Broken Meerschaum

[buffalo96]

So, I got this hand me down from my Dad recently. It's a nice Zouave head meer that he picked up when he was stationed in Sinope, Turkey in the early 60's. Over the years the tenon got loose and he fixed it by epoxying it in the pipe. Of course the tenon broke later and it got tossed in a desk drawer until he came across it and gave it to me. I just needed to get the epoxied piece out of the meer stem. I thought that boiling would loosen up the epoxy and allow me to extract the broken tenon. It worked, but I also managed to break a chunk off the stem in the process. So I am extremely bummed out by my stupidity. Any ideas on how it can be fixed? I was seriously thinking about getting the broken part trimmed off and a new tenon tapped. Maybe a Churchwarden stem....

 

[sablebrush52]

A lot of meerschaum owners swear by Briarville for their repairs. I suggest that you contact them.
http://briarville.com/
BTW, your image is not showing up because you are on Photobucket, and Photobucket doesn't allow you to post your images to remote sites unless you pay $500 per year for the service. You may want to look for another image hosting service, or upload you images to Pipes Magazine. Instructions for doing that are on the main page in the stickies section.

 

[weezell]

^^^^ Yes!...

 

[mikethompson]

Buffalo post up a picture of the old girl so we can;
A) take a look at a vintage meer

B) see how bad the damage is

 

[buffalo96]

OK, I think I figured it out. It's a sad sight.

 

[buffalo96]

This is what it looked like before I "fixed" it.

 

[weezell]

A very wise man once told me "Never take a meer apart!". I didn't heed the advise. Sent to Ric @ Briarville. Lesson learned...

 

[nevadablue]

The pipe can be saved. Sad to see it cracked, but it will live again.

 

[buffalo96]

I sent Briarville a nice email with pictures. I’m optimistic that it will smoke again... It isn’t fancy but I like the head and the sentimentality.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Best of luck with the repair.

 

[condorlover1]

The broken shank will need cementing in place and the addition of a silver band. The treads in the shank will either need rebuilding with cement or more likely an new tenon cemented into place. The stem looks fine but when it is fixed just put a pipe cleaner through it after smoking. This obsession with dismantling pipes is crazy. Its a pipe not a folding rifle. The more you unscrew things the more you wear or damage the very delicate threading in the meerschaum pipe. Clean the bowl or wipe it out after smoking and run a soft pipe cleaner through the pipe after smoking and you and your new friend will have a long and mutually beneficial relationship together as opposed to pulling his head off and poking a wire up the pipes arse. As an after thought use Rick down at Briarville in Florida as he runs an excellent hospital for meerschaum pipes.

 

[mikethompson]

Screw tenons!
Doesn't look like a complete loss to me. Given your history with it, you should get it repaired.

 

[cortezattic]

There is enough shank left to cut it back past the break, and have an acrylic ferrule glued in place to receive a tenon -- preferrably a standard "briar-type" tenon.
Norwood Pipe Repair did something similar for me, a few years ago, for about $25 + 2-way postage, iirc.
Send them a picture and get their opinion.

 

[skaukatt]

I agree that it can be repaired. Looks like there's enough shank left and that presents options (of course the experts will know better but my thoughts are): have it cut just past the breakage point and have the threads in the shank retapped, if necessary. Have the two piece connector replaced with a fresh one and you should be god to go. You can also have the broken piece epoxied back together and band that area as has been suggested.
In any case, it will live (smoke) again and I whole-heartedly recommend Ric at Briarville - my own meer is "vacationing" in FLA. with him right now in need of a new stem!
Let us know how it works out and good luck!

 

[jeffro]

Glad I read this post fellas! I have a couple of old meerschaums that are in need of repairs that I have not smoked in a long while. So my pipes might have to make a long journey down south to Ric also! :D

 

[buffalo96]

I got my pipes back from Briarville Pipe Repair yesterday and Ric Farrah certainly did a superb job on my meerschaum figural! He cemented the chunk back and placed an attractive nickel band over the repair to strengthen it. I also got the bakelite stem replaced with an attractive amber colored acrylic stem. I am so happy with the outcome and I got to sneak in a bowl yesterday before the weather moved in. Smoked great! I highly recommend Briarville for your pipe repairs.

 

[cortezattic]

So happy to see that you got it repaired -- and such a nice job!

 

[weezell]

Very nice save!Now just don't take it apart and smoke that sucker...

 

[condorlover1]

A Men Brother Weezell! :rofl:

 

[skaukatt]

Here's the stem work from Ric of Briarville, just got this back in time for the Vikings-Saints game - it brought me luck! Seriously, Ric is the man for all your meerschaum needs.