The tenon set up is pretty much an aluminum equivalent of the Jobey Link.
Can't Remove the Stem of an Unsmoked Kiko Meerschum
- Thread starter mau1
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Never get your meet in the fridge or cold weather close to freezing. Any hidden imperfections can cause it to crack. Had two brand new pipes do this to me walking out of the store in freezing weather. The cases were in my jacket pocket.
Best trick I found was 91% medical alcohol on the thickest pipe cleaner you can fit. Soak one push it in and let it soak a little, take it out and try another. Do this a couple of times and use light pressure to try to loosen the tars. Hard to say which way to twist as twisting to hard to the right can break the threads on the meer and twisting to the left can do the same. The pipe cleaner soaked will going through the airway into the shank will allow the alcohol to seep into the fitting to loosen the tars.
Goodluck and happy puffing.
Edited: just saw that you already tried the alcohol. If you haven’t tried medical alcohol, I would give it a shot.
Best trick I found was 91% medical alcohol on the thickest pipe cleaner you can fit. Soak one push it in and let it soak a little, take it out and try another. Do this a couple of times and use light pressure to try to loosen the tars. Hard to say which way to twist as twisting to hard to the right can break the threads on the meer and twisting to the left can do the same. The pipe cleaner soaked will going through the airway into the shank will allow the alcohol to seep into the fitting to loosen the tars.
Goodluck and happy puffing.
Edited: just saw that you already tried the alcohol. If you haven’t tried medical alcohol, I would give it a shot.
No, this is a case of a corroded aluminum tenon. The pipe was unsmoked and sat for decades. And this is not a one-off case. The fellow I received the pipe from had a number of other unsmoked Kiko meers that had stuck stems.
Just grab you wife's hair dryer and heat the shank/stem. It will come out.
Good news. I got that stem unstuck. What did the trick was putting it in the toaster over and gradually heating up the pipe from 120F to 150 to 170 to 200 degrees 5 minutes at a time. Even pressure when turning the pipe. I'll give the tenon a light sanding and that should do take care of that! Thanks for all the suggestions.
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I might would consider a very modest amount of wax or something to keep it from oxidizing together again.
You had to ask, eh? Lol. Well, everything went fine, at first. The gradual increases in heating, checking constantly, it all worked beautifully. Problem solved. Later I noticed that the curve in the stem had straightened out just a wee bit. So I popped the pipe back in the toaster oven. Turned it on and...returned when I smelled something. Pulled the pipe out with a towel and it was hot! Noticed immediately that the stem was supper flexible , I mean floppy. I bent the stem to a reasonable shape and then saw the cause for the smell. The bit had bubbled and was flattened/stretch out. Arrggh! I was not a happy camper. To be so close to the finish line and then fall flat on my face. Of course the oven was way too high (from heating my lunch), and I should have paid better attention ( I was multitasking). Lesson learned, my friend, lesson learned. It wasn't one of my better pipes so at least there's that, but it still rankles to think I damaged a perfectly fine pipe. I will smoke it of course but it will be a constant reminder every time I do. Perhaps it will goad me to experiment on some broken stems to learn how to fix them. It could be a good thing, in the end!
Some of the pipes I smoke are from the lesson learned category. Now it gives the pipe a backstory. Some of them are to see how longterm repairs last.
Heat gun on low for bending stems. Or even heating over a candle. I prefer the heat gun. I just clamp the gun in a vise and rotate the stem over it until it’s flexible enough to take the bend I want.
Use a pipe cleaner, if you can get a thick one in the stem use it only if you don't have to force it. When heating it back up you then can shape it and the cleaner will keep the airway open. ensure you move the heat gun around while working it. Afterwards you can just polish it back to shine. Good luck and keep it classy.
Yes! I forgot to mention that! Absolutely keep a pipe cleaner through the stem as you bend it.
Greetings from East Africa,
My first post...
I also got a Kiko pipe with a stuck stem. I soaked the inside of the stem with lemon juice to try to loosen up the aluminum corrosion, then wrapped both sides of the joint tightly with strips of inner- tube to keep from cracking the stummel and twisted the mouthpiece off with pliers.
It came off nicely... looks like yours... but I'm wondering if we both didn't actually remove the tenon from the mouthpiece instead of unscrewing it...
Any help on this? This is a different connection then my other kikos...
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Yup. I bet that is what you did. Did that to a pipe myself.
I'd lightly freeze it, try it and if that doesn't work, smoke it to hear it up. Then try it. I can't fathom there is enough moisture absorbed by the Meer that freezing would cause it to break. Meer is nowhere near as fragile as most people apparently think. As was mentioned, it's not an expensive piece so keep trying things. If it breaks it breaks. If it passes a pipe cleaner smoothly, perhaps just leave it alone.