Final Results on My Meerschaum Refurb...

[zack24]

This was the $20 stummel I picked up on EBay the other day and got some good suggestions on stems shapes to use. It proved to be interesting- I think the silver plated ferrule contained a bone screw on the original stem- no trace of that remained and the base of the ferrule was so far gone, it couldn't be saved. I used a flat sanding disk to sand the base off leaving a metal tube. I faced off the stem on the meerschaum stem and turned an ebonite sleeve that fit into place. Epoxied the tube, sleeve, and stummel together. For the stem I used a Delrin tenon and acrylic stem- adjusted the size of the mortise with a chucking reamer to get the fit just right. I hate bending this material- it's really a challenge- I ended up using boiling water and spot heated a couple of stubborn spots with a flame. This was the sharpest bend I've done in acrylic- I ended up doing the final 10% of the shaping after bending to work out some problem areas...(and after seeing this enlarged on screen, I'll be working down the underside of the stem a little more tomorrow...)

...and this is what I started with...

 

[puffy]

Beautiful Pipe

 

[upnorth1]

I admire a man who measures his pipes in picas! Nice job!

 

[blackop555]

Love the color and the look.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Great job! Looks beautiful!

 

[uncleblackie]

Looking good! Thanks for the update.

 

[brian64]

Great job...and it's really nice to see that old meer get a new life.

 

[voorhees]

Wow. That came out beautiful.

 

[menuhin]

Stunning!
I should also put more love (and skills) into my estate pipes.
Hope you enjoy this piece of history for a long time in the future!

 

[weedsnager]

Very nice !

 

[balkisobrains]

Nice save, man.

 

[cortezattic]

Thanks so much for all the pix! Really appreciated. :clap:

 

[jonasclark]

What a jewel this turned out to be!

 

[cigrmaster]

Too cool Zack.

 

[sajgre]

It turned out amazing!!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Extremely fine work! Came out great. Now, how 'bout a sweet little bend in your stem?

 

[zack24]

how 'bout a sweet little bend in your stem?

You must have missed the first picture...the one with the bend,,,

 

[jpmcwjr]

Oh, fer 'eavens' sake! I breezed by it thinking the first pictures were the "before" photos, which I had seen - didn't realize there was a new thread..... So, voilà! There it is, just as I hope it'd look!

 

[piffyr]

A beautiful pipe, Zack. I love that shape. Very nice work with the new stem and sleeve. You mentioned that you were going to do some more shaping on the stem. Do you have any updated pics?

 

[gnesiohamartolos]

I rejoice that there are those like you who buy estate stummels and restore pipes by installing newer, more durable stems (such as your acrylic). If you smoke your pipe carefully, it will still be functional long after you depart this life. The workmanship you invested in this pipe will (should) be appreciated by the fortunate soul who inherits it. Please tell all of us how it smokes. Does it have a ghost? Is the smoke cool and dry?