Soennecken 100 extra piston refurbishment

[mizgeorge]

I was just rummaging in some drawers for a spare nib for another pen, and came across a Soennecken 100 Extra in immaculate condition, but seemingly missing a gasket. I have no idea whether it's missing more than just that, but I don't suppose anyone has repaired one of these and knows whether it was plastic, cork, rubber or O ringed?

I can't even remember where this one came from, perhaps a job lot at some point, but it looks to have a gorgeous nib and it seems a shame not to get it up and running. I'll see if I can't disassemble to get a picture of what's there.

[christof]

I have repaired a couple of Soennecken in the last past years.
Soennecken did use cork seals for quite a long time, until the end of the 50‘s.
But since the numbering system is quite cryptical, I have no idea how your 100 Extra looks…. Please post a picture. Maybe I can help you.

[mizgeorge]

Thanks Christof - all the previous ones I've done have had cork seals, and I think this one is from the mid-50s, but the shapes don't make sense. The pen looks like it's never been inked, but I wonder if there's a piece missing that should screw into the top of the piston to hold a seal in place?

Pictures below:

[penwash]

The part that is shaped like a donut at the end of the piston, is that removable?

In older Soennecken, which has a completely different design that this one, there is a removable "ring" that holds the seal in place. On those, I have used both o-ring and cork to replace the dried up original cork seal.

I would try to heat it up and see if you can remove the donut.
If you can't, then the obvious route is to find a proper size o-ring and stretch-slip it into the groove behind the donut (use a bit of silicon grease to make it easier).

[mizgeorge]

The part that is shaped like a donut at the end of the piston, is that removable?

Definitely not - it's one piece

In older Soennecken, which has a completely different design that this one, there is a removable "ring" that holds the seal in place. On those, I have used both o-ring and cork to replace the dried up original cork seal.

That's what I'm used to as well - I recorked one yesterday, and it was looking for a possible nib exchange for that pen that led me to find this one.

If you can't, then the obvious route is to find a proper size o-ring and stretch-slip it into the groove behind the donut (use a bit of silicon grease to make it easier).

I tried this, but there's not an o ring in the world that would fit - not without having to build up a whole new centre section. The inner diameter is really very small, and the barrel is quite large. I think it probably needs some sort of gasket like a 50's Pelikan, but I was hoping someone might have come across this one before - it's the same spec (I think) as their school pens from the same period, and clearly made a lot more cheaply than the ones I've had before, but the nib is gorgeous and whilst I can happily put it into a different pen, it's actually quite a nice looking thing .

I should probably go and rummage in some more drawers and see if I've got anything on another pen that might fit.#

Thank you for looking - funnily enough, I used your fab diagram for the 510 I recorked yesterday

[christof]

I think there should be a plastic seal which is missing. This pen is from the late 50's.

[Chrissy]

Maybe you could fashion a piece of rubber by cutting a hole in the centre like a donut to fit onto the spindle?

[mizgeorge]

I think there should be a plastic seal which is missing. This pen is from the late 50's.

I think so too. I'm not convinced it was ever there - or perhaps was harvested very early on for another pen.

Maybe you could fashion a piece of rubber by cutting a hole in the centre like a donut to fit onto the spindle?

I'm going to head to the drawers of shame and see what I can find. The barrel's quite large in diameter, so I might see if I can find something on an existing pen, or modify a Pelikan gasket - I think it needs some rigidity. I may be some time...

[penwash]

Thank you for looking - funnily enough, I used your fab diagram for the 510 I recorked yesterday

You did!?
I'm glad that diagram is helpful to someone else

[AlohaPens]

I thought you were refurbishing an extra piston. This makes more sense and it's more interesting. Good luck!

Scot