Broken Pipecleaner

[super8mm]

I have broken off a tapered pipecleaner off and can't get it out. The tail end was inside the stem and got stuck so I got out the pliers.
This is also a bent so I can't pass a drill bit through. It is a Baraccini and the stem looks like it is made from the same materials my peterson.
Is there something that will eat the cotton off the wire and not damage the stem?
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Thread title fixed.
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- Kevin

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[redbeard]

Did you try to push another one in to force it out?

 

[super8mm]

Yes I did redbeard but it just bent.
I was thinking maybe bleach would destory the cotton and loosen up the wire but not sure what bleach would do to the stem?

 

[cobguy]

Coat hanger or similar should do the trick

 

[zekest]

This sounds a lot like a late April Fool's post.

 

[zekest]

Try using drain cleaner to dissolve the cotton.
Clean the stem well before smoking.

 

[wannashmooze]

Drain cleaner will probably eat away the stem or dissolve it.

A good solution may be to try cold or heat. Different materials expand and contract at different rates in hot and cold. Freezing the stem may loosen the wire up.

Another solution may be grabbing the wire with a hemostat and pulling it out. Hemostats of various sizes can be bought online pretty cheaply. Look for a 'mosquito' hemostat on ebay.

 

[super8mm]

There is just a tiny nub sticking out where it broke off and all that is sticking is a tiny nub, I tried using a small pair of vice grips but there is not really enough to get a good bite with them.
I will give hot water a try to expand the stem, as the expansion factor of cotton is probably nill
this stem has a very small hole on the end that goes in your mouth but pretty much normal size on the bowl end
here is the pipe Baraccini Tulip

 

[admin]

Thread title fixed.
Please see rule 9 here along with the rest of the forum rules

 

[topd]

Years ago (when I was about 12) I wanted to be a gun smith. My Dad was one and I wanted to be like him. My sister and I had been shooting Dad's muzzle loader and it was time to clean it, 'cause we couldn't leave it dirty, he'd find out we got into his shop. Got the bucket of soapy water and the ram rod with cleaning jag, shoved it right down, almost to the bottom on the first stroke. I didn't know at the time that you should stroke it a little, with each stroke going a bit farther. It was stuck like a tapered pipe cleaner in a tight stemmed smoking pipe!

Got the idea to remove the nipple, dry it out with a heat gun and dump in a bunch of powder behind the jag. I was gonna fire it out. We went behind the shop and tied that barrel down to an old tire and stuck a piece of cannon fuse to the flute. We lit the fuse and got behind the chicken coop. Well when that thing went off the tire did a few backflips towards the river, but that wasn't the worst part. There was a big hole in the side of Dad's shop and when we slipped back in through the window, there was a hole in the side of his new Bosten Whaler too, just below the water line. Luck had it though, he had a matching hole on the other side. Out it went in the front of the shed and toward the house. Mom found that ram rod stuck in her rocking chair leg in the parlor.

Needless to say, that put a hiatus on my gunsmithing for a while!
As far as that stuck pipe cleaner goes, I'm probably the last person you might want to ask....

 

[anglesey]

You never know topD, a grain or two of black powder might solve his problem, plus leave that lovely acrid powder smell we all love
Did your dad ever find out?

 

[topd]

Ha! Ya, he knew why before he ever tried to launch the boat....

 

[redbeard]

Well there goes my idea then.... I would be wary about using a chemical but it might work.... Maybe oxidized clean would do the trick. It's used to de-oxidize stems maybe it will help loosen it? I hope you get it fixed!

 

[teufelhund]

My thought would be to try and plug it with wax leaving extra to grip with the pliers and hopefully that will grip the cleaner when you pull it out. Or perhaps turn another wire into a coil and turn that around the stuck cleaner like a plumbing snake and see if that will grip. Other than that run some air pressure through it with some wadding and see if that will shoot it out of there.

 

[warren]

My wife does metal work and has an incredible selection of tiny needle nose pliers, probes, and other tools. A jeweler should have the same selection. Take it to a jeweler, give 'em a couple of bucks and have them pull the recalcitrant cleaner out.

 

[super8mm]

TopD that is a idea, I do have 1/2 lb of black and 2 lb of rifle :lol:

 

[super8mm]

I have tried pushing, pulling and my wifes dental picks and still it is as tight as if it were loctited in.
in reading on disolving cotton it is pretty tought stuff, it takes a strong caustic acid to disolve it, one guy used drano to clean a cotton rag our of plastic conduit and it worked but took a couple of day.
guess the worst I can do is see if I can order a new stem
btw if my wife cleanes your teeth I wouldnt go in for a couple of day :rofl: