Kaywoodie Collector’s 12C Restoration

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piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
I haven’t posted any of my pipe work in a while, but I thought you guys might enjoy this one. The bulk of the work was done a while back before the “s” hit the “f” and I had to take a break from the forum and slow down significantly on pipe work. Having recently sorted all of that mess out, I finally got the chance to polish this one off; a Kaywoodie Collector’s 12C.
I’m not much of KW guy. So, I’m sure some of the other guys here can tell you much more about the history of this pipe than I can, but I’ll tell you what I know. The Collector’s (yes, the apostrophe is part of the name) series were limited production runs of monstrously oversized pipes. I forgot to take exact measurements before shipping it home, but it’s about 8” in total length with a 3” high bowl. The series has been in and out of production a few times over Kaywoodie’s lifetime and most of the pipes were just super-sized versions of classic shapes. The 12C comes from the 1971-73 run that appears to have taken its cues from the wild, Danish freehands that were popular at the time. These are about as rare as hen’s teeth these days.
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piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
Unfortunately, this one was a fair mess. It’s pretty obvious from the photos that the stem was beyond repair, but you might not notice some of the other major issues that it had. Of course, there were the usual dings and missing fills found on pipes in this condition, but there was also the issue of a huge crack in the bowl. It ran two thirds of the way down the front of the bowl, and then curved around the side. Inside the chamber, it took a diagonal course to meet a large, natural pit, which opened it up and allowed it to leak. Here are a few photos to give you an idea of the scale of this thing.
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Another interesting bit of “damage” were four, small drill holes in the surface of the shank. Easy enough to fix, but I have no idea why they were there in the first place.
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piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
The crack was repaired with thermal resistant epoxy and four, fluted, .75mm, stainless steel pins inserted across the fissure at various locations to limit the movement of the wood during heat expansion. On the chamber side, additional thermal protection was applied to keep the heat from degrading the adhesive (not likely, but better safe than sorry).
Cutting a new stem was the only alternative for the stem replacement. The problem was that, at the time, I had never done it before and I had absolutely none of the material or equipment to do it properly. So, I contacted a pipe maker friend and asked if he could provide me with a rough cut bit of material that I could work with. Nothing fancy or time consuming; just a bit of drilled rod turned down close to the correct diameter and with some meat taken off between the barrel and the button to make a crude saddle stem. He obliged and the rest of the shaping work was done with hand files and sandpaper. After that, I just transferred the tenon/stinger and logo from the old stem to the new one to complete the pipe.
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The Kaywoodie Collector’s 12C: You can love it or you can hate, but it will not be ignored…

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
We've got us some serious natural talent here, guys. (You caught the part about making that stem with little more than improvised tools and intuition, right?)
Too bad he doesn't live near KC. We'd have some serious fun, I think. 8) :D

 

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2015
782
80
Thanks, gents. It's surely not the belle of the ball, but I kind of respect it for not being afraid to be different.
Too bad he doesn't live near KC. We'd have some serious fun, I think.

I imagine you'd have to take out a restraining order, George.

 

willc

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 7, 2014
117
0
That is some awesome work there.

You turned that into a right beauty.

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
I imagine you'd have to take out a restraining order, George.
Indeed. This would be your playground. :twisted: (There have been several machine upgrades & miscellaneous additions since these photos were taken a few years ago, plus there's an Atlas lathe, a lightbox photo set-up, and shipping & fulfillment in the next room, but you get the idea):
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scrooge

Lifer
Apr 24, 2015
1,341
14
Holy S--T! Absolutely amazing work. Godd enough for a second praise. Outstanding piffyr.

@ Georged Diddo for your shop.

 

agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,332
3,413
In the sticks in Mississippi
Piffyr, that is an amazing restoration on an unusual pipe! I've tried my hand at some restorations on some old Dunhills and other pipes with some success , but what you did is top notch. :clap:
And George, that's not a work area, that's a professional set up, wow, just wow.... :mrgreen:

 
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