Example of "Invisible Repair"

[georged]

From time to time there's a discussion on this board about repair or restoration quality, which ranges from simply being able to use a pipe again and who cares what it looks like, to not being able to detect it was ever worked on at all.

The lovely 1977 Dunhill half bent pot seen here was badly caked and completely missing its stem. T'was only a grungy stummel.

Now, it is back to new in every detail (except for the chamber walls, of course), and were it not for this thread, no one would ever know it was worked on or the stem replaced. All the brand-correct and period-correct "tells" that collectors look for to determine authenticity are covered.

This sort of thing is what I'm talking about when referring to "invisible" repair work.

 

[AroEnglish]

Lovely work but I am disappointed that the pipe is completely visible.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

How did you rebuild (or fix) the right corner of the shank?

 

[OzPiper]

@georged
"Nobody does it better"

Sorry would have been better if Carly Simon sang it

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Wonderful piece, and how you did remove all that lava from the top of the rim?

 

[mortonbriar]

I have the same question as @TheIronMonkey

Handsome pipe!!!!

 

[yanoJL]

You, sir, are a wizard! Amazing restoration

 

[georged]

How did you rebuild (or fix) the right corner of the shank?

That does not compute.

Greater referential specificity is required.

Thank you.

Beep bzorp bweep bzzzzt

 

[georged]

Wonderful piece, and how you did remove all that lava from the top of the rim?

Hard carbon buildup on a sandblast is indeed a pig, innit?

Let's play a game.

I'll start...

Only one tool is needed, doesn't take long, and the result is perfect every time.

I'll let you know as your guesses get warmer and cooler

 

[TheIronMonkey]

That does not compute.

Greater referential specificity is required.

Thank you.

Beep bzorp bweep bzzzzt

View attachment 245380

I didn’t identify the correct corner. It is on the right side of the photo, but is the bottom corner of the shank. In the unrestored photo, it looks like the corner is missing or very rounded, but appears to be present, crisp, and sharp in the refreshed pipe.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Hard carbon buildup on a sandblast is indeed a pig, innit?

Let's play a game.

I'll start...

Only one tool is needed, doesn't take long, and the result is perfect every time.

I'll let you know as your guesses get warmer and cooler


View attachment 245384

no less than topping off via sanding/buffer?

 

[sablebrush52]

Gents. THIS is what restoration is, not just cleaning up a pipe. And in the line of "invisible" restoration that George has done, this one is relatively simple. George is truly an artist.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I didn’t identify the correct corner. It is on the right side of the photo, but is the bottom corner of the shank. In the unrestored photo, it looks like the corner is missing or very rounded, but appears to be present, crisp, and sharp in the refreshed pipe.

I think that is the sanded flat bottom of the shank for stamping nomenclature, which runs through the transition onto the stem

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I think that is the sanded flat bottom of the shank for stamping nomenclature, which runs through the transition onto the stem

Ah, that makes sense.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Hard carbon buildup on a sandblast is indeed a pig, innit?

Let's play a game.

I'll start...

Only one tool is needed, doesn't take long, and the result is perfect every time.

I'll let you know as your guesses get warmer and cooler


View attachment 245384

I want to bizarrely say an eraser given the inclusion of the pencil in the picture above??

 

[georged]

I want to bizarrely say an eraser given the inclusion of the pencil in the picture above??

Good guess, actually. (Makes me wonder what tasks a pencil eraser might be good for...)

But, no.

You're moving in the right direction, though---getting warmer---since the contact surface of the Mystery Tool is not metal.

 

[Brendan]

Magic Eraser?

 

[georged]

Magic Eraser?

Getting warmer.

HINT: the wheels on the bus go round and round

 

[Brendan]

Getting warmer.

HINT: the wheels on the bus go round and round

The Magic School Bus!

Magic Johnson!

My Magic Mushroom stash in the back of my closet!


Or,

Cut up windscreen wipers...

 

[Ahi Ka]

Windex?