Broken Shank Repair

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Kirklands

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 26, 2023
122
199
70
Kansas City, Missouri
This Brigham sat in a box for a couple of years before I finally decided to try repairing it. My inspiration was some YouTube videos on the “High Grade Pipe Repair & Restoration” channel. This was my first time to try a broken shank repair.

I used a needle in a pin vise to make tiny indentations all over the surface of the bare wood of the break. Then I mixed and applied enough G/flex 655 epoxy to have a bit of excess squeeze out once I joined the two pieces. A rubber band worked well for maintaining gentle pressure, and I waited a couple of hours till the excess could be nicely pealed off the outside. I started to try to remove the excess inside the airway as well, but it seemed likely that I would open the break again, so I set it aside until the epoxy was fully cured. Then I used a thin metal rod to break off the excess from the inside of the airway, and that worked fairly well.

I am hopeful that the bond will hold, but only time will tell. What luck have the rest of you had with repairs like this?

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georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
6,086
16,674
The only significant maybe is the rubber band isn't coaxial to the shank.

The slight angle means the pressure on the joint wasn't uniform, so the epoxy "migration" (for lack of a better term) during curing wasn't equal.

Enough to make a strength difference? Time will tell.

Sleeving the airway with stainless steel tubing would be a good idea in any event, to prevent the wood fibers around the epoxy from softening (smoking induced moisture) and the joint failing (the glue won't break, it's the wood attached to the glue you have to worry about)

The pipe is Canadian, though, so isn't prone to arguing or causing trouble, eh?. It's also doubtless sorry for breaking in the first place. So at least there's that...
 

xrundog

Lifer
Oct 23, 2014
1,296
9,206
Ames, IA
Ideally, running a stainless tube would give you rigidity that would prevent a future break. That said, I have a couple straight pipes with similar breaks that appear to have just been stuck together with glue. I smoke them without any special treatment and they seem to be fine. If I drop one it might break again. But that can happen to any pipe. Don’t worry about it until it breaks again. Then you can tube it. Probably won’t happen. So all I really have to say is: Nice save!
 
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Kirklands

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 26, 2023
122
199
70
Kansas City, Missouri
The slight angle means the pressure on the joint wasn't uniform, so the epoxy "migration" (for lack of a better term) during curing wasn't equal.

Enough to make a strength difference? Time will tell.

Sleeving the airway with stainless steel tubing would be a good idea in any event, to prevent the wood fibers around the epoxy from softening (smoking induced moisture) and the joint failing (the glue won't break, it's the wood attached to the glue you have to worry about)
Thanks georged. The stainless sleeve sounds like a good idea. By the way, are you the creator of the videos I mentioned? In reading posts here and there on PM I've thought that maybe you were.
 
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woodrow

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 28, 2018
208
232
Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada
The only significant maybe is the rubber band isn't coaxial to the shank.

The slight angle means the pressure on the joint wasn't uniform, so the epoxy "migration" (for lack of a better term) during curing wasn't equal.

Enough to make a strength difference? Time will tell.

Sleeving the airway with stainless steel tubing would be a good idea in any event, to prevent the wood fibers around the epoxy from softening (smoking induced moisture) and the joint failing (the glue won't break, it's the wood attached to the glue you have to worry about)

The pipe is Canadian, though, so isn't prone to arguing or causing trouble, eh?. It's also doubtless sorry for breaking in the first place. So at least there's that...
Lots of caution taking that apart to clean. Do NOT be surprised if it breaks again.
George has the ticket. I’ve used a small piece of stainless steel tubing in those. If a larger OD is needed a piece of aluminum tubing will work.