Just a tip. As I am cleaning a bunch of pipes I need something to plug the mortise. Sticky tack. The stuff used to hand paper on walls , kind of like a silly putty. Worked great and reusable. Maybe its been on here, but thought I would add.
Thats a pretty damn nifty idea. I usually plug the shank opening with plastic wrap for the simple fact that plastic wrap doesn't absorb the moisture from the alcohol and it has a chance to do it's job on the pipe. I might have to try this next time I scrub a pipe clean. Thanks!
I use the foam ear plugs to stop up the shank. They compress and fit deep. On the down side, they can only be used once because the alcohol will expand the foam to an abnormal size.
When I do alcohol and salt I use a big Plate filled with rice, you can Position it any way, dump it in a ziplock when you are finished and reuse, q tips for the shank the old cajun