how do I fill a sheaffer pneumatic fountain pen?

I found an old white dot sheaffer fountain pen. I read that to fill it
(pneumatic type) I pull out the plunger, submerge the tip in ink, push down
the plunger, and it fills. However, this does not work. If I submerge the
tip and PULL the plunger it fills, and if I PUSH it in it drains, opposite
of how it says it is supposed to work. I can't really use the pen with the
plunger pulled out, so I need some help. Is something wrong with the pen or
am I doing something wrong? This seems to be a "backward" way to fill a
pen.

Jeff

"jeffdanz" wrote:

I found an old white dot sheaffer fountain pen. I read that to
fill it (pneumatic type) I pull out the plunger, submerge the
tip in ink, push down the plunger, and it fills. However, this
does not work. If I submerge the tip and PULL the plunger it
fills, and if I PUSH it in it drains, opposite of how it says it
is supposed to work. I can't really use the pen with the
plunger pulled out, so I need some help. Is something wrong
with the pen or am I doing something wrong? This seems to be a
"backward" way to fill a pen.

The pen does fill on the downstroke, but you have to leave the nib
submerged in the ink for 10 seconds or so after pushing the
plunger down.

If it's an old pen that's never been restored, it might need
fixing. Touchdown models (the plunger is a tube) contain a rubber
sac that might no longer be intact. Vacuum-Fil models (the plunger
is a thin rod) don't have a sac, but they do have seals that
could need replacing.

See these pages:

http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferTouchdownGuide.htm

http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferVacuumFilGuide.htm

--
Steve

My e-mail address works as is.