Stems and Bits (pictures wanted)

[zanthal]

So I'm trying to figure out what replacement bit to order for my broken Ukrainian pear wood sitter. Tim West's site J.H. Lowe seems to be the place to go for anything pipes, by suggestion and confirmed by research.
This is an example of how I have to choose a bit to order from this site
This Tim guy has to be busy, and his site has no pictures to speak of (that I can find). I sent him an e-mail asking for some suggestions asking what he has that he thinks would fit my situation, and I would understand if he never manages to get back to me.
So anyhow I need a bent stem that will fit an interior mortise diameter of about .54 inches (I used a micrometer). I know there's practically zero chance of ordering a .54 inch stem, so I need to figure out what the best option is. The length of the stem isn't terribly important, but it has to be at least half-bent.
So you'll see at the above link all the different names of the bit shapes ... Round, Round Oval, etc etc, I'm not educated in all the terminology yet, so I need the visual, if anyone can provide a link.

 

[pawpaw]

got a pic of the pipe ? and i am thinking you will need to bend the stem

 

[thesmokindragon]

I would send it out for repair, I know Boswell also does repair and they have fantastic stem designs

 

[ejames]

Take a look here-- http://www.pipemakers.org/
Top of page,drop down menu under products. They have pics and descriptions.

 

[shaintiques]

Unclearthur can custom make a stem for your pipe! Send him a PM and see, you would mail him your pipe and he will make one to fit he has done it for other guys on this site. He might be busy right now but getting what you want is worth the wait.

 

[kennerth]

Call Tim West! Your assumptions have not been my experience. He is a craftsman who is incredibly generous with his time and advice. IF you order a stem, be sure to explain your level of experience and equipment. I would recommend at the least that you have him cut the tenon to size for you ($3). The rest a novice can do with sandpaper and time. I recognize that you may not want to spend the $20 for a new stem installed on a $30 pipe, so go for it with Tims's advice!

 

[kennerth]

This is a similar inexpensive pipe stem replacement I did with a JH Lowe replacement stem. I did not have Tim turn the stem, and had to improvise. Go for it!
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/my-project-pipe-for-your-consideration

 

[pentangle]

I've seen stem replacement that fit well but......not so precise to match perfectly the shank.I do that for myself and a lot of time it's necessary to do a perfect work.So send the pipe to Tim west or the guys at Boswell's.Other solutions like do it yourself or asking help here in the forum are not optimal for what i've seen till now.Of course a pear wood pipe is not an important pipe. (i don't like them because of the quality and the price asked, so similiar or more than a good briar estate pipe)So in this case you could follow any way or idea you had.

Maurizio

 

[nsfisher]

that pipe of urs is a 9 mm filter right?? I had one one time long ago that broke.. I took a stem; 6mm filter stem off of an old medico, cut the big end of a bit softie put it on the stem of the medico and shoved the whole thing in the 9mm shank. Used that pipe for another 2 yrs.

 

[kennerth]

For the Brog, try fixing it yourself, if you like McGivering things. Unless it has sentimental value, buy a new one and sell the broken one on ebay for 5 or 10 bucks. BY the time you pay the $20 stem replacement and shipping both ways, you might as well get a new one.

 

[zanthal]

I appreciate all the opinions ::
I'm smoking this pipe in my avatar, and it's the one ... imagine it's stem being broken beyond repair and you've got the idea:

You know I've got other pipes, I don't really NEED this pear wood, but it was smoking really nicely up until the day the durned stem snapped off in my hand ... it was starting to make me like pear wood.
I will probably ask unclearthur, recently saw his pipe crafting and he is obviously talented. But maybe first I'll try actually calling Tim West and see what he has to say.

 

[ejames]

Zanthal,fitting a stem and doing it right can be quite a job. The tenon needs to be turned to the correct diameter and the stem faced so that it is square and will fit flush.Then it needs to be sanded down to the diameter of the shank and then buffed. You either need a lathe or a tenon cutter that is used in a drill and they ain't cheap. All replacement stems are straight and must be bent for that pipe. If you like the pipe and want to keep smoking it then send it to Tim and let him fit a stem to it.He's a great guy,I've had him work on a couple of my pipes.

 

[joejumps4fun]

Stupid me...my most expensive and most favorite pipe, I broke the p-lip bit of this when inserting a pipe cleaner and it chipped off near the hole. I tried to repair it myself but being a novice at pipes, I made things worse...(see picture). Is there a way to buff this out? I'm embarrassed to say I got my finger print on it via superglue

Please don't knock me down a rank!

 

[joejumps4fun]

Obviously I don't know how to add pictures...
Here is the URL via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jneigh/6643709829/

 

[unclearthur]

Joe. Clean up the superglue with a very fine file followed by various grits of wet or dry paper . You can get a smooth finish that won't look all that bad. For the chip I have had some success by melting shavings of an old stem into places like that. DO NOT try this on a good stem until you get things figured out. I have also seen black epoxy used for things of this nature that turned out quite well.
Zanthal. Buy a new pipe. Put this one back and later if you get into restoring estates gather up the equipment to do it right. A tenon turner for fitting up the stems runs around seventy bucks from PIMO.

 

[zanthal]

That's sound advice, unclearthur, after Tim West quoted me about the original cost of the pipe to fit a few one for it.

 

[ssjones]

Joe:

I pipe restorer I respect uses this black superglue for stem repair with good results. I have not yet had to make this kind of repair, but want to add a bottle to my refurb kit.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Glues,_adhesives/Stewart-MacDonald_Super_Glues/Super_Glue.html
Like Uncle Arthur suggests, I bet you could smooth out that chip nicely with some 1000>1500>2000 grit wet sandpaper, than polish the luster back with micromesh pads and/or plastic polish on a wheel. If you don't have that ability, I'd gladly do it for you. I'm no professional, but I think the appearance of the stem could be greatly improved.

 

[rigmedic1]

My local B&M uses Tim West's services. did a fine job restemming an old Edwards for me a while back. Yeah, it's not cheap, but the pipe had sentimental value, since it was my first tobacco house pipe. Sentiment trumps money from time to time. The pipe came back from Tim better than I had hoped, as he polished it all up as well. Yeah, I spent 20 bucks on it when new, and had it 31 years before I got it restemmed. Guess I may have to restem it again when I am 80. Worth the cost, IMHO. ::

 

[unclearthur]

Tim generally ROCKS! He's a great guy, fantastic repairman and makes darn nice pipes.

 

[tokerpipes]

How about kitchen item to bring the luster back to an estate stem? It was origionally black but its now a yellowish color after cleaning it.