New Corncob Questions

[olkofri]

Showcasing my ignorance and adding to the list of stupid questions, I was wondering about something inside this new corncob's bowl:

In the upper left in that shot: is that sealant compound or something? The stupidity of my question comes from wondering if it's OK to smoke with that in. What'll happen to that with the heat and combustion and all?
Edited by jvnshr: Title capitalization.

 

[alexnorth]

The gooey looking stuff? I'd guess its some kind of adhesive compound to keep the stem in.

 

[ben88]

It's a white glue.

 

[olkofri]

K. I'm thinking they know how to build pipes and that won't melt or give me gluey tobacco. 8O
Another stupid thing I did was to disinfect the pipe with vodka and the wood in the stem soaked it in and expanded. Now the mouthpiece will go in super tight and with considerable force. Wonder if it's safe to ream the stem's lumen a bit. :?:

 

[mwsmoker]

Depending on the pipe, sometimes they use a wooden plug in the base of the cob and glue it in for longer life. They also use an adhesive to glue in the shank/stummel.
Some kind of adhesive will be present in most every cob. Whether there's that much excess usually, I couldn't say as I've only smoked a few cobs in the last 20 years.

 

[ben88]

Excess glue happens quite often.

Nuke you pipe for 20 seconds, stem will come out easy. Dry it well and glue it back with carpenters glue. I would also trim the protruding wood and raise the bottom all the way to the draft hole.

If your pipe has a hardwood plug, you could use pipe mud for that, if not - I would drill out the bottom and glue in the plug ( piece of hardwood dowel)

 

[admiral]

Let it dry for few days and it will be ok.

Dont worry about the glue part.
And keep in mind that the first few smokes with unsmoked pipe will give you some "corny/maze" flavor.

But it will wear out.

 

[nevadablue]

Not being snarkey... but... I find it amusing that quite a few people worry about something like a blob of glue. But they are OK with setting fire to some weeds and chemicals in a little wooden pot and sucking in the smoke! LOL, now I must go look in my cob pipes...

 

[unkleyoda]

Let the pipe dry for a few days, it'll shrink back to it's original size.
As far as smoking with a bit of glue in it? Smoke on man, smoke on. (when the ember burns down that far, take a few quick, short puffs and instantly blow the smoke out, and you'll char it. From then on all will be fine.)

 

[pagan]

Let it dry and smoke that puppy, Cob pipes take alot of abuse so dont worry to much about it

 

[cortezattic]

If the swollen wood won't return to normal size, you might try rubbing the graphite tip of a pencil on the tenon to give it a little lubrication. Candle wax or bee's wax, if you have some, might lubricate it also. Sanding is sort of a last resort -- but then again, we're not talking about taking risks with an expensive pipe.
As for the glue at the bottom of the pipe, don't pay any attention to it. Tobacco is probably far more harmful than a little milk glue. Just load and smoke.

 

[olkofri]

Cortez, you're a pipe saver. The pencil trick worked like a charm. Guess this pup's ready to smoke.
If I'm not mistaken, corncobs need no breaking in, so it wouldn't be a problem to pack it full instead of only a third or a half to start building a cake, right?
Got a choice between an aro and an English blend. Wonder which one would be best....

 

[Chasing Embers]

You don't want a cake in cobs, and it will smoke either tobacco wonderfully.

 

[btsteve]

I also chisel out the wood shank and then pipe mud up to the draft hole. I think the cobs smoke better this way and I do not get the foul burning wood taste when they are new that way.