Filling a Pipe Stem

[bullbriar]

I just bought a Peterson Sherlock Holmes "squire". It appears to have two deep depressions (tooth marks). While I is still smokeable, I would like to fill them.

Any suggestions? Would a black marine gel coat be a good choice? Obviously, the repair will be in my mouth!

 

[jah76]

I wonder if you can get them out with steam. I've never tried this but I know Al and a lot of other folks have. I know it involves heating up a knife, a wet cloth, and using the steam to lift out the dings.

 

[ejames]

Super Glue and activated charcoal powder. Black glue is best. Heating will SOMETIMES remove or lessen toothmarks. Doesn't hurt to try it first.

 

[bullbriar]

Anything is worth a try, but these seem to be pretty deep!

Thanks...

 

[cigrmaster]

You might want to think about just getting a new stem, they are not that expensive and it might make the pipe more enjoyable to smoke.

 

[ssjones]

As ejames mentioned, I've filled in deep teeth marks with superglue and vulcanite dust. The black super glue (Stew-Mac sells these tubes) does work best, but I haven't bought a tube yet.

 

[bullbriar]

Al,

Thanks for the response. I don't have an old stem to sand down, so the vulcanite dust will be a problem. ejames mentioned using activated charcoal...
Has anyone ever tried marine gel coat? Comes in a lot of colors, its 2 part. Just don't know how safe it would be to apply to vulcanite? Would it be safe to "chew on"?
I did find an old posting which mentioned heating the vulcanite stem with a bic lighter to relieve the "memory" in the vulcanite, raising the dent. How does vulcanite react to flame?

 

[bullbriar]

I just bought some black Stik Fast, flexible CA off Ebay. Going to see how that works. Description says it's good for fills, and still remains a bit flexible, not brittle like standard CA.

 

[ssjones]

A little charcoal will blend in fine, as long as it is black. I bet some pipe ash would also work well. I'm not familiar with Stick Fast, but checked out the website and it looks like an interesting product. Super Glue is used as a medical repair, so it is safe to put on a pipe stem.