The sink was patented in 1910. It has the three (hot-drain-cold) tabs and the separate cold water one for filling a glass. The problem is that the valves leak when you press the tabs.
Inside the valves it looks like there might have been some kind of diaphragm although I also cleaned out what looked to be petrified plumber's putty.
What I need is a blow-up drawing that will show me what I need to fix these things - or advice on how to do it.
Thanks.
Mike Miller

Who is the manufacturer of the faucets?

Pictures would be helpful.

I suggest talking to experienced master plumbers and asking them where the local source for antique and hard-to-find plumbing parts is.

It appears that most major cities have one or two shops that are philosophically a holdover from the old general store, or like walking into a time capsule of oddball and vintage plumbing parts and fixtures. Our plumbing consultant, also an officer of our local streetcar museum, said "Go up to Theiss & Son up on Harford Road." He was right. (I was trying to find a replacement diverter valve for a fifty-year-old bathtub fixture.)

Given your unusual plumbing situation, you may not find the precise parts, but you might get a suggestion for a substitution or replacement strategy.

A caveat: Although the saying is "you can find anything on the Internet these days," I've found that places like this (old hardware stores, auto parts supplies, etc.) don't often have a web presence, save for a Yellow Pages-type listing. They operate the old-fashioned way--walk in with the part in your hand. If you're faced with traveling a distance, you can call and see if the trip seems worth the effort first.

One place I can recommend as a potential source is Webster Plumbing, which has something over 8 million parts in stock. They are at 1758 Webster Avenue, Bronx NY 10457, (914) 723-1600 or (718) 583-1600. The location is between E Tremont and the Cross Bronx Expressway.

It would be helpful if you could take a few digital pictures of the sink components and provide them. I suspect (without seeing anything) that you indeed would have a rubber disk, washer, or gasket providing the water seal, and a fairly strong spring providing the sealing force (and restoring the push lever to its closed position). There may or may not be a mechanical adjustment that lets you set the handles 'aligned' while still assuring a positive seal. I'd expect putty to be used around where the drain is set into the sink bowl, but rubber washers around where the faucets go in. But before and after pictures would be VERY valuable!

RME

This sounds just like the coach faucets I've fixed with sheet rubber from any hardware store. It is soft and red, and usually has a faint raised-grid pattern molded into it. It will take a bit of experimentation to figure out the exact diameter to cut the new disks to. The size is critical to prevent wrinkling.

Aarne Frobom