Can You Replace a Kaywoodie Stinger?

The Kaywoodie guys on Forums are among the most devoted, so I think they'll know who does this, or how you could do the fix. I know the Drinkless stingers are part of the pipe, but don't some just slide out, and therefore are replaceable if you can find the right stinger? Standby for expertise.

I have always hack sawed the damn things out but I guess when new they were a push pull type of deal.

This looks like a Drinkless series pipe to me, and the stinger is part of the hardware that holds the stem and shank together, so it was never push-pull or push bit. I think the whole Drinkless assembly on this pipe would have to be replaced to get the stinger back. I've removed all of the removable stingers in my pipes, labeled them, and put them where I'd hope to find them. But I've left my Drinkless stinger in place, and clean it every time I smoke the pipe, just to keep the pipe original. It's the only stinger I use. You can soften the glue with head, as with a hair dryer, and likely remove it, but you'd need a replacement part.

The Drinkless were a push pull prior to 1928 (or was it 29), but the Synchrostem was a screw-in connection. I've heard mention of these being drilled out and replaced, but I don't know who would be able to do that. Besides replacing the stinger, it would have to be clocked so that the stem lines up properly.

The oxidation on that, and the chewed up bit, make me assume it's vulcanite, especially the oxidation. Also the age. I don't know the pipes well enough to know the age, but this one looks at least 20 and could easily be 40 or more.

Yours looks like a later (mid-1950s-to-early-1970s) Kaywoodie which would have had a three-hole stinger. If I were in your shoes, I would find a beater shape 22 (the finish does not matter) with an intact three-hole stinger. You can remove the stinger by heating it with a heat gun (or even a lighter), then using pliers to unscrew the stinger counterclockwise from the stem. You will need to use padding to prevent your pliers' jaws from damaging the stinger, and you should avoid going overboard with the heating. Repeat the process on your cut-stinger pipe, then screw in your "new" stinger. Others have suggested to me a drop of blue Loctite on the the threads going into the stem when reassembling, and that is a suggestion I follow. Assuring proper alignment is the next step and it just takes patience to make incremental adjustments. If your stem sits clockwise from proper alignment, unscrew your stinger a bit. If your stem sits counterclockwise from proper alignment screw it in a bit farther.
Disclaimer: I have never done this for a Kaywoodie with a three-hole stinger. I think some of these may have had a "Sycncro-Lok" feature perhaps similar to Grabow's "Ajustomatic". I am not sure how "Syncro-Lok" would change the procedure for swapping stingers.

Stinger size varied a lot across Kaywoodie shapes and time, so your best bet is still to find another 22. Also, I am guessing you have a press-fit stinger like that shown in the rebornpipes entry. I would not do what was done to that pipe. I would replace a press-fit stinger with another press-fit stinger in order to ensure a durable fix and proper thread match. I am completely unfamiliar with the press-fit stingers, but I would think several differences in procedure are required. First, I would heat and carefully pull the cut stinger with as little twisting or lateral movement as possible. The donor stinger can be removed as savagely as one likes, provided the stinger itself is not damaged in the process. Second, when inserting the replacement, I would probably want to use an epoxy to secure it. I would ask one of the resident pipe repairmen which epoxy they would use. Third, unless the press fit allows the visible portion of the stinger to rotate within the embedded part, I would make sure I had the stem alignment right prior to pressing in the replacement stinger.
The above is all hypothetical, as I have never messed with press-fit stingers. I hope someone will chime in with the voice of actual experience.