The problem: Until now, high-quality plunger head gasket material has not been available for restoring plunger filling systems such as Sheaffer’s Vacuum-Fil and Wahl-Eversharp’s One-Shot. Ordinary rubber does not work well: it wears away relatively rapidly and is often so stretchy that it can pull off the plunger head during filling; and it’s not available in the right thickness to make a reliable seal that is tight but not too tight. Plastics do not work well: polyethylene cold flows (takes a “set” so that it can leak or pull off the plunger head), and urethane hydrolyzes (swells and eventually breaks up).
The solution: The high-grade, high-durometer Buna-N synthetic rubber sheet we offer is ideal. It is long lived, stiff enough that it won’t overflex or stretch, and just the right thickness to slide up easily when you withdraw the plunger to fill the pen and then flip to make a tight seal as you drive the plunger down.
Each rubber sheet is 4"×4" (10.16 cm × 10.16 cm): an area of 16 sq. in. (103.23 sq. cm). This amount of material can produce as many as 169 plunger gaskets. Punches to make gaskets of the proper sizes are available from several sources on the Internet. The vintage Sheaffer pen parts shown in the photo are not included!
We are not able to offer a consulting service or a course in plunger filler repair. You can find instructions in Frank Dubiel’s book FOUNTAIN PENS THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO REPAIR AND RESTORATION. The procedure is not simple or easy, and I recommend learning by working on “junker” pens that you don’t care about.
| One sheet: $10.00 (Add to shopping cart) | Three sheets: $25.00 (Add to shopping cart) |