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shanez

Lifer
Jul 10, 2018
5,188
24,080
49
Las Vegas
1) I've got a little cheroot that I posted in another thread that has a broken stem.

2853

2) I've got an antique meer that's missing the stem.

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3) I've got a Savinelli autograph that has some pretty good charring.

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4) I've got another Savinelli autograph with an oxidized stem that I'm afraid of obliterating the autograph on if I do it myself.

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I'll probably send them all to a professional for repair/restoration.
 
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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,068
Maryland
postimg.cc
This one was a heart-breaker. Nearly mint, pre-Cadogan era Comoy's sandblast. Under that rubber bit, not a mark. Tenon was a touch loose, I used my new Pimo tenon tool. "Crack". Now a cracked shank. Anyone have a band kit?

s-l1600.jpg
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,343
This one was a heart-breaker. Nearly mint, pre-Cadogan era Comoy's sandblast. Under that rubber bit, not a mark. Tenon was a touch loose, I used my new Pimo tenon tool. "Crack". Now a cracked shank. Anyone have a band kit?

s-l1600.jpg
That's why I'll never use that tool and only use heat slowly to restore a tenon's size.
 

boffosquid

Might Stick Around
Jun 27, 2019
54
20
Edmonton
Wince x12 on the cracked shank on the Comoys. An alternative to the exterior band repair might be an internal stainless steel tube reinforcement and consequent alteration to tenon diameter of the stock stem - this keeps the pipe looking stock. I believe George D (Youtube channel), Steve Laug (Reborn Pipes) and Charles Lemon (Dads Pipes) have all detailed the steps to accomplish should you wish to tackle it. Of course, I believe there are pipe repair shops who will do the classic external banding repair.
 
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Humblepipe

Lifer
Sep 13, 2019
1,787
6,243
Guerneville, CA
Ok, I'll confess. I also broke a tenon attempting to enlarge it slightly for a better fit. No name bent, but it was a good looking old pipe nonetheless.
 

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
Wince x12 on the cracked shank on the Comoys. An alternative to the exterior band repair might be an internal stainless steel tube reinforcement and consequent alteration to tenon diameter of the stock stem - this keeps the pipe looking stock. I believe George D (Youtube channel), Steve Laug (Reborn Pipes) and Charles Lemon (Dads Pipes) have all detailed the steps to accomplish should you wish to tackle it. Of course, I believe there are pipe repair shops who will do the classic external banding repair.
George hasn't done a video series on mortise sleeves that I'm aware of, but it would be a good one just to illustrate why it's a trickier repair than most people might think. Getting a proper alignment between the stem and shank without altering either is practically impossible unless you're capable of machining the components yourself. Then, you'll need to offset the effects of abrasion between the steel tubing and tenon material. It's not a trivial operation. Lots of little "gotchas" and some of them don't show up until later down the road.
 
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Humblepipe

Lifer
Sep 13, 2019
1,787
6,243
Guerneville, CA
Gents,

Got off my Keister and attempted a restore on my Ben Rodger's 1950s Golden Thorne. I'll repost the BEFORE first, followed by the AFTER photos. The stem close up... I filled in a deep tooth dent with black epoxy. Lots of sanding, polishing of course. Slightly different shade of black, but I am happy with the results.


BEFORE

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AFTER
29802981298229832984
 
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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,343
For future restorations, try using heat to pull out stem indentation. A lighter is good for this but a heat gun is easier. For the oxidation, material loss can be minimized by using magic erasers instead of sanding or by using a lighter and a wet paper towel. Your results are stunning, nonetheless, and you really resurrected that little guy!?
 
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Humblepipe

Lifer
Sep 13, 2019
1,787
6,243
Guerneville, CA
For future restorations, try using heat to pull out stem indentation. A lighter is good for this but a heat gun is easier. For the oxidation, material loss can be minimized by using magic erasers instead of sanding or by using a lighter and a wet paper towel. Your results are stunning, nonetheless, and you really resurrected that little guy!?

Thanks for this, chasingembers. I'll apply your advice the next go around. I have plenty of raw material.
 
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didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,888
31,594
34
Burlington WI
For future restorations, try using heat to pull out stem indentation. A lighter is good for this but a heat gun is easier. For the oxidation, material loss can be minimized by using magic erasers instead of sanding or by using a lighter and a wet paper towel. Your results are stunning, nonetheless, and you really resurrected that little guy!?

I was going to say this too. I had a pipe that was hard to get a pipe cleaner in, because I didn't raise the dents first. I also had a pipe that became too thin in the mouthpiece because I filed and sanded too much, without trying to fill the dents first.

So much to learn.

Looks great though, nice job!
 

Humblepipe

Lifer
Sep 13, 2019
1,787
6,243
Guerneville, CA
I was going to say this too. I had a pipe that was hard to get a pipe cleaner in, because I didn't raise the dents first. I also had a pipe that became too thin in the mouthpiece because I filed and sanded too much, without trying to fill the dents first.

So much to learn.

Looks great though, nice job!

Thanks for the feedback and wisdom, gents. Already have a lot of experience with woodworking. Stems are new to me though... something I need to master. Fortunately, this beauty smoked superbly prior to the major restore. I got love for this one and acquired a lot of info about the maker. This one is a keeper!
 
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