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Thread: Levers won't lie flat! Button fillers won't work!

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    Default Levers won't lie flat! Button fillers won't work!

    My last little lot of lever filler repairs has gone quite nicely, but I have two (a Bayard and a Swan) which have levers that won't lie down. They keep popping up ... which is disconcerting. Any ideas? They don't look bent, they just won't stay flat.

    And ... I just cannot seem to get any button fillers I've repaired filling. What am I doing wrong? I've put the section back, then fed the bar into the pen through the end, and finally put the button back in, and ... nothing happens. This is more frustrating than the lever fillers, as at least the lever fillers actually fill, they're just a bit unaesthetic.

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    Default Re: Levers won't lie flat! Button fillers won't work!

    The lever filler: Do you mean the lever is loose and rattles a bit? If that's the case, and you're using a J-bar, you have to reshape the J-bar so the upper part (closer to the section) pins the top of the lever. It takes a bit of trial and error. Just be patient about it.

    The button filler: Sounds like your pressure bar is too short or facing the wrong way. The end of your pressure bar should stick out a little from the end of the barrel when you install it. And that sticking out end should be snug inside the button, so when the button travels downward, the pressure bar will "push" the part that will compress the ink sac.
    - Will
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    Default Re: Levers won't lie flat! Button fillers won't work!

    No, the levers aren't loose, but the idea of the j-bar being the wrong shape, maybe bent from someone trying the lever on a really hardened sac, does sound as if it might be what's up. I will have a little try.

    I'll pop the pressure bars on the BFs in the other way round and see if that solves my problem. They should be the right length as they came in pens that clearly hadn't been opened for a good long while, judging by the difficulty I had opening them up and the impressive amount of rubber shards inside!

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    Default Re: Levers won't lie flat! Button fillers won't work!

    Which Swan do you have?

    The long-lever 31xx and 32xx pens from the early 50s with threaded sections can be temperamental and require a little patience to get right.

    Cob
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