Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Vac-fill: How were they made?

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    139
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 43 Times in 19 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Hi folks,

    I was chatting with somebody the other day. My chattee is very familiar with Vac-Fills, and declined to answer directly when I asked how they were made. The game is afoot!

    Here's the puzzle. At the front end of a vac-fill the thread that holds the feed (Triumph) or section (open nib) in place has a smaller inside diameter than the section of the barrel just behind it (the bit that releases the vacuum). So the barrel has an ID of (say) 7 mm for 8 centimetres, then close to the nib the ID is 8mm for about a centimetre then narrows again to around 7mm for about a centimetre. This last part has internal threading for the section/feed and also sometimes external threading. (Reading this back it seems complicated!)

    I don't know how the larger internal diameter is made, and that's what I'm curious about. You could do it with an expanding tool, but that's a lot of work and person hours per pen. Anybody have any ideas?

    Of course, if I have misunderstood I'd be happy to be put right!

    Cheers,

    Ralf

  2. #2
    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    6,617
    Thanks
    7,796
    Thanked 11,042 Times in 4,011 Posts
    Rep Power
    22

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    The illustrations and text explanations on Richard Binder's Anatomy of a Fountain Pen V: Sheaffer’s Vacuum-Fil are a very clear explanation of the internals. I think - from my best reading of your question - that you missed the fact that the washer doesn't go all the way into the section. The barrel is one diameter and then opens up just a bit right at the end.

    And I can't help myself, I don't pass up a chance to show Gerry B demoing the system!

    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

  3. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Jon Szanto For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (March 1st, 2022), Detman101 (March 3rd, 2022), ralfstc (January 31st, 2022), Scrawler (March 10th, 2023)

  4. #3
    Senior Member Ron Z's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Western Pennsylvania
    Posts
    611
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 1,085 Times in 396 Posts
    Rep Power
    5

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Here's a cutaway view of a Sheaffer plunger filler. The thread ring on this one had corroded and fallen off, so the barrel was no longer usable in a pen.




    Visit Main Street Pens
    A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful pen repair....
    Please contact us by email, and not PM for repair inquiries.

  5. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Ron Z For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (March 1st, 2022), Detman101 (March 3rd, 2022), Jon Szanto (January 31st, 2022), ralfstc (January 31st, 2022), Scrawler (March 10th, 2023), welch (January 31st, 2022)

  6. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    139
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 43 Times in 19 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Thank you both. This really helps to clarify my curiosity. Looking at Ron's cutaway, the part of the barrel the washer is sitting in has a greater inside diameter than the part just to the right where the nib unit/section screws in. The barrel cannot simply be drilled and threaded, as one might expect, since the larger inside diameter is "hidden" behind a smaller diameter. My interest is simply the pragmatic question of how the factory did this?

    Best,

    Ralf

  7. #5
    Senior Member Ron Z's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Western Pennsylvania
    Posts
    611
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 1,085 Times in 396 Posts
    Rep Power
    5

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    In the case of this pen, they bored the barrel, and then the wider diameter in the front part of the barrel. The thread/section is a separate piece that was fused to the barrel. Its hard to see in the picture, but there is an overlapping joint between where you see the threads and the head gasket. If you look carefully, you can see where the stripes of the barrel end and the black celluloid of the section begins. The barrel itself ends where the metal threads were, so the two pieces overlap between them. In my experience, these are fused/solvent welded together.

    The sections were machined - they didn't injection mold the parts. On the lever fill versions of the pen, this piece screws into the barrel so that it can be removed to replace the sac. The packing units on these pens were also machined separately. Sheaffer used an adhesive to secure them. It is not unusual to have one come loose or leak between the barrel wall and the packing unit. They were more securely glued in after the war. Sheaffer's instructions to repair them were to drill out the old packing unit and replace it. Richard Binder and I saw a bunch of the old packing units when were in the service center. They never made it out when it was closed, so I assume were destroyed.
    Last edited by Ron Z; January 31st, 2022 at 09:42 AM.

    Visit Main Street Pens
    A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful pen repair....
    Please contact us by email, and not PM for repair inquiries.

  8. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Ron Z For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (March 1st, 2022), Jon Szanto (January 31st, 2022), pajaro (January 31st, 2022), Scrawler (March 10th, 2023)

  9. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    139
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 43 Times in 19 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Brilliant, thanks Ron! I have a vac-fill balance with a screw-in section. Similar deal?

    Thank you for your time,

    Ralf

  10. #7
    Senior Member Ron Z's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Western Pennsylvania
    Posts
    611
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 1,085 Times in 396 Posts
    Rep Power
    5

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Yes.

    Visit Main Street Pens
    A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful pen repair....
    Please contact us by email, and not PM for repair inquiries.

  11. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    SFO USA
    Posts
    1,375
    Thanks
    13
    Thanked 1,113 Times in 573 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Note the back of the barrel is plugged. Likely the pen was made from a formed tube and not made from a solid block.

  12. The Following User Says Thank You to Farmboy For This Useful Post:

    ralfstc (January 31st, 2022)

  13. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    139
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 43 Times in 19 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Good point Farmboy! Thanks everybody!

  14. #10
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    36
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 30 Times in 10 Posts
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Here's a schematic view of Ron's cutaway.
    Cheers,
    Gerry Berg


    After pulling the plunger rod from the end of the barrel, ink or air contained within the pen barrel is expelled as the plunger rod is pushed back to its closed position, creating a vacuum in the barrel behind the rod’s piston. When the plunger reaches the limit of its movement, the piston’s flexible washer enters an enlarged portion of the barrel’s bore and releases the vacuum behind it. Ink is drawn in around the periphery of the washer and into the barrel. Nearly the entire internal volume of the barrel stores ink, thus increasing the pen’s ink capacity over its rivals.

    See US Patents1,926,405 (Sept. 12, 1933), and 1,983,682 (Dec. 11, 1934).


    Image by Noam Berg
    Attached Images Attached Images

  15. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to jouesdeveau For This Useful Post:

    Chip (October 22nd, 2022), Chrissy (March 1st, 2022), Detman101 (March 3rd, 2022), Jon Szanto (March 1st, 2022), Scrawler (March 10th, 2023)

  16. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    139
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 43 Times in 19 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Thanks Jouesdeveau, I think that illustrates my original question very well. The inside diameter of the barrel where the flexible washer is sitting is greater than either the section (where the nib and the feed are located) or the part with the plunger rod. Therefore the barrel interior cannot be just drilled in one go (unlike a Vac or 51). Ron's answer was that the barrel was made first, in two drilling actions, and then the section "glued" in (whatever they used, it's strong stuff!). This makes great sense, thank you.

    Now, I have a slender balance with the wider (and therefore thinnest walled) part of the barrel collapsed inward. How the heck do I push it back into shape?

    Ralf

  17. #12
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    36
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 30 Times in 10 Posts
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: Vac-fill: How were they made?

    Quote Originally Posted by ralfstc View Post
    Thanks Jouesdeveau, ...Ron's answer was that the barrel was made first, in two drilling actions, and then the section "glued" in (whatever they used, it's strong stuff!). This makes great sense, thank you.

    Now, I have a slender balance with the wider (and therefore thinnest walled) part of the barrel collapsed inward. How the heck do I push it back into shape?

    Ralf
    No doubt Ron was referring to POST-Balance pens, that is those made after 1942 initially with Triumph conical nibs. BTW: he section it was probably(!) not glued in but swaged in. That's a guess.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •