Long story short, I let my pipes get wet and upon drying two different things happened. On some of the pipes, the stems were very loose, which I was able to fix by heating up the tenon over a candle flame and allowing to cool. However, on a couple of the pipes, the opposite happened and I can't even get the stem to fit into the pipe at all. Is there any way to fix this short of sandpapering the tenon?
Stem Will Not Fit Into Pipe
- Thread starter goalltheway
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Leave them in the fridge for a day or two, that's worked for me in the past.
Beeswax or graphite on the tenon.
That’s weird. I wet my pipes every night when I clean them. Were they left in an aquarium for a few weeks?
I'll give this a try, thanks for the suggestion!
If the freezer doesn't work this'll be the next step
They got rained on overnight in the cigar box I keep them in, which apparently holds water fairly well.
Loose is easy , smoke it.
Tight let it dry out. If still really tight after a few days, lube of your choice, if still no go, light sanding. I’ll take loose all day over tight.
Tight let it dry out. If still really tight after a few days, lube of your choice, if still no go, light sanding. I’ll take loose all day over tight.
On the tight ones, coat the stem with graphite by drawing all around it with a #2 pencil. I had one that was so tight that I had to stick it in the freezer to get the stem out. But, after a few years of smoking it and re-coating with graphite, the stem works great now, and no need to graphite it up now.
I had this issue with a Forever Stem I ordered for an MM Cob. Don’t force it whatever you do. But get it started part way and as you smoke it, gently twist it more and more over the course of your bowl until it’s flush. —The moisture and heat will allow you to do this. After smoking leave it alone! It will cool and adapt to it’s situation. After several smokes, you’ll find that it can be removed again when cool and shouldn’t be any further problem.
I seldom remove my stems. I water rinse my pipes with the stems attached and only remove them when I deep clean. I feel frequent removal is asking for trouble.
A little candle wax can’t hurt either. I’ve done that from time to time. Makes removal easier.
I seldom remove my stems. I water rinse my pipes with the stems attached and only remove them when I deep clean. I feel frequent removal is asking for trouble.
A little candle wax can’t hurt either. I’ve done that from time to time. Makes removal easier.
Couple of months ago, I was having some OTC on the front porch. I don't remember what else I was doing, but drooled like an idiot for awhile with cob clenched. And I didn't notice. Come time to clean the cob after the smoke, the shank was soaking wet. The stem came out fine, but it wouldn't go back in. They were pretty tight to begin with. Took over a week to get it back in. Just keep the stem out of the mortise and give it a week or two before doing others. It just might dry. But if it's briar, and the mortise taken up that much water.. I didn't know briar will soak up that easily.
For tenon/mortise fit you're talking 10,000's of an inch. Removing 1/1000" will make a tight tenon a loose tenon.
If they fit OK before they got wet, leave them separated and give them a week to dry out.
If they fit OK before they got wet, leave them separated and give them a week to dry out.
I know this is a little late but thank you all for the suggestions. I've managed to get almost all of the pipes back to working order, just have one that got very loose (the stem falls halfway out if turned upside down). Despite trying to reheat the tenon, as well as smoke it a few times, I have not been able to get it to return to normal. It's odd because on the outside I can tell that the pipe either expanded ever so slightly, or the stem shrunk, because they are not perfectly flush like they used to be. Anywho, I'll keep messing with it until I figure something out. Thanks everyone!
You might try rolling a piece of sheet of 400 grit sandpaper into a small tube then insert into mortise and spin the sandpaper in the direction that will allow it to gently expand to fit the mortise (this point is important so you don't get uneven sanding) .Stop sanding frequently to check fit, when your fit is corrected blow out all sanding residue and lubricate mortise/tenon joint with either a very thin coating beeswax or unscented soap (which is my preference). I have done this on occasion and works like a charm...Just check frequently ...Believe me you need to remove a lot less material then you would think. The fix actually is very quick and easy to accomplish.
Darn, missed this first time it was posted,
In short: Bad mistakes. Unless you had problems with tenon fitting prior to your pipes getting soaked, you should have simply toweled them off and let them dry, stem in, inside without any extra heat.
Fattening the tenon as you did will end up increasing the size of the mortise, which may be a problem down the road, or not.
Great reply, this worked for me! Had taken it off to clean it and couldn't get it back on!
