Teeny Tiny Hole in Stem

[punkrockarmy]

Yesterday I went to a thrift store and bought a no name pipe that has rustication on it for 12 bucks. I did a salt and alcohol treartment and reamed it but I noticed a very small hole about the size of a needle head right where the bowl meets the shank. I placed my hand over the top of the bowl and took a puff to see if the hole was clear through and sure enough, it was since it whistled and I could feel a stream of air... It seems to me that it had a filling in there but maybe it fell out. This can't be good for the pipe if I tried to smoke it. I really like this pipe and I was wanting to know if anyone knows of some kind of compound I could use to fill this in that would last forever.

 

[martiniman]

I'm not sure if this would work but I've fixed a pin hole in the bottom of a bowl with mud mad from cigar ash and water, mix into a putty, fill and let dry. It turns to a bricklike hardness.
I also got this good advice from another member when i asked how to fix my hole.....

Go to the hardware and ask for Red Devil or Dap Firestove repair mortar, about 8 to 10$ a big tube,withstands 1100 regs cures with heat, pump a small amount in Btm of bowl, wet the spoon or finger and smooth it out, put a pipe cleaner in draw hole so repair mortar doesn"t plug it up, mortar is silicate, glass and safe to humans, as for the outside of the bowl I"m not knowledgeable onhow to fix that , the bowl should sit overnight, then load it up with carter hall or prince Albert and smoke it hard, when you get down to ash, load it up again and smoke it again, it should have cured by that time, I have done 3 bowls that had depressions from digging with pipe tools, old estate pipes, and it worked really well PS the little spoon on the 3 way tool works good

Welcome aboard.

 

[nsfisher]

Nothing a good ole couple drops of Crazy glue won't fix.

 

[lonestar]

Basically anything that plugs the hole will work. Remember that the hole meets the airway, so try to keep anything toxic out of it. I would worry about Super Glue, when it gets hot it will release chemical vapors. It shouldnt get too warm being on the shank, but its close enough to the bowl that I would second guess it.

I would use beeswax to fill the hole, and if it ever opens up again just shove a bit more wax in it. The beeswax will not be noticeable in the finish and should fix the problem.

 

[bobby46]

If you are worried about chemical vapors, push in a small dab of elmers wood putty, but leave a shallow dimple. Follow up with a plumbers epoxy that comes in stick form. You knead that with your fingers like modeling clay, and fill the remaining indentation. If you were sloppy, the epoxy is easily sanded. This is a permanent fix. PM me if more details are needed.

 

[gmwolford]

Is the hole in the shank or stem? The fix could differ on thevplsce the hole is.

 

[schmitzbitz]

No matter if the hole is in the stem or the shank, I use a very similar method to repair both. I start off by collecting some vulcanite dust (if the hole is in the stem) or briar dust (if the hole is in the wood). I mix this into a putty with food-grade epoxy (I use Masterbond brand, simply because that's what my local food-equipment supply store stocks in small tubes), then use a dental pick to push it into the hole. Once it's set up, I'll attack it with ascending grits of micromesh to hide the fill.

 

[taerin]

Some pipes have a hole in them to allow air to cool the smoke. Perhaps it was ment to be there?

 

[wayneteipen]

I would use epoxy. To keep it from entering and partially blocking your airway, I would take a pipe cleaner with Vaseline on it and stick it in the airway while the epoxy dries. The epoxy will not adhere to the petroleum. Don't go too heavy on the petroleum but use enough that the epoxy can't stick to the pipe cleaner fibers. You'll need to clean the airway well with alcohol afterwards to remove the petroleum.

 

[wildcat]

Nothing a good ole couple drops of Crazy glue won't fix.

+1 ...mixed w/ a little briar dust.