Broken Stem

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billjohnso20

Lurker
Dec 4, 2019
29
30
I have a Nording freehand that I dropped in my bedroom a couple of days ago. Although it landed on carpet, the stem struck a jar on its way to the floor snapping off the tenon in the shank. Is there a way to get this piece out of the mortis in the shank without causing damage to the draft hole or shank? The stummel is a great smoker that fills my hand well so I dont want to consine it ti the junk drawer or the trash.
 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
6,087
16,684

Briar Tuck

Lifer
Nov 29, 2022
1,109
5,744
Oregon coast
I would tap it then screw in a bolt to remove it. Tapping will cut threads without exerting pressure against the mortise, unlike simply trying to insert a larger wood screw to remove it.

Edit: Just like the video George posted.
 

Scully

Lurker
Jan 11, 2023
30
54
Calgary Alberta
I bought an estate lot of pipes a week or two ago, and yesterday I took one of them apart. It’s a mid 60’s Fisher, leather wrapped bulldog, that has seen better days, and I am restoring it.
When I turned the stem out, it came out pretty easily, and it appeared to have a 1/8” copper ‘tenon’…. “Weird; says I. A quick look at the shank under a bright light, it was obvious that the tenon had twisted off at base of the stem, and it’d been repaired with a piece of copper tube inserted into the stem, and was pushed into the broken tenon in the shank that was left in place.
First I gave the pipe a drink of Everclear through the shank to make the oils and nicotine a bit more soluble. I have a homemade slide hammer with a drill chuck 'rigged up' to it, so after I screwed the tap in, I attached the tap to the drill chuck on the slide hammer, and after about a minute I gave the slide hammer a little whack, and out came the broken tenon. I don't use screws because I learned the hard way. Screws are tapered and push out against the wall of the shank, and it will crack if screwed in to far.
Just for an extra twist, after the tenon came out, I found a stinger embeded into the draught hole with all the tar and nicotine holding it in, and getting that out was a whole other adventure... but it's out. I was the one that needed a shot of Everclear after that.
 
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