Restoration: Metal Screw-in Tenon.

[johnnyrebel]

So i recently aquired a LHS bulldog, and im having trouble with the tenon. As the title suggest, its a metal screw in tenon. The problem im having is when i try to unscrew the tenon,(which is obviously stuck, when aren't they?)The metal mortise is loose and turns with the tenon and stem. So i thought i would come to see what you guys knew about a fix for this one. Otherwise its just a standard clean up.
What i was thinking was reaming the bowl and going ahead with a salt cleaning, my thought was the salt treatment would loosen the grime in the threading, but if the mortise piece is loose i dont know..what do you guys think? Would help out alot. Of course, pictures of the pipe below and an example from another LHS of mine's metal mortise and screw-in tenon. Thanks. ::
The pipe in question.

Metal screw-in tenon example.

 

[sjpipesmoker]

I have one like That and I didn't thing that the screw part came off?? It might be part of the stem! Mine is hollow which did have a stinger in it and I just tossed that out, had to keep the screw part cause thats what holds the pipe together

 

[ace57]

Try putting it in the freezer for a bit then try to turn it.

 

[mlyvers]

i agree with ace57, the tendon may contract enough to allow removal of the tendon. iam not sure, but if the inner metal part wants to come out with the tendon,,,, you might be able to clean the entire shank area with grain alcohol, then let dry.... then maybe some type of glue inside that area, push the metal part back into position. it my hold. or a pipe repairmen should be able to fix. good luck to you sir.
mike.

 

[johnnyrebel]

I'll have to give the freezer trick a try, i know that is good fix for a stuck tenon but what im thinking about is the loose mortise. The piece that the tenon screws into is loose that is actually in contact with the briar. I was thinking of maybe pulling the metal piece out of the briar, but i wasn't sure how it was put into the briar. Im not sure if it screws in, or if its pressed into there. I'll give the freezer trick a go for the time being. See how that works out, thanks.

 

[ejames]

I'll have to give the freezer trick a try, i know that is good fix for a stuck tenon but what im thinking about is the loose mortise. The piece that the tenon screws into is loose that is actually in contact with the briar. I was thinking of maybe pulling the metal piece out of the briar, but i wasn't sure how it was put into the briar. Im not sure if it screws in, or if its pressed into there. I'll give the freezer trick a go for the time being. See how that works out, thanks.

The freezer trick may work but I kind of doubt it.That piece was probably press fit into the shank,it may have been knurled. I'd bet the wood inside the mortise has been stripped out. It needs to be removed and epoxied in place. If you do that,mark it so that it goes back in-- in the same position it came out. Otherwise your stem may not align.

 

[johnnyrebel]

Thanks Ejames, thats about what i was thinking it was going to come to. How wouldi get that piece out of there? Should i just yank it straight out, or would it screw into the briar and have to twist out? Any other advice on working on this fix would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again guys.

 

[ejames]

It should pull out,although it may take a little muscle. Put then stem in it and try turning clockwise while pulling on it. Making sure you're pulling straight out and not putting any downward force on the shank. Once you get it out,clean the mortise of any loose wood fibers.If the mortise is fairly smooth I'd rough it it a bit to give the epoxy a better grip. Clean the aluminum also if it has any glue or wood on it. Screw it back onto stem snugly and apply epoxy lightly to both surfaces and shove it back into the shank,aligning stem and shank and let it set overnight. This can be risky,if you get to much epoxy on there it may get into the threads!

You can also mark the location of the aluminum insert before you take it out. Use a small piece of masking tape on the shank as a reference mark and use a sharpie to put a dot or line on the insert,apply epoxy and reinsert into shank aligning your two marks. If you are the slightest bit off with your marks the stem and shank probably will not align.

 

[ssjones]

Good advice from ejames. Also, check the Reborn Pipes blog, Steve does a few of these metal tenons with epoxy. He shows how to properly re-clock the tenon so the alignment is correct. Looks a little fussy, so you just need a little patience.

 

[johnnyrebel]

Thanks, i'll check out what reborn pipes has done. Thumbed through his blog awhile ago, some great restorations.