Third Time Is Definitely Charms

[hoosierpipeguy]

I sent my favorite Meer, my Altinok, to Briarville and then Tim West. Briarville was a complete ClusterF,if you recall, and Tim West didn't turn out much better. For whatever reason, I'm sure for expediency and cheap, Briarville unnecessarily drilled out the shank to fit their POS stem instead of fitting a stem to my pipe. Took West tried to put an insert/sleeve into the shank and use the bottom half of the original stem. That fit was all wobbly and I believed over time, would have ruined the pipe.

So I sent it to Ryan Alden to have it done right. Yes,it was quite expensive but worth every single penny. Beautiful stem that compliments the pipe, draw is fabulous and the fit is flawless. Tim West had my pipe for four weeks. Ryan had it for less than 2 days. Thank you Ryan, outstanding work!

To be clear, I never told Briarville or Tim West I wanted a cheap solution. In fact, I was clear I was fine paying for a custom stem if that was going to be the best solution.

 

[LeafErikson]

Look good bro! Glad you got it all sorted finally.

 

[tbradsim1]

Ryan is the best, smoked his pipes for many a year, nice to see 2 good people satisfied!

 

[Piping Abe]

I think you meant Brairville, not Briarworks. But I am glad this finally got resolved for you. It looks fantastic. Enjoy your smokes

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I think you meant Brairville, not Briarworks. But I am glad this finally got resolved for you. It looks fantastic. Enjoy your smokes

You are probably right. Can't remember, would prefer to forget. LOL Thanks for the correction.

 

[LeafErikson]

You are probably right. Can't remember, would prefer to forget. LOL Thanks for the correction.

Yes that's right. Briarworks is the pipe manufacturer out of Tennessee haha. Their pipes look pretty darned nice.

 

[Peter Turbo]

Looks great, he did a stem and band for me a couple months ago and it looks fantastic. He's a real craftsman and so easy to work with. The turn around was quick as well and yea, not cheap lol.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I followed the saga with internet and very glad it got sorted out!

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Ryan is gaining quite the reputation as a patchwork repairman..

 

[AroEnglish]

I remember Briarville's work but did you ever post Tim West's?

I agree that Ryan (@lonestar) absolutely nailed it.

 

[didimauw]

Oh man that's amazing work! And nice job on the coloring too!

 

[blackpowderpiper]

That stem is super cool! I'm glad you finally got the issue resolved.

 

[LotusEater]

Glad Ryan Alden got you sorted.
But it sucks that the first 2 repairmen did unsatisfactory work. That’s a lot of time and money wasted.

 

[PA Piper Mike]

Damn, that is a gorgeous pipe. And he did a great job on that stem.

Now I'm going to be on the lookout for a meer with a similar carving.

 

[Jbrewer2002]

Kind of bummed hearing about Tim West. I was hoping to run into him Friday at the Columbus pipe show. I have a pipe that needs a new stem and after a failed attempted at another shop in Columbus I was hoping Tim would be a good person to have fix it.

 

[crashthegrey]

I am glad someone finally made you a proper stem.

 

[AroEnglish]

Oh man that's amazing work! And nice job on the coloring too!

You might want to edit the original post and change Briarworks to Briarville. It would be a shame if BW becomes known for doing bad stem repairs when they aren't a repair company.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

You might want to edit the original post and change Briarworks to Briarville. It would be a shame if BW becomes known for doing bad stem repairs when they aren't a repair company.

How do I edit it? I agree with you by the way.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Kind of bummed hearing about Tim West. I was hoping to run into him Friday at the Columbus pipe show. I have a pipe that needs a new stem and after a failed attempted at another shop in Columbus I was hoping Tim would be a good person to have fix it.

I think if you have a face to face with Tim,he can do a decent job. I think he's very busy and you have to get him to focus on your expectations.

 

[peteguy]

I am curious after all is said and done, what are your overall thoughts on the grades of repairs that are out there and how to best navigate them? I try to mention this in all of these repair posts, nothing wrong with Briarville or any other repairer for that matter, if your expectations are correct going in. Was it a failure with the first two not understanding your desire or was it a failure to execute knowing damn well they had all the info needed? Was it a price point that they cannot meet or a quality of work they couldn't meet, etc. Those types of discussions would be great around this place.

Awesome pipe stem Mr Alden, sexy as hell. Glad you got a pipe you are happy with hoosier!