Filling Bite Marks on Stems

[Tate]

I figured I'd share the step by step on filling in tooth chatter that that wouldn't go away with a lighter.

First you need some stems in rough shape

I gave these a light sand to make sure there wasn't much oxidation before the super glue.
I then added the black super glue to some activated charcoal. I went with a capsuled version hoping it would be fine and it was.

Mixed it with the glue
Then applied. This is where I think I made a mistake. I applied quite roughly and I think it carried to the end result.
I let them dry.
And you can see that it is quite rough below

I then used 220 sandpaper to shape the rough glue and moved up to through 400, 800, 1000, and the micromesh set.

 

[Tate]

The end result came out pretty good for me but not quite invisible. I think applying the glue in layers more neatly could have taken it to the next level and saved some sanding time.
Definitely good enough for me and better then when I got them. Now that I've done this I order a nice looking Dunhill with a very bad stem and I'm going to see if I can repair that. I might have the ticket to good smoking pipes on the cheap!

 

[yanoJL]

I think (from the pics) these came out great!
I've read about using a lighter/flame to work out the divots and chatter. Were these so deep that they required some fill material?
(I'm asking because I just bought 5 un-restored estate pipes online this weekend and I will be attempting this in the next week or so. I've never actually restored a pipe before, these will be my firsts)

 

[georged]

Superglue is an acrylic resin, meaning it dries glass-hard with no "give".

Vulcanite is countless tiny balls of rubber smooshed into a solid, meaning it does have "give".

Result? Tooth/bite compression of a pipe stem made from rubber which has an acrylic patch on it will cause the patch to flake, chip, and (eventually) detatch.

Mucher gooder is to use a type of epoxy called "G-Flex" that is formulated to have some elasticity.

Full usage info here:

Replacing Lost Vulcanite Stem Material

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[Tate]

I think (from the pics) these came out great!
I've read about using a lighter/flame to work out the divots and chatter. Were these so deep that they required some fill material?
(I'm asking because I just bought 5 un-restored estate pipes online this weekend and I will be attempting this in the next week or so. I've never actually restored a pipe before, these will be my firsts)

Thanks, buddy! The lighter works on some things for me but didn't work on these ones. Some of the lighter stuff comes out. I'm thinking about trying a heat gun next time to see.

Good luck on the restorations! It is quite fun!

 

[Tate]

Superglue is an acrylic resin, meaning it dries glass-hard with no "give".

Vulcanite is countless tiny balls of rubber smooshed into a solid, meaning it does have "give".

Result? Tooth/bite compression of a pipe stem made from rubber which has an acrylic patch on it will cause the patch to flake, chip, and (eventually) detatch.

Mucher gooder is to use a type of epoxy called "G-Flex" that is formulated to have some elasticity.

Full usage info here:

Replacing Lost Vulcanite Stem Material

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

www.youtube.com

Thanks! I'll definitely check this out!

 

[Kirklands]

not quite invisible

I have the same experience. Even after micromesh I can usually see a very fine line around the edge of the area to which I applied the black super glue.

 

[Tate]

I have the same experience. Even after micromesh I can usually see a very fine line around the edge of the area to which I applied the black super glue.

I wonder if a top coat will help. I might give it a shot. I'm also going to try out the epoxy.

 

[Tate]

I got some of that Gflex and pigment coming. Excited to give it a shot!

 

[Sigmund]

Im not sure what would happen if you used vulcanite powder. It looks black but when its sanded, as many of you know, its brown. Im not sure what it would do when mixed with glue. FWIW, if you dont have an old stem to grind up to experiment you can get plenty of vulcanite out of an old sax mouthpiece. Just buy a piece of crap one from a music store or ebay. Lots of music stores have boxes of old ones around. Just make sure its hard rubber and not plastic. I make sax mpcs...I may have to test it out. If I do I will post my findings.

 

[Tate]

Im not sure what would happen if you used vulcanite powder. It looks black but when its sanded, as many of you know, its brown. Im not sure what it would do when mixed with glue. FWIW, if you dont have an old stem to grind up to experiment you can get plenty of vulcanite out of an old sax mouthpiece. Just buy a piece of crap one from a music store or ebay. Lots of music stores have boxes of old ones around. Just make sure its hard rubber and not plastic. I make sax mpcs...I may have to test it out. If I do I will post my findings.

On some videos I've watched the sanded Vulcanite turns out the best after being mixed. Like you said it's brown sanded, but after it was in the glue and applied it was just as black and was pretty much invisible.

 

[Kirklands]

plenty of vulcanite out of an old sax mouthpiece

I played from 5th grade through college, yet it never dawned on me till you said this that the mouthpieces were vulcanite. Fascinating! I didn't start smoking a pipe until about 10 years ago, long after I'd quite playing sax.

 

[Tate]

Already had some pieces of glue chip off. I am going to follow another process and see if I can correct. I watched another vid that uses Gflex epoxy and prepares for fill by deepening and evening impressions. This helps because the thin layers will break off. Which I experienced first hand. Fun learning this stuff!

 

[mikethompson]

I've always used POR-15 to fill holes in stems with no issues. Looks like you did a good job though. There is definitely a learning curve to cleaning up old pipes. Have fun!

 

[Tate]

I've always used POR-15 to fill holes in stems with no issues. Looks like you did a good job though. There is definitely a learning curve to cleaning up old pipes. Have fun!

Thanks buddy!

 

[kcghost]

I think George has a video on how to repair stems with tooth marks.

 

[peteguy]

I've always used POR-15 to fill holes in stems with no issues. Looks like you did a good job though. There is definitely a learning curve to cleaning up old pipes. Have fun!

You use a Rust Preventive on your pipes??

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I first started smoking pipes, I ordered a pipe from eBay. And, after the first smoke I could feel something in my teeth. Someone had used super glue to patch a hole in the stem, where someone had bitten through it, and it had just come off in my mouth. Then a few years later, on another estate pipe, as I put the pipe up in my rack, I saw a little flake of super glue floating down, and I noticed that someone had done the same thing to that pipe. Now, I just prefer to buy the ones that have green stems than to take a chance.
Maybe I was unlucky enough to get the only two in the world that would do that. But, it is something to consider. It would be nice if anyone does this to pipes that they are selling to put your repairs in the descriptions.

 

[Tate]

These are definitely for personal use and have already had some superglue chip. I watched a video that shows how to prep it better and use epoxy so hopefully that will work a bit better.
If I were to ever sell the epoxy ones I would definitely mention in the description. Some of these patches were conveniently not in the photos on ebay lol

 

[Kirklands]

hopefully that will work a bit better.

How did this work for you? (I'm trying to talk myself into spending the extra on the G-Flex and the pigment.)