Tenon Replacement Quality

[tmgaus51]

Hey All,

Had to send this pipe off for a new tenon and was wondering how to evaluate repair quality. It looks to me like the stem still sits pretty flush against the stummel, and it still smokes very well. I did notice that there was some extra glue and what looked like mini shavings where the stem meets the tenon, however. Might this have any impact on fit, or is it purely aesthetic?

Thanks,
David

 

[georged]

It was just done in a "minimal number of steps" way.

Fine for low & mid-grade pipes, not recommended for high grades and collectables

To be considered acceptable repair work should match or exceed the quality of the pipe.

 

[tmgaus51]

It was just done in a "minimal number of steps" way.

Fine for low & mid-grade pipes, not recommended for high grades and collectables

To be considered acceptable repair work should match or exceed the quality of the pipe.

Appreciate the reply. I assume it does no structural harm but does affect the resale value.

Would you send it off somewhere else to be re-repaired? Any recommendations?

 

[georged]

Appreciate the reply. I assume it does no structural harm but does affect the resale value.

Would you send it off somewhere else to be re-repaired? Any recommendations?

Replacing tenons is easy to do poorly and difficult to do well.

I'd say leave that one as-is, and choose who does it next time according to 1) how important the pipe is to you; and 2) how important refined work is to you personally as a general thing, regardless of the object/subject/recipient of the work.

 

[tmgaus51]

Replacing tenons is easy to do poorly and difficult to do well.

I'd say leave that one as-is, and choose who does it next time

Thanks. So I guess extra stem work would be risky and as is, no damage is being done.

It's funny, I sent a lot of pipes to this repair shop for stem conversion (I think you saw some others in another thread), and I think they did a pretty good job overall. Also, I think they did a pretty good job getting the shank flush against the stummel on this pipe. I was surprised at how much less refined it looked on the inside.

 

[smokeyweb]

If it bothers you, just touch it up with some high grit sand paper.

 

[chopper]

Thanks. So I guess extra stem work would be risky and as is, no damage is being done.

It's funny, I sent a lot of pipes to this repair shop for stem conversion (I think you saw some others in another thread), and I think they did a pretty good job overall. Also, I think they did a pretty good job getting the shank flush against the stummel on this pipe. I was surprised at how much less refined it looked on the inside.

It looks fine to me. Am I missing something here?

 

[georged]

If it bothers you, just touch it up with some high grit sand paper.

Sounds logical, but can't be done without jacking areas you don't want material removed from, though.

The only way to remove a cured "ring bead" of epoxy in that location is with a tenon cutter that's been adjusted to exactly the OD of the tenon, and stop the instant it touches the stem face.

After that, to complete the "repair of the repair", the gaps would have to be filled with more epoxy, leveled, and allowed to cure.

This is what you want tenon replacements to look like when the stem is separated from the stummel:

Smallest ever re-tenon for a broken stem? - pipemakersforum.com - http://www.pipemakersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=11994

80 gram super-premium pipe, .250" non-reinforced tenon... - pipemakersforum.com

 

[tmgaus51]

Sounds logical, but can't be done without jacking areas you don't want material removed from, though.

The only way to remove a cured "ring bead" of epoxy in that location is with a tenon cutter that's been adjusted to exactly the OD of the tenon, and stop the instant it touches the stem face.

After that, to complete the "repair of the repair", the gaps would have to be filled with more epoxy, leveled, and allowed to cure.

This is what you want tenon replacements to look like when the stem is separated from the stummel:

Smallest ever re-tenon for a broken stem? - pipemakersforum.com - http://www.pipemakersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=11994

80 gram super-premium pipe, .250" non-reinforced tenon... - pipemakersforum.com

I'm not sure if that's what he did, but I sent the pipe off to a second repairman. Here's what he got back to me with: "Yes I got it and worked on it yesterday. The tenon is fitted nicely. Only the glue line at the edge was kinda ugly. I worked on making it look better. The function of the tenon is strong and should not cause any problems. "

 

[mso489]

I'm fussy and exacting in some ways, but I'm not sure I'd work more on this, unless it bothers you a lot. Meanwhile, sound around for more fastidious crafts people. I think this is something a talented repair person could do really well for a very moderate price; it is a pretty standard repair.

