Your Fix for Loose Stems

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uperepik

(Oldtown)
Mar 8, 2017
533
14
What's your fix for loose stems. I've used heat and also a very thin layer of super glue works well.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
The above video is completely wrong for some types of loose stems. Depends on why it's loose. If the pipe has been regularly smoked, and the tenon stays loose, that's the way to go.
But if the pipe may have dried out, causing the briar to shrink ever so slightly (which makes the mortise hole larger) you don't want to increase the diameter of the tenon, and then have the mortise wood swell up again, which would then bind the tenon in the mortise.
So, the first thing to try is to wet the mortise, put the stem back in, and wait. Repeat if necessary. Smoking when a bit loose may also tighten things up.

 
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May 8, 2017
1,593
1,627
Sugar Grove, IL, USA
Regarding the comment that the loose stem could be caused by dried out briar, that might be backwards. I recently tried a modified version of Greg Pease's deghosting method, which involves putting the pipe in a warm oven for several hours. What I found was that this dried out there briar and that the mortise had shrunken, making it impossible to attach the stem for several days until the moisture levels returned to normal. Still, steaming has been use to expand the fibers of dented briar, so you might try steaming the mortise, but go slowly.

 

madox07

Lifer
Dec 12, 2016
1,823
1,689
Jay has once suggested using black nail polish ... it works quite well, and if you are unhappy with its thickness you can always use acetone to remove it.

 

ocpsdan

Can't Leave
May 7, 2012
411
3
Michigan
Water swabbed on the interior of the mortise works in most cases for me. Nothing to clean up if it doesn't work, either.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
Using the least intrusive method first is always a good idea. Water and a bit of time, or beeswax, are good starting points. I would do nothing to increase the size of the tenon until that proves necessary. YMMV.

 

tbradsim1

Lifer
Jan 14, 2012
9,093
11,012
Southwest Louisiana
I generally Heat the tendon with a candle then press tendon down hard on flat surface then under a stream of water. This has bulged the tendon ever so slightly and usually makes a tight fit.

 

briarblues

Can't Leave
Aug 3, 2017
378
565
I started to watch Walt's video and the first thing I must say is ..... if you get the shank as hot as with blowing a heat gun on it, you're smoking way to hot.
There are many methods to tighten a tenon. All the above methods will work. Personally I will use a q-tip in water, placed in the mortise and left for about 5 minutes as my first method. Remove q- tip, remove any excess water, let sit for a few minutes and carefully try and re insert the stem. Read CAREFULLY. If it feels tight or squeaks, stop and allow further drying time. A stem should slide in easily and almost silently.
If this method does not work, after 24 hours, I will apply some bees wax on the tenon. Start with a very thin layer and insert the stem. If still loose, add a little more and so on.
IF this does not work I will heat the tenon and press on a hard smooth glass surface to expand the tenon girth. This must be done very carefully. If you press to firmly, you may over expand the girth and create an issue requiring thinning the tenon.
I would only use nail polish on acrylic / Lucite stems. Also if you use this method be extremely careful that the pipe you are "fixing" make sue it does not have a non briar floc / shank cap. If it does you must make sue the nail polish is 100% dry before trying to reinsert. If it is the slightest bit tacky it may bond with the floc / shank application and you'll end up with a stem fixed solidly to the shank.
I always begin with the least intrusive method and work forward.
If you've tried any of the above and the tenon feels "almost" right, but is tightish or squeaks, apply a thin layer of hardened non scented bar soap to the tenon. It has enough "oil" to assist in allowing the tenon to slide in easily, yet have no abrasive qualities.
Remember the tenon should slide in smoothly and almost silently. If it does feel tight and you force it, you may crack the shank, which means a repair. Sometimes an adustments are best done by a pro.
Regards

Michael J. Glukler

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Mike is right. There are many kitchen table stem tightening methods that work if "returning a tobacco access device to service" is all that matters.
When the pipe in question is a valuable one (intrinsically or for any other reason), though, the right fix is to address root cause of the looseness, not put a Band-Aid on it.
In every case, push-stem fit problems are the result of the wood changing shape or dimension over time, either from use or environmental factors. Which, in turn, can---but doesn't always---change the shape of the tenon (they are much more stable than wood).
The best fix for a loose stem is to make the joint "new again" by returning the mortise to a uniformly cylindrical shape with a chucking reamer, and then expanding and (if necessary) re-shaping the tenon to match.
The problem is the above procedures are difficult to do well. They require expensive tools (a set of expansion rods only costs about $60, but a full set of 1/4" to 1/2" fractional + letter chucking reamers is around $2K), and a LOT of practice & experience to avoid creating a more serious fit problem than the one you're trying to solve.
In short, if you just want to be able to smoke the pipe, any of the Band-Aid methods are fine EXCEPT the "heat & press the tenon on a flat surface" one. (Deliberately mushrooming/bending the tenon will, over time, ALWAYS distort the mortise. Then you'll have a much bigger problem down the road.)
If the pipe is a collectable or otherwise valuable in some way, though, and you want a permanent, proper fix, you must do the re-cutting & re-shaping thing.

 
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uperepik

(Oldtown)
Mar 8, 2017
533
14
Goerge would you say then, if I don't have those necessary tools, would swells the mortise by dampening it be the lesser of evils.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,255
108,359
IF this does not work I will heat the tenon and press on a hard smooth glass surface to expand the tenon girth.
That method deforms the tenon, causes gurgling, and is unnecessary. Heating the tenon causes it to expand without having to press the end against anything.

 

briarblues

Can't Leave
Aug 3, 2017
378
565
chasingembers
Agreed, except that different material expand differently. Ebonite, Lucite Delrin etc. You really need to know what you're doing and how each material reacts to heat, how much heat, and for how long.
Regards

Michael J. Glukler

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Heating the tenon causes it to expand without having to press the end against anything.
More accurately, heating alone only relaxes the compressed-from-use rubber and returns it to its original dimensions.
When that's enough to create a proper fit, you're done. The best possible outcome.
Often it's not, though. Then the rubber must be heated and expanded/stretched to a new size, and allowed to fully cool in that stretched state. In effect "re-casting" it.

 
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mikefu

Lifer
Mar 28, 2018
1,976
10,506
Green Bay
Ive always used a little beeswax rub, as it’s natural, not toxic, and easily removed. Ok, so weird story-I lived in New Mexico for several years and really began piping while there. Then we moved to the Seattle area, and I found all my stems were loose, hence the beeswax. Then we moved to Colorado a few years ago, and all those beeswaxed stems got super tight again! Now it just may be me, but doesn’t wood swell when wet and shrink when dry? But my pipes all seemed to do the opposite. Any other similar experience?

 
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