Converting a Rotring Stylograph into a regular FP. Prt 2 The seal

[Lexaf]

In part one I showed how a defective stylographic nib unit of a Rotring Tintenkuli can be converted into a functional 'standard' fountain pen.
In this part I will show the repair / replacement of the deteriorated cork in the filling system of that pen.

If you did not read part one please click here: http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....-Prt-1-The-nib

Part two – repairing the seal

To be able to repair the piston seal the piston rod unit must be screwed out from the backside of the barrel. It is quite easy to do that.

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The old cork seal comes off in two pieces.
For a new seal I use small rubber seals that originally are used for medical purposes. A small hole has to be drilled to fit it on the piston rod.

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The new rubber seal is too long so a piece is cut off. To give the soft rubber some extra support, a small nylon ring is cut from a piece of nylon tube. Then all the parts are mounted together again.

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On the lathe the rubber ring is sanded to measure. I start with rather course sanding paper, then I finish with fine polishing paper to make the rubber ring smooth again.
Some silicon grease is applied to make the seal fit tightly in the barrel.

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The piston system with the new seal is screwed back in the barrel.
It's beginning to look like a fountain pen again!Only the cap needs some polishing work. These Rotring caps are easy to disassemble so they can be polished on the lathe with the clip taken off.

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Because the cap of this pen is made of ebonite (younger Rotrings are made of black plastic), it is not difficult to give it back it’s original shine. Finally the clip gets some polishing, before the cap is mounted together again.

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The complete ‘Frankenkuli’. A defective, useless stylographic pen converted to a well-functioning and attractive classic model fountain pen.
This pen was rebuilt by me in sept 2016, and did not stay with the other Rotring pens in my collection. I have far too many pens, so it finally found its way to a member of the FPG forum. It appears he is still owning, using and enjoying it.

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Hope you liked reading my story and maybe you picked up some inspiration to try this too.
Comments are welcome!
Have fun!

Lex

[Chrissy]

Excellent work. Thank you. I really enjoyed reading both threads.

[amk]

Wow, I have never seen a Rotring with such a clear ink window! Perhaps I should get to grips and really clean mine out properly.