Picked up a pipe that has a metal threaded tenon that just won’t budge. It passes a pipe cleaner, so I may never have to disassemble it, but…Any tips on breaking it loose without breaking the stem or shank?
Removing A Frozen Stem
- Thread starter Parsimonious Piper
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Some people have luck with putting it in the freezer for a half hour or so.
You might try putting warm water through the stem. Gently through the bowl, draining out of the stem. It certainly won't hurt the pipe and it may loosen some gunk if it's quite warm. Try that after the freezer though.
If you do get it unstuck, cleaned, and the stem is tight to go in, before trying sandpaper, cover the tenon in graphite from a pencil. It almost always works and you won't end up with a loose stem from sanding.
Could be that it was smoked extremely hot and the plastic has melted some. If those two things don't work, I'm sure others have some tips.
Good luck!
p.s. I'll add that I clean all of my pipes with warm water and soap. Some of my pipes cost a fair bit of money and I have different types of finishes. No problems at all after several years this way. Water most definitely won't hurt your pipe, in case you have concerns about that.
You might try putting warm water through the stem. Gently through the bowl, draining out of the stem. It certainly won't hurt the pipe and it may loosen some gunk if it's quite warm. Try that after the freezer though.
If you do get it unstuck, cleaned, and the stem is tight to go in, before trying sandpaper, cover the tenon in graphite from a pencil. It almost always works and you won't end up with a loose stem from sanding.
Could be that it was smoked extremely hot and the plastic has melted some. If those two things don't work, I'm sure others have some tips.
Good luck!
p.s. I'll add that I clean all of my pipes with warm water and soap. Some of my pipes cost a fair bit of money and I have different types of finishes. No problems at all after several years this way. Water most definitely won't hurt your pipe, in case you have concerns about that.
Putting the pipe in the freezer for a few hours may help as it causes the parts to shrink slightly. The likely cause is a buildup of fossilized crud. Freezing may weaken its grip. Soaking the mortise, or the stinger if it’s a screw in stinger, will soften the fossilized crud.
Plug the mouthpiece hole with Vaseline and fill the pipe with alcohol. Let it sit for a few hours, gently pour out the alcohol avoiding getting it on the sides of the pipe, and attempt unscrewing the stem.
Metal to metal contact, this is the best solution. Freezing it works if there are dissimilar materials (Briar, Ebonite) which expand at different rates.
I used this on an estate pipe that was badly stuck - and the freezer method failed.
- Put the pipe in a small-ish glass, stem down (in the glass).
- Pack crushed ice around the stem to as high as the joint, but not as high as the bowl. If you don't have crushed ice break up ice cubes as small as you can and pack around the stem.
- Pour salt on the ice - again keeping the salt away from the bowl finish. The salt will allow the ice to drop below 32 F, increasing the cooling effect.
- Pack cotton or paper towel around the inside top of glass for insulation.
- Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the insulation, cut or punch a hole so the bowl of the pipe can stick out of the foil. Foil should be relatively flat, not crumpled, on top of the glass.
- Take a hair dryer and on the low to medium setting warm the bowl. Blow the warm air across the bottom of the bowl. Do not blow warm air down the bowl as it will cause the ice to melt faster.
Innovative solution, but I’ve never had a stem that I couldn’t remove by leaving it in the freezer. Metal pipes or some Kaywoodie type being the exception.
May take a few hours in the freezer.
This being a metal-threaded stem, I’ve tried a variety of freezing methods to no avail. I don’t think the expansion/contraction is going to solve this one for me. On the plus side, repeated soaking in alcohol brings a pipe cleaner out squeaky clean now.
I like problems like this; it satisfies my OCD 
.
I would posit that: as both parts of the tenon are metal, the freezing method isn't working because the rate of expansion/contraction between the two parts is the same. A temperature differential between the parts is necessary, with the male threaded part being colder, in order to 'break' the bond created by the tars.
I did think about chill shocking - warming the pipe in an oven at the lowest setting, and then plunging the stem into ice water or iced brine solution. But there may be a risk of cracking the stem, depending on what it's made of.
.I would posit that: as both parts of the tenon are metal, the freezing method isn't working because the rate of expansion/contraction between the two parts is the same. A temperature differential between the parts is necessary, with the male threaded part being colder, in order to 'break' the bond created by the tars.
I did think about chill shocking - warming the pipe in an oven at the lowest setting, and then plunging the stem into ice water or iced brine solution. But there may be a risk of cracking the stem, depending on what it's made of.
Is there an aluminum ring between the stem and shank that is at least a quarter inch in length? You can wrap the shank closest to the ring in some duct tape to reinforce the shank and wrap the stem closest to the ring with duct tape to protect it from the teeth on a pair of channel locks or pliers. Clamp the pipe down from the shank as close as you can get to the end of the shank and use the pliers to unscrew it. It's dangerous but if wrap it good in tape and are careful you should be able to get it off without damaging it.
No ring, but I’ll try taping it and a clamp/wrench. Just need to be careful of the torque.
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