Fricking loose steams and how to remedy 'em

PaulTheScandinavian · Sep 1, 2016

Ok, I guess this my following threat has been posted here no once but twice before,nevertheless mind my asking,

what might be the best solution to fix that somewhat loose steam fitting,all my hardly broken in pipes if they are Italian Make(Savinellis+ Stanwells Danish desingn)tend to have a tad a bit too loose steams,not so remarkably though,but it is obvious,the only method of which I'm familiar with is that heat and press method which works out many a times but if unskilled person is performing this method,it could lead to a very fatal final result,so perhaps there mightbe a bit safer trick to be found, Thank you for your kind advice and have a great day,Paul

Chasing Embers · Sep 1, 2016

Smoking them can tighten them up, applying moisture to the mortise with a cotton swab, or applying beeswax to the tenon are also quick fixes that don't involve heating the tenon.

northernneil · Sep 1, 2016

I had this issue with a couple of pipes recently. I had a block of bees wax sitting around, so I took a small piece and rubbed it on the tenon. This left a very light coating of wax, which was enough to correct the loose stem issue.
I did not add any heat, and have not experienced the problem since the repair. Might be a good place for you to start.

sablebrush52 · Sep 1, 2016

When I have a problem with loose steam in my pipes I call a plumber.

georged · Sep 1, 2016

For a permanent fix, either enlarge the tenon diameter with heat and a series of polished drill rods---1.5 thousandths-of-an-inch steps works best---or paint the mortise with superglue, let it cure COMPLETELY, then shave to level with a properly-sized chucking reamer or similar. (600-800 grit sandpaper carefully wrapped around a drill bit shank will also work, but requires a delicate touch.)

torque · Sep 1, 2016

I've used a really thin layer of clear fingernail polish around the diameter of the tenon. Didn't paint the whole tenon, just a narrow bead all the way around and as thin as I could get it. Worked really well.

ocpsdan · Sep 1, 2016

Your pipes dehydrate in time.
A little water on a qtip swabbed on the inside of the shank will do the trick without the mess. Repeat as needed :wink:

jpmcwjr · Sep 1, 2016

Did they come that way? I would put heating the tenon last on the list, and try moisture as above, plus smoking. And don't leave the stem out except for cleaning.

pagan · Sep 1, 2016

A little water on a qtip swabbed on the inside of the shank will do the trick without the mess

+1

igloo · Sep 1, 2016

So you left your pipe in the car and cooked it again . For a little loose ,just use spit in the shank . For a very loose stem , use plain note book paper cut to size . wrap around stem and yes use spit when the paper dries it will have bonded to the wood shank . Carefully trim the excess paper with a razor blade . No one will know except you . You guys know spit works . Mothers use it to clean children and fix there hair . 8)

perdurabo · Sep 1, 2016

Take a tea candle, ( if it's a Vulcanite) and gently rotate the tenon about an 1/2in. to a inch over the candle. When the tenon is warm, place tenon in some ice water, to cool it. The Vulcanite will expand back to its original shape. Works every time. Promise.
Nail polish works well and beeswax is great. I use beeswax for my corncobs.

georged · Sep 1, 2016

Take a tea candle, ( if it's a Vulcanite) and gently rotate the tenon about an 1/2in. to a inch over the candle. When the tenon is warm, place tenon in some ice water, to cool it. The Vulcanite will expand back to its original shape. Works every time. Promise.

Actually, vulcanite is quite dimensionally stable, and (for all practical purposes) can't be compressed by briar-density wood under "pipe use" conditions.
When a stem is loose, 99.9% of the time it's because the wood---which is remarkably unstable dimensionally when cyclically heated, cooled, moistened, and dried---has expanded, not the other way around.
Heating a vulcanite tenon with a candle to expand it and then quickly cooling it will "capture" some amount of the expansion, but not much, and there's a limit. Also, depending on how evenly the tenon was expanded (a hot air gun is both safer and more even), distortion can result. By using a drill bit shank or polished drill rod as a mandrel, the tenon will both remain uniformly cylindrical and can be stretched quite a lot. (More than a simple "once was tight, now is loose" fit will ever require.)
In short, you've been lucky. Promise. ;-)

perdurabo · Sep 1, 2016

Sounds good Georgred. I've been lucky about 10 times.

PaulTheScandinavian · Sep 2, 2016

Thank you for these tips gentlemen, much appreciated,

iamn8 · Sep 2, 2016

Try fresh bat guano. It probably won't "help" much, but it would make me laugh.... which is helpful for me

jerwynn · Sep 2, 2016

Nate, you want STEAMED bat guano for this thread! Then your choice of 11 secret delicious herbs and spices! Only The Colonel knows fer sher!! Wait a minute... that's only your hair-dresser that knows fer sher. What does the Colonel do? HA! Smokes bat guano! I just wanted to say "guano"... guanoguanoguanoguanoguanoguanoguano... (On 3rd cup of high octane coffee...)

:crazy:

perdurabo · Sep 2, 2016

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=khWHIzdBbhw
Give this a spin Guy explains how the acrylics and rubber have a memory.

mawnansmiff · Sep 2, 2016

Torque got it in one with the nail varnish trick. I have used this method many times with success every time. The key of course is to apply a thin layer.
Regards,
Jay.

jpmcwjr · Sep 2, 2016

When a stem is loose, 99.9% of the time it's because the wood---which is remarkably unstable dimensionally when cyclically heated, cooled, moistened, and dried---has expanded, not the other way around.

Isn't it that when the mortise dries out the briar shrinks a tad, thus enlarging the diameter of the cavity of the mortise? Thus making for a looser stem fit, one that's often remedied by adding moisture to the mortise to swell it back up (ever so slightly)?

georged · Sep 2, 2016

Isn't it that when the mortise dries out the briar shrinks a tad, thus enlarging the diameter of the cavity of the mortise? Thus making for a looser stem fit, one that's often remedied by adding moisture to the mortise to swell it back up (ever so slightly)?

Yes.
Before this thread gets too caught up in itself, it's worth mentioning/clarifying that "returning a pipe to functionality" and a long-lasting "collector grade" fix are different things. Simply blowing into the end of a shank will tighten a stem's fit enough to make a pipe smokable for the duration of the smoke. (Left a while in a rack afterward it will be loose again, though.)
Beeswax also works, as does a thin line or two of clear nail polish, etc.
Getting back to a "like new" stem fit that will stay that way for a long time takes more work and is a surprisingly tricky business. Which road a pipe's owner takes is entirely up to them. Depends on their priorities, and to some extent the value of the pipe.

Fricking loose steams and how to remedy 'em

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