My klutziness strikes again! Amber is fragile...

[Lucashly]

What about the fellow who does @ashdigger pipes as he seems to be nothing short of a miracle worker. One thing that you might consider is to have the repair man drill a slightly wider hole in each side of the broken stem and then insert a a very narrow stainless steel tube in and cement it in place whilst simultaneously cementing the broken surface of the stem. I have had this done on a dropped meerschaum were the shank and bowl snapped off by the foot of the 'cutty' so that after the stainless steel pipe repair the entire base of the 'cutty' was silver banded in the form of a dish for added strength. You could also have the stem just banded in silver and it would look very nice.

This. Try to same the stem. It has lived a long time.

 

[jonasclark]

This. Try to same the stem. It has lived a long time.

I just have no idea who does that kind of banding, or whether I can afford it.

I'm also still unclear on who made stems for @ashdigger.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

I just have no idea who does that kind of banding, or whether I can afford it.

I'm also still unclear on who made stems for @ashdigger.

Well I have, but I think he’s talking about Ryan Alden. Unfortunately staking that stem with an inner tube is not possible, it’s a tightly curved bore. So no re-drilling.

Your only two options are repair the existing stem with a metallic collar or replace it. Replacing it comes in two flavors. Find someone with NOS amber/Amberol/Bakelite stems that will fit it. Or have a new stem hand cut to fit it, most likely out of amber acrylic. There are a few people who can cut you a new acrylic stem, some are more qualified to work on bone tenon meerschaums than others. There are VERY few people who have NOS amber stems of that style. Check out RadPipes on instagram, he has some. He might be able to fix you up.

 

[condorlover1]

I forgot about. Not a bad suggestion.

 

[AroEnglish]

I just have no idea who does that kind of banding, or whether I can afford it.

I'm also still unclear on who made stems for @ashdigger.

Either @lonestar or @RustiePyles CPG

 

[jonasclark]

Well I have, but I think he’s talking about Ryan Alden. Unfortunately staking that stem with an inner tube is not possible, it’s a tightly curved bore. So no re-drilling.

Your only two options are repair the existing stem with a metallic collar or replace it. Replacing it comes in two flavors. Find someone with NOS amber/Amberol/Bakelite stems that will fit it. Or have a new stem hand cut to fit it, most likely out of amber acrylic. There are a few people who can cut you a new acrylic stem, some are more qualified to work on bone tenon meerschaums than others. There are VERY few people who have NOS amber stems of that style. Check out RadPipes on instagram, he has some. He might be able to fix you up.

Anyone you'd recommend besides Briarville for hand-cutting an acrylic stem? I've already contacted Rich several days ago, no response yet. Sadly, there are no colors of acrylic I've seen which really appeal to me; the closest in color to amber are either tortoiseshel;l (which is not the same) and orange amber (which has a metallic sheen). There's no clear apple-juice color, no swirled amber-orange that's not metallic. The only non-amber-looking color I really love is pictured below, which I've ONLY seen used by Ismet Bekler in his later years with CAO, I've never seen rod stock of it (or anyone else using it).

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Here is what I use.
I can do it, but you’re gonna wait a while. I’m pretty backed up right now. Ryan Alden might, if he’s taking repair jobs right now. RadPipes might. Unfortunately not to many people wanna mess with old meers, they can be nightmares to work on. And those that will often only do it with the disclaimer that if things go south oh well. Fortunately for you, your repair is pretty straightforward on an otherwise solid pipe. PM me if you want more info.

 

[jonasclark]

I'm probably going with RustiePyles. His price is more than reasonable and the lucite color he showed is lovely.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

That's a great looking little apple. I've always wanted a vintage bent apple like that. Good luck with the repair.

 

[jonasclark]

Bumping this back to the top. I sent Rustie another PM just today, but he said "give me afew weeks" and I never heard back (and that was nearly two years ago). I got busy, too.

Does anyone here know anyone else who can cut a stem like this out of acrylic, with the SHARP shoulders it has? (See the first page for photos). Additionally, does anyone know who has any stock of this acrylic? As said, I have only ever seen it on later (90s-00s) pipes carved by Ismet Bekler for CAO. Here's another example of it. "Apple juice" with brown flecks, not really a good imitation of amber at all, but extremely unique and beautiful.