I have a churchwarden that the stem has become very difficult to remove over time, never have had this happen before, Ive only seen them get loose, anybody ever had this happen and a solution to repair.
Pipe Stem is Sticking
- Thread starter dublinpiper90
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Most of my pipes that acquire too tight stems are cured by a complete, thorough cleaning of the mortise and tenon using Everclear and twisted paper towels, q-tips, and pipe cleaners to remove a nearly invisible varnish of tars that accumulates. Then I use grapeseed oil on the mortise and Obsidian oil on the tenon to make them look new.
If that doesn’t work I use beeswax on the tenon.
If that doesn’t work it’s enough to make a grown man cry.
The greatest gift Richard Lee contributed to pipe smokers was the recessed, user adjustable, Lee type aluminum fitment with removable stinger that eliminated mortise and tenon problems.
But even Lee had to quit using it because of cost at the bitter end.
If cleaning and beeswax will not cure a too tight stem all the options are bad.
The next thing you know, with a change in seasons or more smoking, it might be too loose if the wood expands.
And any sanding on either the tenon or the inside of the mortise risks a leaky joint.
Best then to remove the stem, put it in a box, and try again a few months later.
Thoroughly clean the mortise. A shank brush and dental pick will help but pipe cleaners and toothpicks will get the job done with a little extra effort.
If it's really stuck, put the pipe in the freezer for a few hours, which should lessen the pressure, and detach. Then, as been said above, thoroughly clean out the mortise and airway.
This is the way
Put it in refrigerator for awhile. Then apply beeswax. Or graphite powder. Make sure to move the stem around with one of those on the remove excess.
The fundamental problem is standard stem materials are more stable dimensionally than wood, and the difference between too loose and too tight is around two thousandths of an inch.
Occasionally, a stummel---even a famous-maker one made from extra-extra grade briar---will not stop "moving", and stem fit will be an ongoing battle.
Other times even inexpensive(ish) pipes will fit perfectly for life.
Temperature and moisture are the primary culprits when wood expands or contracts, so keeping those as stable as possible when not smoking the pipe is about all you can do on the front end.
Thanks I’m gonna give freeze method a shot the pipe overall is clean
I occasionally encounter a tight stem. I think it is generally due to temperature and humidity. I use Everclear and pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, etc, to remove the tar build up. If I still have a problem I use a graphite pencil all around the tendon. A regular number two pencil works fairly well, but I prefer to use a number 12 drawing pencil which has a much softer graphite and applies more graphite with less effort. Graphite is a great lubricant and works quite nicely on a pipe tendon.
A tight stem can be hard to deal with but give the mortise a good cleaning and if the doesn't work try putting the pipe in the freezer section of your refrigerator for a couple hours.
If you just run a pipe cleaner through it after every smoke you don't need to do any of that stuff unless it's an estate pipe you wanna clean up.
^^^ This, then once separated either beeswax or rub the tenon with the lead of a carpenter's pencil
No, no and no! That might work for a very few pipes that have a perfect fit at the tenon-mortise junction, but it leaves that critical junction catching tars that will build up and make for a lousy smoke.
Every now and then the mortise must be cleaned. We have a few that do that after each smoke, but that's over the top for many.
I been doing it for a while. I haven't had a problem. But if thats the case I'll stop and not recommend it anymore. Thanks for letting me know.
If you are handy It doesnt hurt to VERY CARFULLY remove some material from the stem. I just did it. It really only takes a few turns with a piece of sandpaper...VERY FEW. Check in between. But first make sure the joing is clean. You dont want to find its dirty and be stuck with something now not tight.
For a while it works... until it doesn't!
I just hot water flush the chamber and stem, but I found I need to do it more regularly than I was. And eventually, the stem comes out and mortise attended to.
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to take all my pipes a part today and clean them like that before I run into an issue. I'll smoke cigars for a while to give the pipes time to dry out.
Wish I had figured this out earlier in my pipe journey, but at least I’ve never broken a stem or tenon. I’ve had a few instances where I was struggling twisting a pipe stem in an attempt to clean it while smoking. I feared for breaking, but I guess I’m luckily too weak. In any case my ultimate solution has been ridiculously simple. I sharpen a 3H hard pencil and coat the inside of the shank opening (mortise?). When I put the stem on its very smooth. The tenon automatically spreads the graphite into the shank. I use the hard pencil vs soft figuring that the soft might deposit too much graphite. I apply to the opening of shank rather than stem tenon, since trying to get graphite onto acrylic is more difficult than applying it to unfinished briar of shank interior. It works like a charm and I now keep that pencil handy whenever I smoke.
If you are very carful not to over do it, a very light sanding to the stem may just fix the problem, just like sigmund said, just be careful! it’s easy to sand it off but then it’s off! I have found That some stems just fit too tight to make sense… it needs to be secured to the bowl but should twist out with little effort.