51 Vacumantic issue ?

[Michaelcj]

First post, and wasn't sure wether to post here or in REPAIR ? Moderators can move if appropriate.

I have, what I assume is a late 1940's vacumatic in "dove grey" Gold filled cap, blue diamond, "pearl" end jewel, with a fine nib. Great writer and still fills okay, But......

The filler plunger, which is clear plastic, doesn't make full strokes even when I'm very careful. The plunger makes a "hard stop" about halfway down. [like it is running into something hard]
Very occasionally it will make a full stroke.

It still fills and lasts about as long as my other pens [eight or ten half strokes]. I'm not interested in having it repaired/restored as long as it still fills and writes well, but am curious if this is at all normal or what the problem/fix might be?

On a side note I did purchase a new Deluxe 51 with a fine point and am impressed for daily writing. I'd have to have some sort of scientific apparatus to really determine which is the the smoother writer Old or New.

Thanks
Mike

[guyy]

Moderators? Ha! We don’t need no stinkin’ moderators!

I wonder if the diaphragm is bunching up.

[Jon Szanto]

As Guyy intimated, there is no active moderation or administration on the site, we are pretty much orphans. The post will likely remain here.

As to the pen, my only other thought was: if you purchased from someone who did a restoration on it, I wonder if a new breather tube was put in that is a bit too long? It's a bit out of my wheelhouse, but I'll see if I can put up a Bat-signal and get a guy we know at Farmboy here. He happens to be a legendary, well-known expert on the 51 and he'd know. Also, if Ron Zorn sees this he might know, as well.

[Michaelcj]

Thanks guys.... Pen has not been restored. Hadn't thought of breather tube interference. Any one got a good link to the innards of a 51 vacumatic?

[Jon Szanto]

Thanks guys.... Pen has not been restored. Hadn't thought of breather tube interference. Any one got a good link to the innards of a 51 vacumatic?

So, as far as you know, you purchased from original owner, or you ARE the original owner? Just checking to make certain there wasn't an "after-market" bit of work done that introduced a problem. WRT the insides, I've got it on pg 70-71 of the Marshall/Oldfiled "Pen Repair" book. However, you really should check out the various pages on the 51 and vac fillers at Richard Binder's site. Maybe start here (http://www.richardspens.com/ref/repair/vac.htm).

[jar]

And in addition to Ron for repair contact Danny Fudge at the Write Pen.

[Farmboy]

Best 51 option is to email repairs@parker51.com.

[Michaelcj]

Was given the pen by a older friend. It has sat in a drawer for probably forty years. All I did was soak it in distilled water Flush it with the same by using the filling system.... pump water in pump [and shake] water out. The plunger worked as I I have described from the time I got the pen. I have had it for about a year and written with it almost daily.

I see no evidence either physical or anecdotal that it has ever been disassembled. Not a mark or scratch on it save for two pencil point sized dents next to the clip on the cap. My friend never told me where he got it but the length of time it lived in the drawer had to be forty or even fifty years unused.
Both he and I had careers where ball point pens were the necessary tool..... multi copy carbon [and then carbonless] forms, citations etc... policy was uppercase block printing.... " press hard sir, five copies"., before typewriters and then computers became the standard. He is not a writer or drawer, never has been. I, on the other had have been since my grade school days, hence the interest and gift.

My 30 year old MB146[bought new] has seen enough use that it might be on its way to Mark (the nibgrinder) in a bit for some worn nib work.
I suppose that my simple cleaning may have left some crystallized ink in the chamber that is obstructing the plunger/bladder, but it seems strange that it fills and writes so well even with the often limited plunger travel.

Like I originally posted I will send it off for repair if it stops working.

Thanks for the links to information all.
M

[BoBo Olson]

Rubber sac's die...and it appears yours lived 50-60 years over the original 30-40 years they use to live.

[Farmboy]

Rubber sac's die...and it appears yours lived 50-60 years over the original 30-40 years they use to live.

50-60 or even 30-40 sounds pretty optimistic. I don’t think Parker expected them to last more than a fraction of that.

[pajaro]

My experience with sac life in Vacumatics and Vacumatic 51s has been up to ten years, sometimes a little longer. If I were just starting out and if I liked these pens I would invest in the tools to restore them. I wish I had done this, because I found Vacumatic fillers interesting. I did buy a couple of Chinese Wing Sung 601s, which came with a tool to remove the filler. These are vac fillers, 51 imitations.