Pipnet Reamer Broke on First Use

[runscott]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

I just received a new Pipnet Reamer set. The second largest reamer broke when I tried to remove it - pulled straight down, no twisting, and it just popped off at the connection. Checking the other three, the second smallest has bad stress marks in the same place - I successfully reamed three pipes with it.

Has anyone run into this problem with reamer sets? If so, has anyone tried gluing them back together with superglue? Thanks in advance.

 

[seanv]

Same thing happened to me after a few uses. Superglue has held well

 

[donjgiles]

I blew out the smallest head on a pipe a few days ago, very disappointing.

 

[runscott]

Thanks for the responses. This is really surprising - I've only read positive things about this set, which is why I dished out 2-3 times what the cheaper sets went for.

I'll go with Superglue - seems reasonable.

 

[BROBS]

Damn I have a generic set from eBay works perfectly

 

[paulfg]

there good and bad reamers similar to the pipenet ones.pipenet swiss made, copies chinese
I remember @ssjones replying on this a few years ago.i think it was the ones with the clear handles v black handles but cant remember the details maybe he will chime in

EDIT
I was wrong it was Pruss
here it is

Castleford & PipNet Reamer - Side by Side Comparison (Pic Heavy) :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance

I was gifted a PipNet Reamer by a good friend who also restores pipes (samcoffeeman you're aces!). A lovely gesture which provides me with the chance to share a side by side comparison with you folks. I've only ever used the Castleford Reamer. When I started doing restoration work I read as...

pipesmagazine.com

 

[paulfg]

I have this one genuine pipenet with guarantee

The PIPENET pipe reamer Swiss made 4 heads Estervals Pipe House

www.tecon-gmbh.de

 

[ssjones]

Paul has a good memory!

I broke two heads on the clear, orangeish color set and one on the black plastic set.

The dull orange, Swiss made set (more rubbery than hard acrylic plastic) has held up well.

Oddly, the bit sizes are all slightly different, so I use the remaining set pieces as they fit best.

 

[paulfg]

Paul has a good memory!

I broke two heads on the clear, orangeish color set and one on the black plastic set.

The dull orange, Swiss made set (more rubbery than hard acrylic plastic) has held up well.

Oddly, the bit sizes are all slightly different, so I use the remaining set pieces as they fit best.

View attachment 37986

your correct Al,I too had a chinese? set with a black handle that broke so I ordered the set from Estervals and yes the heads are slightly different size so I mix and match using the Estervals handle

 

[sumusfumus]

The best "reamer" that I ever used to control cake -was a piece of sandpaper wrapped around the proper size wooden dowel. Saw a vertical slit on one end of a dowel and roughly round off that end with a file to capture a strip of sandpaper. Never got a chip, never got an unwanted gouge...and the hardware store always has sandpaper and various dowels stocked on the selves.

A lot cheaper than those classy reamers that twist and break.

 

[mso489]

Online purchases are often iffy. My wife has bought watches from time to time that don't keep time or don't run at all, and now we have running jokes about it. She fell in love with watches crafted from wood, but they were all cheesy and never worked. About reamers, remember a significant minority of Forums members live without them -- scoop out the ash, and wipe out the bowl, to maintain a thin carbon layer, which maintains the size of the bowl and avoids any reamer damage, and saves the expense of reamers, for those who prefer this method. I just chanced upon it when I bought my first pipe, just by instinct, and have never looked back. I didn't learn it, I "invented" it for myself.

 

[runscott]

I understand all the nay-sayers' logic - certainly what works for one person might not for another. I just wanted to know if superglue would fix the problem. I'm using the reamers to restore pipes, not to clear out cake just enough to maintain smoking usability. The oyster knife reamer works great, but doesn't give an even thorough ream, and doesn't work well getting the bottom. I know this for a fact because I went back over some of the pipes I used the oyster knife on, using the Pipnet, and got more carbon out. But I'm sure there are a lot of techniques that work for some and not others - we probably have guys on this forum who could clean cake out spotlessly with their fingernails.

The Pipnet-style reamer did a great job (for me) and I was able to quickly get six pipes done. The attachment that broke was too large to be useful for most pipes, but obviously I'd rather it wasn't broken.

Thanks again to Seanv for answering my question. If the seller doesn't get back to me, and the guarantee is too difficult to deal with, I'll just glue it.

 

[philobeddoe]

I’ve been using a Pip-Net (clear orange) reamer on various estates for 20+ years and it’s never given me any trouble, still in as new condition. I bought another Pip-Net (dull orange) as a back up, but haven’t needed to use it as of yet.

 

[jpmcwjr]

For a different type of reamer, see this thread:Click HERE.

 

[runscott]

I’ve been using a Pip-Net (clear orange) reamer on various estates for 20+ years and it’s never given me any trouble, still in as new condition. I bought another Pip-Net (dull orange) as a back up, but haven’t needed to use it as of yet.

I've tried twice to win dull sets on eBay, but keep ending up the underbidder. Probably a good thing, as I would have sold my new set if I had won an old one, and it would have broken and upset my customer. So everything works out, one way or another, right?

In any event, I don't own many pipes that can handle the girth of the one that broke, and I'm very adept at using the 'oyster knife' style reamer I bought from smokingpipes - I highly recommend these, as it just takes one or two pipes and you'll feel very comfortable using it.

 

[daveinlax]

I’ve been using a Pip-Net (clear orange) reamer on various estates for 20+ years

I had the same set but the receiver on the handle broke after 20 some years of light duty service. ?

 

[ssjones]

To answer your question, I did glue my broken bit, but it did not last very long.

I never use a reamer on my own pipes, but only for estate clean up.

 

[runscott]

To answer your question, I did glue my broken bit, but it did not last very long.

I never use a reamer on my own pipes, but only for estate clean up.

Thanks. From looking at these more closely, it appears that the bottom of each head was molded around the metal, then more resin poured over the top (the end where it connects to the handle), as there is a common ziz-zag seam on each head, which is exactly where mine broke. The broken head pieces do not fit together perfectly, yet there were no plastic bits that broke off, so there was clearly an issue with construction.

 

[mawnansmiff]

I have a knock off 'Senior' and a genuine 'British Buttner' and neither has ever given me trouble. Why? Because there are no plastic components to break.

Used with care in mind, either of the above will do the job perfectly.

Regards,

Jay.

 

[runscott]

I have a knock off 'Senior' and a genuine 'British Buttner' and neither has ever given me trouble. Why? Because there are no plastic components to break.

Used with care in mind, either of the above will do the job perfectly.

Regards,

Jay.

I wanted to try this 'style' of reamer - my 'oyster knife' handles most jobs perfectly, but not all. I read reviews, and chose Pipnet. The functionality of this type of reamer set turned out to be fantastic for my needs. So this isn't a matter of choosing a different design. These do the job, and as others have stated, the sets are not guaranteed to break - I just got unlucky.

Studying these heads more closely, they are definitely a '2 part' molding, or the two pieces of resin are glued together, although I can't find traces of glue. The good part of the design is that the connection is zig-zag, meaning that it won't break from twisting during use. The flaw in the design is that the head connects to the handle very tightly when inserted, so pulling the head straight out can result in the connection breaking. I don't really see the need for the connection to be so tight, so I will probably sand it down.

The seller sent me a refund rather than a new head, due to shipping cost. I'll super-glue the other head back together and see if it holds.

Thanks for mentioning those two reamer designs. If I run into a situation where the Pipnet/Oyster knife combination falls short, I'll take a look at those two.