Wood Putty In The Mortise?

[sittingbear]

I have a pipe that I truly love, a Ferndown two star bulldog, but it has a flaw: the tenon is shorter than the mortise. A while back I tried to fix this by putting pipe mud in the mortise to eliminate the airspace. This worked insofar as it stopped the gurgling, but I think it's affecting the flavor of anything I smoke in this pipe. It all tastes a little "ashey." I'm debating on whether to replace the pipe mud with wood putty, but I'm wondering if that will cause more problems than it fixes. Has anyone tried this? Is there a "fix" for a tenon that is too short?

 

[Ag®o]

Hello, I would not put substances or pastes in the mortise.
I would make a small precise cylinder in perforated wood that follows the duct without steps to be inserted by pressure.
Beech joiner pins could be a solution.

 

[Ag®o]

 

[Ag®o]

Sorry, difficult to insert images this morning with phone.

 

[sittingbear]

I like that idea.... however, I forgot to mention that, also, the drill holes do not align. If I use something like this it will likely seal off the stem altogether. That's why I used pipe mud. I inserted a cleaner into the bowl packed a little mud into the mortise, and then threaded the stem onto the cleaner and pressed it in. This ensued a straight passageway from the bowl through the stem. I wonder, if I used your method, if I could chamfer one side of the pin...?

 

[orlandofurioso]

If the tenon is too short and the drillholes do not align, i wonder if the stem is original.
To my knowledge Les Wood's pipe engineering was near perfect.
This askes for a tenon -, or stem replacement ; this is a smart bowl and a Ferndown is worth it.

 

[Ag®o]

I believe @sittingbear has a mortise and draft duct hole angle problem.
I try to explain better,
probably during the design phase the draft duct angle coincided with the tenon hole with the right depth of the mortise ...
But, in the execution phase, the mortise hole went too deep, this created the space.
Due to the angles mentioned above, this space must necessarily be filled in the mortise with the same drilling angle as the draft hole, because if we lengthen the tenon (central hole) with its thickness we go to obstruct the hole.
Probably a situation like this:


can be solved with patience in this way:



...Sorry my bad English

 

[sittingbear]

I believe @sittingbear has a mortise and draft duct hole angle problem.
I try to explain better,
probably during the design phase the draft duct angle coincided with the tenon hole with the right depth of the mortise ...
But, in the execution phase, the mortise hole went too deep, this created the space.
Due to the angles mentioned above, this space must necessarily be filled in the mortise with the same drilling angle as the draft hole, because if we lengthen the tenon (central hole) with its thickness we go to obstruct the hole.
Probably a situation like this:
View attachment 137393

can be solved with patience in this way:

View attachment 137394
View attachment 137395View attachment 137396
...Sorry my bad English

That looks like it would work... is that a pin, as you mentioned before? How did you drill that so precisely?

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

You're better off leaving the space open, trying to fill the gap will just make a trap for moisture and bacteria, you're going to need to sterilize all components after every day that it's smoked, not to mention I can't imagine mortise-gap insert being beneficial in the first place.

 

[Ag®o]

That looks like it would work... is that a pin, as you mentioned before? How did you drill that so precisely?

I detected the angle by inserting a rod into the draft hole, closed the horizontal pin in the bench vise and replicated the angle with a hand drill. If the cylinder is not the right size by inserting it by pressure, it may be that a little deposit forms in the spaces, in this case a dental hardening resin can be useful. It is also true that you can smoke safely leaving a space between tenon and mortise, like smoking without a filter,or with the reducer, but even here there are deposits and cleaning is necessary. I do it for a craze of mine, moreover with accentuated angles I have no problem folding pipe cleaners for a "hot" cleaning. Different opinions and theories about it.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I will say Agro's insert comes with the benefit of being able to pass a cleaner with the insert where it definitely would not pass a cleaner without, it's a brilliant bit of craftsmanship.

 

[sittingbear]

You're better off leaving the space open, trying to fill the gap will just make a trap for moisture and bacteria, you're going to need to sterilize all components after every day that it's smoked, not to mention I can't imagine mortise-gap insert being beneficial in the first place.

The problem I had with the gap is that it trapped moisture like a bucket. It became a very wet smoke....

 

[sittingbear]

I detected the angle by inserting a rod into the draft hole, closed the horizontal pin in the bench vise and replicated the angle with a hand drill. If the cylinder is not the right size by inserting it by pressure, it may be that a little deposit forms in the spaces, in this case a dental hardening resin can be useful. It is also true that you can smoke safely leaving a space between tenon and mortise, like smoking without a filter,or with the reducer, but even here there are deposits and cleaning is necessary. I do it for a craze of mine, moreover with accentuated angles I have no problem folding pipe cleaners for a "hot" cleaning. Different opinions and theories about it.

That's amazing work! I'm only wondering if it would be easier to build up something around the rod in the draft hole. I don't trust my fine motor skills and feel I don't have the right tools for fine craftsmanship like that! Hence the wood putty idea... However, it may be worth a shot!