Dunhill Inner Tube Is Stuck

bluegrassbrian · Jul 11, 2018

I have zero experience with inner tubes. Far as I can tell from pictures and inference, they should be removable by pulling straight out and with little resistance.
That said, I just got a '63 Tanshell in pretty nice shape BUT it was HEAVILY smoked. So now the inner tube is stuck in the stummel (not the stem).

Anyone else had this problem? What did you do to get that damned thing out?
I havent had a lot of time to play with it yet but ive tried hot hot water running through it and letting Everclear sit in the bowl. Ive also dug out a good amount of cake that was surrounding the draft hole, but I dont want to dig too hard because its hard to tell where the wood begins.
Any fancy tricks, or should I just keep going with the solvents?

ron123 · Jul 11, 2018

This works with stuck stems, so it could work with the stuck inner tube - put it in the freezer for about 1/2 hour, then take out and as the frost melts it will act as lube, and should release...

jguss · Jul 11, 2018

Freezer for 40-60 minutes? But exercise caution!

bluegrassbrian · Jul 11, 2018

I put it in the freezer for about 45 minutes.. no dice.
Its practically cemented in by the tars of a tobacco of a bygone era.

dmcmtk · Jul 12, 2018

Iso in the mortise with the shank vertical for a few hours, and keep topping it up. No guarantees...

I'd think if you see the alcohol in the tobacco chamber, it's a good sign.

bluegrassbrian · Jul 12, 2018

Yeah Im leaving it like that over night.. We shall see.

sablebrush52 · Jul 12, 2018

With time and patience you will be able to soften up the gunk that's trapping the inner tube. What I would do would be to support the stummel at an angle so that you can fill the airway and chamber with alcohol without the alcohol spilling out, and leave the inner tube submerged in alcohol for a couple of hours. If you can't get enough depth to submerge the innertube, then slowly drip alcohol into the mortise so that it flows around the inner tube. You want time to allow the alcohol to penetrate and soften the gunk. Then gently try to turn the inner tube. If it turns you should be able to free it and remove it. After the innertube is freed, clean out the airway. I've used a similar technique to remove a tenon that had become stuck in the mortise and had separated from its stem.

bluegrassbrian · Jul 12, 2018

Jesse I dug up a thread from pipes.org from 6 years ago.. You suggested the same thing, and thats what Im doing.

lightmybriar · Jul 12, 2018

Haha! I imagine this is from a certain seller on eBay. These pipes have been quite an experience. They’ve all come with cemented inner tubes. Wishing you success!

bluegrassbrian · Jul 12, 2018

Steve you're right,,
What kind of animal originally owned these pipes?
Underneath the muck, it's in really good shape.

lightmybriar · Jul 12, 2018

Yes they’ve all cleaned up to be like new! But boy what an incredible strong bond that cake had. This guy must have mixed some concrete in with his tobacco!

bluegrassbrian · Jul 12, 2018

How Did you go about freeing it?
I let everclear sit in the chamber and shank over night and in to the afternoon.. id give the tube an occasional wiggle. It's still just as stuck.

sablebrush52 · Jul 12, 2018

Overnight should have been way more than enough to soften up the tars and oils, thus freeing up the stinger. Maybe the seller did cement it into the airway. I have actually seen that done. Send it to a pro and let them deal with it or return to the seller.

bluegrassbrian · Jul 12, 2018

I was hoping to avoid sending it off but damn.. I may have to email Ric or Mike.
Curse you Alfred.

lightmybriar · Jul 12, 2018

I did all sorts of unmentionable barbarian things to the pipe, including threatening it's firstborn son, and finally got it free in two pieces.
A combination of soaking, stressfully and carefully digging through cement cake with a dental pick, using a screaming tea-kettle to send steam through it, then the freezer, and then some time-consuming wiggling with pliers...
Each one of these pipes was an inner tube nightmare, but the reward was a beautiful pipe underneath. So, it was sort of worth it...haha!

sablebrush52 · Jul 12, 2018

Who is this seller from hell?

bluegrassbrian · Jul 13, 2018

I was under the impression the seller was not the original owner of these pipes.

Hes had a few dozen 50s-60s era Dunhills up for auction. All of them have been heavily smoked, some were in rougher condition than others.
When I got home from work tonight I went back to wiggling the bastard tube lightly. It felt loosened up, but my delight turned to dismay. The damn cheap aluminum broke.
So now the remnant is lodged in there. Technically I could go about cleaning it up and leave it as is, but I have to wonder if theres another way. Im going to reach out to a pro.

jpmcwjr · Jul 13, 2018

Photos, gents?? Please.

bluegrassbrian · Jul 13, 2018

ugh

lightmybriar · Jul 13, 2018

I found myself in this situation with one of them as well. If you trust your hands, the aluminum is soft enough that very careful work with a drill bit can slowly chew it up and get it out of there piece by piece. I used the bit as a hand tool and got the tube out of there in tiny pieces so as not to disturb the airway. It worked for me, but it was definitely delicate and time-consuming work, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you were confident in your abilities.

Dunhill Inner Tube Is Stuck

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