Hand Turned Tenons vs. Delrin

Delrin-
Pros- Stable, self lubricating,consistent diameter, very strong material.

Cons- Tricky to glue, some makers will tap and thread the tenon/mortis and also glue to eliminate risk of the tenon pulling out of the stem,limted choice of colors, the space required for the tenon fitting inside the stem can limit design choices.
Hand turned-

Pros- made of the same material as the stem, no chance of it pulling out. You can adjust the tenon diameter slightly to vary the snugness of the tenon mortise fit. I also think it looks better.

Cons- not as strong as Delrin.
Some of the top guys in the country do use the Delrin tenons because they think it does a better job...Either method can produce good tenons...
I prefer to hand turn tenons except in the case of bamboo which requires skinny tenons (most guys use stainless tubing for that- I get a larger ID with carbon fiber tubing, and the epoxy base used in the carbon fiber glues very well)

Though I've probably snapped a tenon, I can't remember when. With all the pros for both delrin and traditional, I don't see how you can go wrong with either.

I've seen turned tenons snapped off in the pipe shank. I've also seen delrin tenons give way and come loose from the stem. Really, neither method is better than the other, they just have slightly different strengths and weaknesses. The downside of turned tenons is that if it does snap off, fixing it is difficult and odds are high it won't perfectly line up again. If a delrin tenon comes loose, it's easy to fix and with a couple of tips on epoxy, most guys can do it on their own.

I was doing some Trever Goblin research related to another current thread (Harris' goodies up for grabs or not :lol: ), dug into Mr. T's comments, and happened across his above 3-year-old post.
The following line in it caught my eye:

The downside of turned tenons is that if it does snap off, fixing it is difficult and odds are high it won't perfectly line up again.

Click to expand...

Which in turn flipped my "What perfect timing!" switch, seezin' howzin' I uploaded a "show all" video on how to guarantee perfect alignment only a couple days ago. :D
Some days, the Internet just works. :lol:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW_7NZb-4tTAIs6xNN-6XC2v

This is precisely why I made my tenons separate from my stem and bowl. The pipes I made use a tenon that can be removed and replaced at will. I built my first pipe using a 5/32" draft hole, but that turned into more smoke from that pipe than I wanted on a pull. So, I took it apart, made a new tenon with a 1/8" draft hole, and voila! I had a better smoking experience for myself. It would also make it easier for replacement, if something should ever happen, but I personally feel like making it a three-piece pipe, you reduce some of the wear and tear because it has a little more room to give.