Loose Stem

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jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,081
Carmel Valley, CA
The word "expand" is used differently. If the mortise "expands"—becomes larger—, moisture added will cause tightening. The briar, in contact with moisture will "expand" the wood both ways, and the inward expansion is what tightens the grip on the tenon.
 

chopper

Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,317
Occasionally I've had a stem that's still looser than I wanted, and a thin coat of black nail polish on the tenon fixed it.

If black isn't fabulous enough, a glittery nail polish would probably work too.
This ^^^ works wonders for a very loose stem.

Just a thin coat on one side of the tenon usually does the trick and make sure it's dried [preferably overnight] or the layer will often just peel off otherwise.
 
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Swampy16

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 12, 2020
156
297
This ^^^ works wonders for a very loose stem.

Just a thin coat on one side of the tenon usually does the trick and make sure it's dried [preferably overnight] or the layer will often just peel off otherwise.
I used a super glue on a Savinelli Oom Paul and it worked great. The heat and water trick wasn’t fixing that one.
 
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Grovius

Might Stick Around
Sep 27, 2020
67
148
Tui, Galicia
Wrong pipe.
Not so sure; you just wait until I get the hang of packing latakia in the drone.
But seriously: we use hemp or flax to make the different pieces fit tighter. It also works for things such as wine taps and plugs in casks, so it may work for pipe stems. On the other hand, it may get stuck with thermal expansion.
 
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