Need Help for Stem Repairs

[mayfair70]

I set my pipe down in the grass while doing yardwork and immediately thought, "You'll step on it, put it up on the porch." But the porch was twenty steps away and it would only be a few seconds. Again, the voice in my head, "You'll step on it you idiot." So I set it down in the grass for a few seconds. What happened? Of course, I stepped on it.
Evidently, gluing isn't the option unless I go for a special epoxy of some kind. Then there is the Delrin insert which involves drilling AND epoxy and is a more stable repair. I currently have no shop with sparse tools available and that won't change soon. This is the second vulcanite tenon I have snapped off the stem in the mortise. The first one I dropped. This one was idiocy. I also have a third mangled tenon which needs a similar repair and fitting, or total stem replacement. Finally, I have a Japanese bowl with no stem but a metal piece which fits nicely into the mortise and is threaded to accept what I believe was an ivory stem. Four pipes are now unfit to smoke and I HAVE to do something about at least one of them.
There are many folks on the forum doing this kind of work, and I guess I'm looking for recommendations for possible work on all four pipes. How much does a custom stem replacement cost? How much does a repair/insert job cost? Only one of the pipes would be fine for a "just get it to work/nothing special" type treatment. The rest I am very concerned about getting done right. Mayfair is now broken. :crying:

 

[georged]

Mayfair,
Fixing/making stems is straightforward, (relatively) easy to do, and inexpensive if the desired result is simply that a pipe be smokable again.
Fixing/making stems is quite complicated and difficult to do---and correspondingly more expensive---if appearance, alignment, and so forth are important. The very best repair work is not detectable after the fact except by experts (and sometimes not even then).
A pipe's intrinsic worth may or may not be a factor. I've seen people spend far more than a pipe might be worth on eBay to save it, because it was their first-ever pipe, once belonged to a cherished relative, or similar. Only you can decide what's worth fixing, and the quality of work desired. There are no "rules" in that regard.

 

[mayfair70]

@Georged - It can be THAT expensive eh? I should have guessed. Sounds like the sky is the limit.

 

[jefff]

Like most things, you can have it fixed,or you can have it perfect. Only you know what it's "worth" to you.

 

[ashdigger]

You can have it fixed, you can have it fast or you can have it done correctly.
You choose which one.

 

[mayfair70]

Only you know what it's "worth" to you.

Thanks guys. I get that a diamond studded stem is gonna be big bucks. This is my first and favorite pipe. I'll post pics tomorrow illustrating the damage, and maybe it will turn out I can just epoxy it.
@Georged- Didn't you repair a Dunhill for Papipeguy?
I have to apologize for not remembering who does what around here. I have problems with information retrieval. I've seen so many good repairs and refurbs over the past year, but there have been many avatar changes as well.

 

[georged]

@Georged - It can be THAT expensive eh? I should have guessed. Sounds like the sky is the limit.

"Expensive" is a relative term. Most people are familiar with auto mechanic's rates, plumber's rates, and so forth, which run well north of $100/hr. The low-end hourly rate for a decent machinist with a home shop is $75. A beautician/hair stylist usually gets around $50/hr. In 2016, hiring a no-skills-required 16 year old to watch TV with your kids costs $10/hr.
Most pipe repairmen earn minimum wage or less. Me? I charge $25/hr, which translates to a fully weighted rate---meaning including all the non-bench tasks such as emails, photography, packing & shipping, trips to the PO, etc---of about 2X minimum wage.
(Now you know why so few people do commercial pipe repair, and most who try it don't last for long. :lol: )
http://talbertpipes.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-deadly-trap-of-pipe-repair.html

 

[georged]

@Georged- Didn't you repair a Dunhill for Papipeguy?

Yes. At least I think it was his. (My apologies to PAPG if my rememberer is brokenized.)
http://pipesmokerunlimited.com/showthread.php?8621-Replacing-Missing-Wood-Heavily-Damaged-Patent-Dunhill-(pic-heavy)

 

[mayfair70]

I charge $25/hr

Thanks. I may have need of your services, if you aren't booked to the gills.

 

[jefff]

I once asked a member of this forum how much to make a replacement stem for a Castello 55. He quoted me 100.00
That's the neighborhood you are in.

 

[ashdigger]

Great answer George!!

 

[georged]

This thread made me think of one I started last year that directly addresses where this one seems to be headed.
Meaning, if I link it here and now, it'll probably save me some typing. :lol:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/why-are-there-so-few-pipe-repairmen