Need help with a dry Craftsman

[Mr. JW]

Hi. I have a Craftsman TD that I bought of the 'bay a little while back. Overall, it's a nice pen, with a 14k #33 nib. The filling system is in good working order and the pen is in good shape. But... here's my issue. The pen is a very, very dry writer. It puts down a very faint line, even compared to my other fine nibbed pens. I have soaked it several times to see if it was blocked with no success. I have tried various inks, but they all seem to produce the same results. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve the ink flow?

Thanks.

[mhosea]

Use a magnifying glass or a loupe to see if the two tines are mashed together at the tip. This is easiest if you look through the gap with a light source behind. The pen should be not be inked for this examination. The gap between the tines should narrow as it approaches the tip, but ideally it never completely closes (unless, perhaps, the pen is adjusted to require more pressure than normal to write with). I do not suspect a feed adjustment for "a very faint line", but also check that the feed hugs the nib. Sometimes problems are caused if the feed and nib begin to diverge at the end, but usually that causes a starting or skipping issue.

If you decide the tines are mashed together at the end, then it is time to talk nib adjustment. I'm self taught, so I'm reluctant to teach. Sometimes you can pull the tines apart a little bit by pulling out on the wings of an open nib. I've had very little success with that technique, personally, but it seems to be the one that nibmeisters recommend to the masses as a "try this first" thing.

Richard Binder no longer does adjustments and repairs except to the pens he sells, but Jim Baer was trained by him and does, lives near Boston, and probably has good turnaround time.

[whych]

Check the nib is indeed making contact with the feed. If you can slide a sheet of paper between the nib and feed, it's a problem.
If you need to adjust the distance the tines are apart: If you have a set of feeler guages, use around 0.01 or 0.15 mm to pull through the tines to widen the gap. Start at the hole end of the nib and pull it through to the front of the nib.

[HughC]

Most likely dried ink "somewhere" and between the tines a common area, feeler guage as John mentions would work and dental floss is also excellent. First just try opening the tines a bit (they could be "stuck" with old ink), you do this by pushing the nib from the underside with your finger or heavier pressure when writing. If it writes better with pressure you know where the problem is. Even if you do nothing it will probably improve with use as the new ink disolves any old dried stuff, although this always seems to take a long time !!

Regards
Hugh

[mhosea]

The reason I tend to discount the dried ink problem is that I can't imagine why anyone would bother to restore a Sheaffer TD without flushing the nib and feed very thoroughly with a bulb syringe at least and preferably with soaking and/or ultrasonic cleaning. Putting on a new sac without cleaning out the feed properly is a rookie mistake because it will never be easier to clean than it is without a sac on it.

[Mr. JW]

I don't think that dried ink is the problem. I flushed the pen out very well before I filled it the first time and, after I noticed how dry it was, I flushed it again and let it soak overnight in a dilute ammonia/water solution. I am going to try to open up the tines a little bit tonight when I get home. I think this could be the issue because the flow does seem to improve with a little pressure when I write. I have been reluctant to press too hard, though. I am also thinking about widening the feed channel. Anyone have any thoughts about that?

Thanks to all for all the sage advice.

Jeff

[mhosea]

I've never seen the need to widen a Sheaffer nib channel. Perhaps it would benefit from having a brass shim run along its length to make sure it is clear. Also, if it is not fitted properly, it may benefit from heat-setting. Open Sheaffer TD nibs and feeds are normally so tight, however, that the only room for misfitting is at the end, and this can be fixed without removing the nib and feed from the grip section by dipping just the tip (no part of the grip section, not even that close!) in just-boiled water for a moment to soften the feed and pushing the tip of the feed against the nib as it cools and sets.

[whych]

Are you absolutely sure the pen fills properly?
When you push the plunger in, do you see air bubbles in the water/ink?
If you fill it with water or ink, does it shoot out quite a bit of ink?
If you dip the nib in ink, does it write better for a while and then go drier? If so, the pen needs a new sac.

Many of the old TDs need new sacs - you think they have filled, but haven't really filled at all.
The other thing to check is that the o-ring in the body is still working and not gone hard.

[mhosea]

Probably safe to say that all 1949-52 Sheaffer Touchdowns need restoration if they haven't been restored in the last 20 years or so. I received an unused 1949 "fat" Touchdown desk pen last year, and it actually would fill, but the first centimeter of the sac beyond the sac nipple was ossified, and the o-ring was flat as a pancake.

[Mr. JW]

I think the filling system is in good order. It was sold as having been restored when I bought it (FWIW). When I fill it, I hear the "whoosh" sound and I see small bubbles in the ink bottle. I took it apart at one point, but did not remove the sac protector, so it is possible that part of the sac is dried out or the o-ring is bad. I'll move on to that if I the nib adjustment doesn't work. I meant to do it last night, but didn't get to it. Hopefully tonight. Thanks again for the help.

[Mr. JW]

OK, so here's the update. I looked at the nib closely, and the tines seemed to meet near the tip. So I tried to widen the gap, which did seem to improve the flow somewhat. But any improvement seemed to be temporary. I think this one might be going out for a restore and adjustment.