflon tape, plumbers use it, as I don't want to glue the section. I might need to replace the diaphgram in 10 years time and if it is glued I will not be able to extract the filler by banging on it from the inside to get it out.

 

[r0ckrat]

Plumber's tape is not the right thing to use - it will make the threads larger, and stress the barrel being screwed over them, risking a crack. Get some silicone grease, and use that the make the threads airtight instead. PLumber's tape was designed for steel and copper pipe threads, not thin plastics...

 

[nemo]

Looks good, does it suck ink into the barrel?

Plumber's tape is not the right thing to use - it will make the threads larger, and stress the barrel being screwed over them, risking a crack. Get some silicone grease, and use that the make the threads airtight instead. PLumber's tape was designed for steel and copper pipe threads, not thin plastics...

Remember that he's got either a shrunken section or a swelled barrel and the threads aren't working properly, not catching enough to tighten the screw-in section (from another earlier thread). I've used teflon tape a couple of times, once it worked nicely on a leaky Sheaffer Vac-fil converted to eyedropper -- if you're careful it'll sometimes work. But yeah, not recommended, but this chap is pushed up into the corner.

Real thread sealant, not silicone grease, is what the pros use. Ron Zorn has sold it for years here --> Main Street Pens - Quality Pen Repair - http://www.mainstreetpens.com/stuff.htm

 

[Marco63]

r0ckrat and Doug, thank you for your positive and understanding comments.
I do not know what happened to the section/barrel. I bought the pen, maybe, 20 years ago.
Used it once or twice as I discovered that I had been sold a wonky pen, barrel bent, and had it laying around for some time.
I took it to my repair man in Italy years ago to get the diaphgram changed and it was at that time that I discovered that the section had come lose, the man told me to throw it away. Fortunately I didn't.
I have no explanation on to why this happened. Barrel expanded ? Section shrunk ? Who knows !!

Alas, today I have a working pen. My first ever attempt to repair a pen, a Vacumatic too, suceeded and I'm pretty chuffed!!!
I'm attaching a few pics of my achievement and I also a few qustions to ask, hope you guys can help me with them.
From writing I re-discovered that the nib is a 'fine' nib.

There is a website that has sections for sale but it is in the USA and above all will it fit?

The filler section needs to be screwed in completely but as I don't have the tool myself I have to pop into the pen shop here wherer I live where the guy that opened it for me is going to close it.
Maybe I should buy the tool as I will have to fix it again in 10 years ?

Questions:
Which model is it ? Not a Maxima obviuolsy.
The date on the barrell engraving, 61, doesn't match anything I read about on how to place it in time.
How do I empty pen if I wnat to put it away before the ink is finished ?

THank you and have a lovely day
Marco

 

[Jut]

Are you sure the first number is a six? It should be a 1, 2, 3, or 4.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[Marco63]

I found out which model it is looking by chance on ebay, there is one 'identical' to mine.
It is a: gold Parker vacumatic major 5" azure blue single jewel. This has a stright barrel, mine is bent :-(

Still the '61' engraved on the barrel is weird