# Refilling systems



## BradG (Apr 15, 2016)

Would anyone care to share the golden rules of machining an ink reservoir for a fountain pen?

I'm presuming if it isn't completely air tight on one end the ink will leak out for fun out of the nib.

What filling options are there? I presume pipette type bulb on the back would work quite well, but I'm concerned I wouldn't be able to purge all of the air out of the chamber with one full squeeze.


----------



## darrin1200 (Apr 15, 2016)

I am just starting to learn, when time allows, about other filling systems.

I believe the bulb filler has a greather tube in the middle that extends from the feed to just shy of the bulb. When the bulb is released, the vaccumm draws ink in through the tube, overflowing into the resevoir. When the bulb is squeezed, air escapes through the breather tube, path of least resistance, but the ink stays because it is below the level of the tube. I believe that a lot of the filling systems with tubes, use the same concept.


----------



## BradG (Apr 15, 2016)

ah now that's interesting and would make sense Darrin. Here's hoping someone who knows the design inside out can shed some more light on it.


----------



## jalbert (Apr 15, 2016)

Brad, 
 Here is a good start on researching filling systems. It's probably the most comprehensive guide I have seen. 

RichardsPens.com &bull; Pens That Write Right!

Piston fillers and syringe fillers (basically a push/pull converter) are the two alternative systems I have fooled around with when I hadn't wanted to use a standard converter.










This is a syringe mechanism I made 





Here is a pen I made with a piston fill mechanism. Apologies for not having a picture of the actual mechanism itself.


----------



## bmachin (Apr 15, 2016)

Haven't made a bulb filler yet, but plan to.

There is a tutorial in the library on making a bulb filler by Soligen.  Brian Gray at Edison Pens has a video on the bulb filler that he sells.  His method is to attach the breather tube directly to the feed nipple.  He then drills a small--really small, like a high number drill-- hole in the back of the feed housing to provide a path for the ink to reach the feed.  

You can get by without the breather tube, but you are only going to get ink from the first squeeze.  After that you are just forcing the ink back out.

Richard L Greenwald has piston fill mechanisms available. 

Edison Pen as animations of how bulb, pump, and pneumatic fillers work.

Hope this helps.

Bill


----------



## BradG (Apr 15, 2016)

Very halpful guys, thank you.  There's no way I could accommodate a syringe type system in this design so il be sure to check out the bulb filler info for sure


----------

