Tokutomi Volcano Churchwarden (extremely rare, maybe unique) Re-stem

[georged]

For technical reasons I won't go into, the mortise-liner/sleeve in the bamboo shank came out and both it and the stem became permanently lost.

Definitely a pipe worth saving, though, because the maker is a living legend sculptural carver, it's a big-league straight grain, and it's very large (over 10" long).

The stem was an absolute nightmare to fabricate & fit after the fact for a variety of reasons, not the least of which it required a stainless steel tenon, a new mortise liner had to be made and axially aligned, and the shank itself---the end of the bamboo---is not round but oblong in cross-section (plus it is tilted 30 degrees from bite-zone level).

Anyway, I thought you might get a kick out of seeing the rescue of such a rare piece, as well as seeing the sort of insane shit I get up to these days.

 

[captpat]

Excellent work as always.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Beautiful work George!

 

[verporchting]

What a fantastic pipe! Love seeing what you are up to in these posts! I’m always amazed.

 

[kcghost]

I really look forward to seeing George's work and I have never been disappointed.

 

[jhowell]

George is truly a Master craftsman.

 

[doug535]

Glad to see the finished product, seeing it in hand, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. Fantastic, as usual!

 

[georged]

The above "side on" shots actually aren't. They're turned significantly---about 30 degrees--- toward the camera, which messes with proportion a bit. (The pipe was too long for my lightbox with things set up the way they were, is all, and I was tired).

Anyway, today I rearranged some stuff to be able to show the pipe in true, square-sided profile and used a "neutral" focal length (105mm). Figured the pipe deserved to be seen with everything proportionally correct, cuz it's so freaky weird-cool, right?

 

[swilford]

For technical reasons I won't go into, the mortise-liner/sleeve in the bamboo shank came out and both it and the stem became permanently lost.

Definitely a pipe worth saving, though, because the maker is a living legend sculptural carver, it's a big-league straight grain, and it's very large (over 10" long).

The stem was an absolute nightmare to fabricate & fit after the fact for a variety of reasons, not the least of which it required a stainless steel tenon, a new mortise liner had to be made and axially aligned, and the shank itself---the end of the bamboo---is not round but oblong in cross-section (plus it is tilted 30 degrees from bite-zone level).

Anyway, I thought you might get a kick out of seeing the rescue of such a rare piece, as well as seeing the sort of insane shit I get up to these days.

Tony Saintiague or I sold that pipe at the 2007 Chicago pipe show. We never had pictures of it for some reason. It's really cool to see it resurface. I'm sure it was insanely hard to make that stem; well done.

Sykes

 

[snagstangl]

So is there a pile of pieces and stems of failed attempts before you got it right?

 

[georged]

No failed attempts, but plenty of super-duper-itty-bitty-teeny-weenie pieces ranging from beach sand to ribbons, to dust... courtesy of cutting tools.

The main difficulties:

Stainless tenons must be sized an order of magnitude more precisely than rubber or acrylic---meaning within a couple TEN-thousanths of an inch to get that "hydraulic glide but will still hold tight" fit---because the ss half of the tenon/mortise partnership has zero flexibility. Not fun. Especially when the first third of the tenon must also taper by a tenth to facilitate a smooth "starting fit", plus avoid something that doubtless contributed to the original mortise sleeve pulling out from happening a second time.

The oblong cross section of the bamboo also meant that the radius on both sides of the flare wasn't consistent anywhere, but still had to look uniform from every angle when finished. (gleam lines never lie) Meaning no single tool could do the job. It had to be finessed with an assortment of tools, from scrapers, to burrs, to sanding drums, to sandpaper-covered cork.

Bonus fun: having only a "lollypop stick" to hold when shaping the rubber is a first class PITA because It has little surface area and easily rotates when torqued. Sounds trivial but isn't. (Ask my left hand... it's still sore) lol

Anyway, here's a snap taken at the end of each shaping step:

 

[georged]

Tony Saintiague or I sold that pipe at the 2007 Chicago pipe show. We never had pictures of it for some reason. It's really cool to see it resurface.

How cool is that?

These organic, once-alive things we love so much are more than just objects, aren't they?

I've been assured that this one has a new human friend waiting for it, and the relationship will last a long time.

 

[dPero]