Briarville Bulldog Restoration

[mikethompson]

Any day now, as it has cleared customs.

 

[jaytex1969]

Even with the tobacco ban? :nana:

 

[mikethompson]

I got it back yesterday. I will take some decent pictures of it today and post them. He did an incredible job. The pipe looks great.

 

[mikethompson]

Terrible, terrible, terrible pictures that do not do justice to the repair work. The bowl is all cleaned up, and the new stem fits perfectly. Very nice work by Ric, and I can see why he is so highly recommended.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Very nice, you have yourself a new pipe there. Congrats to you and good work, once again, by Briarville!

 

[mso489]

The age and history on this pipe, and the excellent restoration, make it far better than new. That one will be a pleasure to light up for years and years to come.

 

[ophiuchus]

Thanks for sharing the I'm-sending-my-pipe-for repair trip with us. This one turned out very well; that pipe sure is pretty now. ::

 

[weezell]

:clap:

 

[scloyd]

Looks great. Congrats Mike.

 

[cortezattic]

Sorry, to me, the stem doesn't look like it's fitted to the shank very closely.

 

[ssjones]

Uh....that shank transition does not look good. Hopefully just not inserted correctly.

Send me the original stem, I can fix that hole for you.

 

[mikethompson]

Well now its all I can look at. I will post some closer pictures later. The stem is all the way in.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Just a tip or two: LINK to the thread.

 

[clickklick]

Update photos on this?
You paid for this work and are happy with it? This doesn't look good based on the pics you've provided so far.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Lighting and esp. highlights can make shank-stem junctures look off. That's why some more photos with better lighting would be appreciated. (more even, more direct, but avoiding reflections/highlights.)
Fine pipe, though. Enjoy!

 

[georged]

That's not lighting. There are so many things wrong with this I won't even list them.
Did your receiving the pipe close the book on this project, Mike? As in, both you and Ric are OK with it?
.

 

[mikethompson]

I suppose I should post a reply huh?
Well it is interesting. I thought I had a pretty good eye for detail and really liked the way the pipe turned out when I got it back. The bowl is super clean and ready to go. Then I noticed the stem fitment and I honestly couldn't not notice it.
Luckily I still had the original stem and a fellow member has offered to fix that up for me. When that is all done I will post up some better pictures.
So overall, yes I am happy with how the bowl worked out, it can actually be used now. As for the stem, well, less so. I think I would still recommend them as the bowl was pretty gunked up with crud and tars. But like I said, the more I looked at the new stem the more little things bugged me.

 

[georged]

Luckily I still had the original stem and a fellow member has offered to fix that up for me.

Except now the original won't look right, either.
The end of the shank was rounded over in an attempt to "fudge" the poor fit of the new stem---meaning wood was removed---so now the face of the original stem will be exposed for .5mm or so. The pipe's LINE (profile) will be back, in other words, but with a step or "notch" in it.
Also, depending on how severely belled the mortise was (most diamond/square ones are), it might have been re-cut to parallel so the new stem wouldn't "wag" when fitted. Which, if it was, would mean the old one will just rattle around in there now. The pipe won't even stay together.
I'd check before mailing it off for a second go-round of work.

 

[bent1]

Agree, the transition from shank to stem is not a good, flush, square fit.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

And I thought the stem edges were overpuffed as it may often happen when one is attempting to remove bad oxidation,eitherway, this pipe is truly nice looking and eventually when time comes You may choose to opt for another stem.