Meer Shank Crack

[Pooh-Bah]

My friends, behold the source of my anguish.
I've got a crack in the shank of my meerschaum. Probably from not holding the shank properly during disassembly.
Yesterday it was only this big.




Having had the brilliant idea to put the stem back in it for another picture, the crack is now THIS big.



How upset should I be, and what are the odds of a professional being able to cure my baby? I was open to the idea of trying it myself with like, super glue or something, but considering I've already made it worse once, I'm sure you can understand my hesitance.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Probably worth having it repaired with a metal band by a professional. There's too much torque involved in removing the stem for cleaning for super glue to be a long term solution.

 

[Chasing Embers]

What kind of tenon does the stem have?

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

The only way to fix it properly is to break it completely and glue the piece back on with a mixture of meer dust/egg whites. And then band it tight with a silver band. Definitely a job for an expert.

 

[kcghost]

Yeah, this is a tough one. Expert help is required, and it definitely will require a band.

 

[Pooh-Bah]

What kind of tenon does the stem have?

Push-Pull, made of Delrin I believe. Its definitely a white plastic(?) of some variety. Bought it new about a year ago.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Push-Pull, made of Delrin I believe. Its definitely a white plastic(?) of some variety. Bought it new about a year ago.

Are you unscrewing the threads when removing the stem?

 

[Pooh-Bah]

Are you unscrewing the threads when removing the stem?

Nope, only rotate clockwise and removing and re-inserting the stem. Though I DID unscrew it entirely when I first got it, before using it any. Wouldn't be surprised if I'd somehow sowed the seeds for my current problem then.

 

[LeafErikson]

Send it off for repair. Should be able to be done with a metal band and it’ll be usable again.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Nope, only rotate clockwise and removing and re-inserting the stem. Though I DID unscrew it entirely when I first got it, before using it any. Wouldn't be surprised if I'd somehow sowed the seeds for my current problem then.

Definitely get a band put on it but a crack like that appears to have been caused by an upward or downward pressure on the stem.

 

[Pooh-Bah]

Thank you everyone for your help. It's going out to Briarville in tomorrow's mail - in its case, wrapped up in all manner of cushiony materials.

 

[Pooh-Bah]

Rather than start a new thread, I'll just post of Briarville's success here:

Verified the sealed-ness of the crack by blocking off the draw-hole with my finger, and neither sucking nor blowing (shut up) resulted in any airflow. You can still see a scar at the former site of the crack, of course, but I think it gives the pipe character.
...Now to go to the bar for celebratory pub food and beer, and wrestle over which tobacco is worthy of being its celebratory bowl.

 

[mso489]

Sounds like a good repair job. Congratulations, and many happy smokes to you.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

Looks great. They did you a solid on that repair.

 

[augiebd]

Nice repair, glad you’ll be able to continue to enjoy!

 

[Peter Turbo]

What was the turn around time on this? I have a meer with a similar crack and its also in need of a new stem.

Also I've heard mixed things about Briarville and repairs, seems like they did good here. Everything go smooth?

 

[Pooh-Bah]

What was the turn around time on this? I have a meer with a similar crack and its also in need of a new stem.

Also I've heard mixed things about Briarville and repairs, seems like they did good here. Everything go smooth?

I didn't have any problems, and the repair's holding up so far. As for turnaround time-
It was five or six days from the pipe's delivery to Briarville, and it being back on the way to me.

 

[kcghost]

Hopefully they did a nice job of repairing the pipe. Sometimes Briarville's work leaves a little to be desired.

 

[peteguy]

Here is a great example from the other Meerschaum thread repair. One customer happy and one not. The one cost fits all works great on less expensive pipes but not so much on a collector pipe.