Can I safely bend an already bent Vulcanite stem with hot water and a pipe cleaner ran through it? It's already bent I just wish it was a hard bend like the Peterson's. It's an old Savinelli 613 maybe I'm better off leaving it be?
Bending Vulcanite?
- Thread starter Coreios
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You can use the soft flame of a lighter. Just swish it around so it doesn’t burn the vulcanite. Then bend. Then cool in water.
Voila.
It can be done, but, a pipe cleaner will be easier to pass and clean with the original bend of the 613.
I’ve never done it but I’ve heard of people using a heat gun it make the stem more malleable. Might be safer than a flame
Water that hot will flash oxidize it. Unless you're folding it in half, the pipe cleaner isn't necessary.
I have reshaped stems with a pipe cleaner inserted by resting them on a tray with a bed of sand or rock salt and placing them in a 200 degree (F) oven for a minute or two. Remove the stem with oven mitts and bend a little more than desired, as it will tend to relax some after cooling.
I ended up using a hair dryer, worked fine. Seemed safer and I didn't have a heat gun.
After removal of varnish and grape seed oil finish applied.
I put the stem of that Giant Wellington in my office microwave and tried 30 seconds, and it wouldn’t bend. I tried one minute, and I bent the stem like I wanted.
I’ve used hot water before, but it oxidizes the stem badly.
Never thought of nuking the vulcanite before. Brilliant! Gotta try this.
This ^^^^
IF it's a piece of vulcanite that greens from hot water contact (some will, some won't), it will be deep, too.
Much better to use a heating method that has no chance of inducing oxidation.
An alcohol flame is fine IF a saddle/blade-style stem AND with skill based on practice, because heat-caused surface bubbles cannot be sanded out. You've only made the problem worse.
If the stem is tapered, knowing how thick a tapered stem can be and still be heated enough to bend using a flame without boiling the surface is an experience thing. i.e. there's a limit and it's tricky to do when within the limit.
Ovens are factory-level (don't go there); hot sand CAN be very good but is time consuming and messy (not recommended); and hair dryers don't get hot enough.
The easy answer is a garden variety shop heat gun.
I love the "folding in half" mental image.
It's true, though. The "put a pipecleaner in first" thing does not apply. It's just a bystander's assumption that has been repeated on the InterWebNet for decades.
I actually used a hair dryer and it did work at point blank range barley not touching .This ^^^^
IF it's a piece of vulcanite that greens from hot water contact (some will, some won't), it will be deep, too.
Much better to use a heating method that has no chance of inducing oxidation.
An alcohol flame is fine IF a saddle/blade-style stem AND with skill based on practice, because heat-caused surface bubbles cannot be sanded out. You've only made the problem worse.
If the stem is tapered, knowing how thick a tapered stem can be and still be heated enough to bend using a flame without boiling the surface is an experience thing. i.e. there's a limit and it's tricky to do when within the limit.
Ovens are factory-level (don't go there); hot sand CAN be very good but is time consuming and messy (not recommended); and hair dryers don't get hot enough.
The easy answer is a garden variety shop heat gun.
I love the "folding in half" mental image.
Good to know.
Sounds like at the "low end" of the problem range, a hairdryer is enough. (I suppose they come in different wattages, too.)
I think so it's my wifes. Must be a big wattage for a dryer. I had to lay it on our washing machine and lay the dryer infront of it on its side, it was too hot to hold.
I use a hair dryer with a pipe cleaner in the stem. It doesn't get that hot and no it won't melt if you don't overheat it. It will start to be bendable before it becomes super hot. When you get it bent hit it with cold water to set it.
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No way anyone is going to convince me to try this. I'd screw this up so bad it would the angels to fix it.
