So i did a salt treatment on 2 pipes and used salt in the shank and ofc the bowl. So will they never smoke sweet? i read more and seen ur supposed to block the shank first?
Salt treatment question
- Thread starter ZaysPiping
- Start date
What I read said to position the pipe so that the solution filled the entire thing from stem down.
The salt is an absorbent, a place for dissolved tars and gunk to go, nothing more.
I remove stem (and clean separately), give the shank a good cleaning with brushes, qtips, cleaners, ream chamber if necessary-then put a fluffy cleaner in airway up to chamber, fill chamber with salt, and soak it with Everclear. Take care to position in such a manner as to not have solvent dribble out of bowl or shank or finish may get jacked.
I remove stem (and clean separately), give the shank a good cleaning with brushes, qtips, cleaners, ream chamber if necessary-then put a fluffy cleaner in airway up to chamber, fill chamber with salt, and soak it with Everclear. Take care to position in such a manner as to not have solvent dribble out of bowl or shank or finish may get jacked.
Activated Carbon Charcoal has a lot of surface area and is a great alternative to salt.
I use cotton balls for easier cleanup on estates and stick a pipe cleaner in the draft hole.
If charcoal and salt fail ream down to wood, then use 9/64 drill and drill out the stem airway. Most average airways are about that diameter. You might be more or less. I have machinist index so I usually start with one that fits and go larger one number at a time until I get a bit of wood. Pipe will be good as new...oh and watch you don't drill through the bottom of the pipe when you drill the stem out.
You can make a nice reamer from a spade bit ground down to match the hole shape
You can make a nice reamer from a spade bit ground down to match the hole shape
If it is a well-loved estate, the shank may be clogged with accumulated tars and
Using small drill bits, jewellers screwdrivers or dental picks and a strong torchlight to clean out the shank saves a lot of time, effort and cleaners.
Cleaning the chamber is a breeze compared to a badly clogged shank .
This ^ I've always found cotton balls easier, less mess and easier to clean up. Also if you aren't sure the angle or of the pipe an egg crate / carton works perfectly.
Does anyone have any experience where the salt dried out the pipe so much that there was ultimately some burn out issues or hot spots?
Amen! My fleabay meer was my first estate after freshening up my dad’s pipes (they weren’t bad when put in the garage 40+ years ago).If it is a well-loved estate, the shank may be clogged with accumulated tars and
Using small drill bits, jewellers screwdrivers or dental picks and a strong torchlight to clean out the shank saves a lot of time, effort and cleaners.
Cleaning the chamber is a breeze compared to a badly clogged shank .
It was horrible! No proper drill bits, I had to cut the end of heavy trimmer line into a “bit”…
Never had a problem with the salt treatment drying out a pipe. Occasional spontaneous combustion but never a burnout.
As was mentioned above the shank can harbor a lot of funk. Be sure to get the shank clean.
As was mentioned above the shank can harbor a lot of funk. Be sure to get the shank clean.
One more thing i found helped, I bought a couple small glass eyedroppers and use those to put the alcohol on the cotton balls, the first time i tried it (on a beater pipe i paid $10 for) i dripped alcohol on the side of the bowl and the finish got toasted, so the eyedropper really helps.
You can use salt if you wish. However, I’ve had great results with cotton balls instead. Once you’ve sanded/reamed out the bowl, stuff the bowl with cotton then use your Everclear or whatever. Block the shank with Q-tips or pipe cleaners. Works very well.
️
I use a 30ml syringe (farm supply stores sell them much cheaper/easier than pharmacies) after fading stain on my first attempt.
Given where you're at right now, I'd flush the bowl, shank and stem with hot tap water.
I start with hot water, then move onto the alcohol with a cotton ball in the bowl, and as previously suggested and egg carton is my go to for keep the bowl at the right angle. Once the alcohol soaks for 24 hrs I scurb it out then give it a soak with a barrel strength bourbon which adds a lot of sweetness to the briar.
There are various methods used. Salt ( Kosher NO iodine ), cotton balls, activated charcoal, and damp ground coffee. I've never found one that worked all the time every time with every pipe. Sometimes one technique works better than the others. Sometimes it requires a few "procedures" of one technique to get the desired results. Sometimes one technique gets things well under way and a different one completes the job. YMMV.
How far you "need" to go depends on you. FWIW you can go too far. In this I mean clean and absorb so much that the "freshly cleaned" pipe almost needs to be "broken in" again.
I've used all the above techniques and have never had an issue with any of them.
For anyone interested there is a series of videos on the Briar Blues website, on "cleaning" a pipe from start to finish. There are 7 videos in the series and some are a tad long. Video production is not the best, but you will get the basic idea. There is a salt / alcohol treatment shown and one with a retort. With the retort I did not edit out all the basic mistakes made getting things to work properly.
Some may find it helpful. Other will find the techniques basic OR different than what they do and disagree with the methods. As stated YMMV.
How far you "need" to go depends on you. FWIW you can go too far. In this I mean clean and absorb so much that the "freshly cleaned" pipe almost needs to be "broken in" again.
I've used all the above techniques and have never had an issue with any of them.
For anyone interested there is a series of videos on the Briar Blues website, on "cleaning" a pipe from start to finish. There are 7 videos in the series and some are a tad long. Video production is not the best, but you will get the basic idea. There is a salt / alcohol treatment shown and one with a retort. With the retort I did not edit out all the basic mistakes made getting things to work properly.
Some may find it helpful. Other will find the techniques basic OR different than what they do and disagree with the methods. As stated YMMV.