Dr. Grabow Adjustomatic and Reamer

[eightywon]

I have a used, unsmoked by me, adjustomatic. I was wondering what kind of routine maintenance should be done. The unremovable metal stinger thingy is throwing me off a little. Also there appears to be a little rust, any ideas on how to clean it up a little? Finally, I just picked up a reamer from a local head shop. The owner who sold it to me asked me what it was :crazy: I've only used dull knife blades and such to ream my pipes, and don't know if I even plan on opening this. Was just curious because I never knew Dr. Grabow made reamers. Could I have found a rare find, or just wasted $4.

 

[ejames]

That Ajustomatic pipe just needs the same basic care you'd give any pipe. The stinger in that pipe is removable. Since the pipe is unsmoked it has been setting somewhere for a good many years and aluminum will oxidize and stick together. Wrap the stinger with cloth and using a pair of pliers gently rock it back and forth until it breaks loose,then it simply pulls out. Sometimes a drop of WD-40 etc applied to the hole the stinger is in can help,but usually not needed.

If the stem gets out of alignment simply crank it clockwise until it lines up again-it will still unscrew. If it feels like it doesn't want to turn-and it does take some force- heat the threaded tenon with a match or candle for a few seconds,put it back in the bowl and try again.

The Dr. Grabow reamer is fine for LIGHT reaming only. They are similar to the old British Buttner reamers and will fit several sizes of bowls.

 

[tuold]

I bought an acrylic coated pliers jeweler's tool specifically for dealing with stuck Adjustomatic stems. If you buy a lot of estate pipes it will come in handy.

 

[eightywon]

Got it to come out, thanks!