Boswell Stem Suddenly Loose

psychpipes · Feb 10, 2014

Like the subject says, I bought a Boswell "Fatbelly" bent pipe around this time last year. It is one of my favorite pipes, but I shelved it for quite a while. I recently pulled it out to smoke it again, and the tennon just slides right out of the mortise. It is a hefty pipe, and the briar will fall right off if I tried to smoke it. I remember having an issue with it the last time I smoked it, and had to take the stem off during a smoke. I know I'm not supposed to do that, but Boswell's claims that it shouldn't be a problem. Should I just send the pipe in to Boswells and eat a $40 charge for a new stem?

gtclark · Feb 10, 2014

Try a little beeswax on the stem - that might do the trick, as long as there is still some good contact between the tenon and mortise.

psychpipes · Feb 10, 2014

Do I just rub some on until it's snug? What would maintenance be like on that? Reapply after it cools?

gtclark · Feb 10, 2014

I usually rub a good amount on the tenon while the pipe is cool, and re-assemble the pipe. The beeswax is sticky enough to hold the tenon and mortise together while filling in any gaps. You'll have to re-apply every once in a while, but you'll be surprised at how long the beeswax will keep - as long as there is still a good amount of contact between the mortise and tenon - if it's really loose, it won't work.
Beeswax also works for pipes with overly tight stems - it can solve a lot of problems, but only up to a point. Your stem may be too loose for the wax to work, but it's worth a try before you drop $40.00.

pruss · Feb 10, 2014

IMO the most permanent fix is to warm the tenon up and put the back end of a drill bit into the draft hole, whatever size is tight, and that will expand the tenon just a bit to fit right. I would only do that last bit if the other tricks don't work.

I'm with Sam. If the beeswax trick doesn't work I would go this route.
Some folks will apply a little clear nail polish to the tenon and allow it to dry totally before attempting to fit the stem into the shank. If, after application of nail polish, the fit is too tight you can always sand off a little of the polish until your stem fits snugly.
Good luck, and let us know how you resolve this.
-- Pat

blueeyedogre · Feb 10, 2014

Not sure if this will help.

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_care/cleaning#Fixing_a_loose_stem

psychpipes · Feb 10, 2014

Thanks all for the advice. I am happy to say that, after applying some heat to the tenon and letting it cool, my beloved Boswell is fitting together nicely. Cheers

oldsoldier · Feb 22, 2014

With Vulcanite Stems, he first thing to try should be to simply heat the tenon, then allow it to cool. The Vulcanite stems have some memory and more often than not, will reshape out.

matchstickman · Feb 22, 2014

I have a Boswell fat belly pipe that actually started to have the opposite problem. The tenon started to fit a little tighter each time I smoked it. As was echoed before, I used the beeswax trick and it is fine now. It will be a good amount of time before I have to reapply. If you have this issue again and it can't be fixed with the beeswax trick, I'd say you should probably send it in.

rcstan · Mar 8, 2014

+1 on "sweating" the mortise first. If need be to speed up the process, use the heated flat end of a drill bit that fits loosely in the mortise to sort of steam out the wood, you should feel it tighten as you do this, but be careful as to not sear the inisde of the mortise.

Tenon swelling IMO should be used as a last resort, and only on vulcanite tenons. With an all-acrylic stem or a Delrin tenon, you might do damage, especially if you don't have the "hang of it" .....

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