Kaywoodie stem thread fitting problems.

Woodsman

Kaywoodie's threaded fittings tend to wear with time causing a stem misalignment. On a normal round stem you can heat the aluminum fitting in the stem which should loosen it for a while then screw it together and slowly rotate the stem to where it comes back to alignment. (Note: Rotate it around to the correct position, don't try to go back) Put it aside and let it cool completely. If you have a square or out of round the Teflon plumber's tape wrapping is the go to as the heat method will align the stem but not the metal fitting.

motie2

I remember my first pipe, a Kaywoodie circa 1964, had metal to metal fittings. The metal stem, which incorporated a non-removable stinger, screwed into a metal insert in the stummel. I never experienced it wearing so as to cause a mis-alignment, and I did smoke it a lot, especially after using a hacksaw to saw off the stinger.  Regrettably, somewhere through the years when I didn't smoke a pipe, I mislaid it, after keeping it for years into my pipe hiatus.

Thank you for sharing your experience, and the well thought out fix.

ghostsofpompeii

I came close to buying a Kaywoodie from a local consignment shop but once I noticed the misalignment I opted not to buy it. Later that day I went home and discovered the method you've explained on YouTube and decided to go back and buy the pipe after all. So a week or so later when I returned to the store and to my dismay discovered the vendor who rented the booth with the Kaywoodie moved out. At least now I know the misalignment problem is solvable.