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Comoy’s Specimen Straight Grain 229 Restoration [Pic Heavy]

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piffyr

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
This Comoy’s Specimen Straight Grain 229 is the second pipe out of the batch of four that I’ve previously mentioned here: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/1938-bbb-silver-mounted-poker-restoration-pic-heavy
It had a lot of the same issues as the pipe at that link and it brought a few of its own as well. Thankfully, no shank cracks this time, but the surface was just as deteriorated. There was also a dark stain along the top of the shank where something had been spilled/swiped. The most puzzling thing to me was a hard, crystalline deposit on the end of the shank. It was almost like old glue, but I could see no reason for it. I’ve never encountered anything quite like it and don’t care if I never do again.
See for yourself…
aP92bTe.jpg


f8bL310.jpg


EDOoub6.jpg


uGmWLop.jpg


hnbvwjH.jpg


3nZylXe.jpg


ekoim84.jpg


 
piffyr

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
The real problem came to light after I had cleaned the deposits from the end of the shank. There was a pretty good gap between the shank and the stem that had previously been filled with that stuff. I could see evidence of some indelicate tinkering at the end of the shank, but that didn’t explain the gap because the two faces didn’t meet and the space between was more or less even all the way around.
MWrIjuk.jpg

The pipe was thoroughly clean, the tenon wasn’t bottoming out (tenon: 18.3 mm / mortise: 19.7 mm), and there were no burs or steps inside the mortise. The cause was a complete mystery to me. I tried various, judicious tweaks to see if I could get even the slightest closure in the gap, but no luck. I was almost out of ideas and about to admit defeat. So, I called in the big guns and hit up George D. for an assist.
One of George’s suggestions was to massage the shoulders of the tenon a bit. I took a shot and knocked the upper shoulder…
1YU3NB1.jpg

… back toward the base by about 1 mm. Success! The shank and stem faces finally made contact. Thanks again, Big G!

 
piffyr

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
The joint wasn’t a perfect one though. With the two faces in contact, I could see just how much the unevenness at the end of the shank was throwing everything out of whack. It was damn close though and further tweaking had equal opportunity to make things worse as better. So, I decided to cut my losses and let it be. I may have been defeated, but I think I still retained some dignity.
Here’s the finished pipe…
kyjFO0v.jpg


QvDIWO9.jpg


fAJUoR2.jpg


JtCFyyn.jpg


Je9pi0p.jpg


2PjB0ts.jpg


iE61OoY.jpg

(Sorry for the bad nomenclature photos – I’m better with pipes than cameras)

 
nevadablue

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
Yep, what they said. Fantastic transformation.
So, where did you find that beautiful black stem? Oh, It was hiding inside the fake briar stem that the pipe came with?
I have always liked the color of the weathered stems when they get that far. My Soren was that way and I thought it was made that way.

 
pepesdad1

pepesdad1

Lifer
Feb 28, 2013
1,023
678
I have a "selected straight grain" Comoy pot with a tapered stem. Comoy could turn out a stem/button...was like having a piece of paper between your lips...they were thin.

 
ssjones

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
19,044
13,181
Covington, Louisiana
postimg.cc
Specimen Straight Grain's are not very common, heck of a find (I don't recall seeing that one). Fabulous work, what a grain on that one.
Interesting fix for the tenon fitment. I guess the interior of the shank swelled little over time?

 
dmcmtk

dmcmtk

Lifer
Aug 23, 2013
3,672
1,709
Specimen Straight Grain's are not very common, heck of a find (I don't recall seeing that one).
Click to expand...
See ssjones's post here,
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/interesting-completed-ebay-auctions-british-pipes
:D

 
piffyr

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
Interesting fix for the tenon fitment. I guess the interior of the shank swelled little over time?
Click to expand...

There's obviously some sort of deformation in the mortise, Al. The fit wasn't over-tight or anything like that. It was smooth travel until it hit what felt like a hard stop, which is why I thought the tenon was bottoming out at first. Nothing inside that I could see or feel was causing it. It's still a mystery.

 
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