 

[tmgaus51]

As you can figure out, I'm very fussy about my pipes, especially those that cost me over $200. I think I'll be ready to leave this one alone once I get it back with a clean tenon

I thought I was in good hands after this repair person did a lot of very good stem work (converting tapered to saddle) for me at a very low price. I was surprised at the tenon's appearance, but not surprised to hear that the job was done well aside from appearances.

Who would you recommend as far as higher end repair people?

I'm aware of Norwoods, Walker Repair, Briarville, and Tim West. Am I leaving anyone out?

Thanks again.

 

[Smoked69]

Briarville are my go to people. Never been disappointed.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

As you can figure out, I'm very fussy about my pipes, especially those that cost me over $200. I think I'll be ready to leave this one alone once I get it back with a clean tenon

I thought I was in good hands after this repair person did a lot of very good stem work (converting tapered to saddle) for me at a very low price. I was surprised at the tenon's appearance, but not surprised to hear that the job was done well aside from appearances.

Who would you recommend as far as higher end repair people?

I'm aware of Norwoods, Walker Repair, Briarville, and Tim West. Am I leaving anyone out?

Thanks again.

Cooksfinepipeworks.com

 

[sablebrush52]

As you can figure out, I'm very fussy about my pipes, especially those that cost me over $200. I think I'll be ready to leave this one alone once I get it back with a clean tenon

I thought I was in good hands after this repair person did a lot of very good stem work (converting tapered to saddle) for me at a very low price. I was surprised at the tenon's appearance, but not surprised to hear that the job was done well aside from appearances.

Who would you recommend as far as higher end repair people?

I'm aware of Norwoods, Walker Repair, Briarville, and Tim West. Am I leaving anyone out?

Thanks again.

Yeah, you're leaving most of the top end out. There's George Dibos and Anthony Cook, along with Tim West.
Other services can handle basic repairs just fine. But not necessarily really tricky and/or demanding custom work.
After seeing badly botched stem work from Norwoods and Briarville presented here, I would not be able to recommend either of them for high end collectible work. Briarville still gets my vote for handling meerschaum. That's something they do well.

 

[verporchting]

I recently had a tenon repair done by Anthony Cook and the work was outstanding and the price was very reasonable.

 

[tmgaus51]

Yeah, you're leaving most of the top end out. There's George Dibos and Anthony Cook, along with Tim West.
Other services can handle basic repairs just fine. But not necessarily really tricky and/or demanding custom work.
After seeing badly botched stem work from Norwoods and Briarville presented here, I would not be able to recommend either of them for high end collectible work. Briarville still gets my vote for handling meerschaum. That's something they do well.

It's funny, I sent about 20 pipes to Norwoods for stemwork, and thought that they did excellent work for the most part. It was just the tenon that surprised me.



I sent it off for re-repair to Tim West. Thanks for the additional names. I didn't know George Dibos, but after looking at some of the comments here, I realized he's been helping me the whole time!

 

[sablebrush52]

It's funny, I sent about 20 pipes to Norwoods for stemwork, and thought that they did excellent work for the most part. It was just the tenon that surprised me.

View attachment 36696

I sent it off for re-repair to Tim West. Thanks for the additional names. I didn't know George Dibos, but after looking at some of the comments here, I realized he's been helping me the whole time!

The stem that Norwoods screwed up was a replacement for an Italian pipe (I don't remember the maker) that had a non standard shape. Their shaping was pretty bad. The owner had it redone elsewhere, maybe returning it to the original factory.
It really comes down to levels of difficulty and craftsmanship. The three I named are the best available that I know of in the US. There's one other top flight restorer of whom I'm aware, but he's not taking on any new clientele, and RonnieB retired.