Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion lubster seals

Does anyone know if the pump seals in the old
lubsters can still be bought ?? I am referring to the seal on the end of the plunger. Any info would be appreciated.

If you can get me a picture of it and some measurements I can check if I have one. I have a big pile of seals for lubsters. Ryan

I have a question, how thick is the original glass in a glass lubester and how thick are the repops?? I was offering my glass lubester to a fellow and he only wanted to pay the price of a cylinder on top of what a regular lubester was worth. I said well what are you going to do with the piston, you probably have to turn it down( not a problem if you dont want to pump or measure) So I am thinking that the piston would have to be smaller od unless the glass is as thin as a steel cylinder (not likely). Also what type of seal do they use , is it a leather cup?? Seems to me if you had to make one you could just use an O-ring.
If you know can you please pass the info on, thought it would be cool to have a glass one with drip-catcher workin, you could just pump the oil round and round, more fun than a floaty oil can pen....DODOgas

Dodogas,
Glass cylinders are 1/4". The repo's that I've bought were 1/8"

Hi Guys,
The lubster that I am restoring has 2 pumps
on it. I don't know if both glass cylinders
are original, but one is 1/4" and the other is just a hair over 3/16" thick walls. I
don't know what repo's are. I have e-mails
from 2 people who are supposed to get back to me if they can get one for me.
The piston seals are in the shape of a cup.
The material that they're made of is hard to
tell. They're brittle and falling apart. I
am hoping to find new ones cause I too would
like to see the oil flow. Ray - I'll get back to you with measurements to see if you
might have anything.
Thanks guys for your responses.

Here's what you do if you cant get it, get some leather between 1/16 and 1/8 inch thick. Find an aproppriate plug, like jar lid or plywood cut round or similar (cylinder bore size minus leather x2 plus a bit) , plus an outer ring the bore size plus thickness of the leather x2 plus a bit more. Then wet the leather blank which is cylinder ID plus (1/2 inch x2). Then press the leather between the 2 and leave it there a while, should take the shape. Might not get it first try, may not pump perfect, but it will look proper and move oil for you. Worth a try if all else fail. Other thing that may work, spin up a new piston on a lathe and use an "O" ring..............................DoDoGaS

Thanks DoDoGas
That sounds easy enough. I'll give it a try.
I'm always game for make it yourself.

To dodogas and all others for the know.

I took dodogas's advice on making my own
seals. Turns out that after cleaning the originals (what was left) that they were made of leather. I got some thick(approx.1/8) leather. Made a plug out of 1"
wood(diameter minus 2 thicknesses of leather). Drilled a 1/2" hole in the plug and
in the center of the cut round peice of leather. Soaked the leather in hot soapy water until soft. Clamped the leather to the
wooden plug with a 1/2"bolt and 2 large washers. One on each side of the wood - 1 to
keep the leather from slipping and the other
to help reinforce the wood. I then used a hydralic press to force the leather and wood
into a 4" diameter pipe(approx. the same size
as the glass cylinders). Let the leather dry
for a little while and then pound it back out of the pipe. Voila - new seals. I
imagine that once they're soaked up with oil
they'll work just fine.
Thanks to dodogas for the idea!!!!!!!!
Beasly

Where do you guys find the repop glass cylinders?