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Pipe refinishing

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  • @jfreedy
         As an example of a briar/clear Superglue fill, here are a couple of pics of a Yello-Bole that had a huge pit in it.  It is filled with a little briar dust and clear superglue, it could have used more briar dust🤔.
          I also made the stem and added a brass circle inlay (Yello-Bole logo).  The original stem was chewed off and (melted?).
          I like the look of a chamfered rim, I think it adds a little class, after all, it was just an ugly old thrashed out Yello-Bole to experiment on.  I custom ground a wood “speed bit” and cut the chamfer on my drillpress, then sanded and stained the bowl.
  • @RockyMountainBriar — Thanks for the tip was n Gorilla Glue. I’ll stick with super glue.  So, if I wanted to mix in wood dust does it have to be briar or can it be any kind of wood? Since I don’t carve I don’t really have access to raw briar. 
  • @jfreedy
         Yea, any kind will work, just make sure it is really fine.  I use the sanding dust from around my bench top belt sander, there are all kinds of wood dust in the mix.  I would try to use a hardwood, but really, any will do.  Heck, you don't even need wood dust if you don't mind the look of a black crevice/hole...kind of reminds me of looking through the clear ice in a frozen deep dark lake. 
  • I recently acquired a little "squared" pipe. The first thing was the stem wouldn't release from the stummel. I used the old freezer trick and after 45 minutes, they were successfully separated. 
    I then reamed, and put the stummel in an alcohol bath for 24 hrs. Once stripped of its finish, 3 major pit fills and a few more smaller ones were revealed.
    I decided to rework the pipe and take care of as many flaws as possible...
  • Thanks @motie2 ... You're the best...
  • KA9FFJKA9FFJ Master
    edited January 2019
    Snow, snow, and then there's snow! So I took advantage of an inside day a reworked/refurbished a pipe.
    I have a streamlined pipe that had a few shallow gashes and decided to do some surgery. First, the gashes didn't affect the mechanics or the integrity of the pipe. They were just unsightly, so I decided to come up with a pattern to hide them and hopefully make the pipe more appealing... It also had a burn mark near the rim that was too deep to sand out...
  • I then went to work rusticating...
  • Stain, wax and buff and the stummel was complete...
  • KA9FFJKA9FFJ Master
    edited January 2019
    The stem was another matter. The stinger prevented a cleaner from doing its job, so I removed it (not fond of stingers anyway). 
    The stem was very loose so I heated the tenon an s compressed it to a perfect fit.
    Sanitized, sanded and buffed. Here's the finished project...
  • Let's try the pics again...
  • KA9FFJKA9FFJ Master
    edited January 2019
    @motie2 I'm seeing the pics here. Are you seeing them there? They're taking a long time to build, but they eventually show up...
  • No pix came through on iPad, but came through on desktop MAC.
  • So many posts I missed, took a long time to catch up and only because I didn't take the time to like them ALL!  So here is one big LIKE for all the posts.   LOL
  • @Wolf41035

    Good to see you here, posting again.
  • Here are a few before pics of my next project.  An old, well used, not so well taken care of, work horse of a pipe. A Latakia gunked WDC Milano #11.  The stem won’t even insert flush into the shank from all of the tar build-up.  There are still some “loose” unburnt ribbons of tobacco remnants floating around the bottom of the bowl under the mass of carbon lava build-up.  The button end is almost closed off with tar, but there is still a small airway open.  The pipe would have still been smokeable.....lovely😉.  Don’t ya just want ta pick it up and try a bowl in such a well carboned, well aged, smoking instrument?😝😖.
  • @RockyMountainBriar .I envy your project. Look forward to seeing your progress...
  • KA9FFJKA9FFJ Master
    edited February 2019
    Just received 5 pipes from eBay. The meerschaum is literally dusty dirty, but I think it will clean up nicely. The 3 briars are also dirty and filthy, but seem to be ok. I'll know more after alcohol baths and thorough cleanings.
    The one in the foreground is broken but I consider it only a novelty, so no loss there, whatever the outcome. 
  • KA9FFJKA9FFJ Master
    edited February 2019
    Well, the meerschaum has been cleaned, gently reamed, sanitized, waxed, polished, etc. etc. etc., and I've taken it out for a spin with some Creme Brulee... Not bad, not bad at all...
  • Working on 2 of the 3 briars now. Should have them completed sometime tomorrow...
  • @RockyMountainBriar - As nice as the photos of the finish are, I would probably drop the pipe (minus the stem) into a quart jar filled with 91% isopropyl alcohol or 190 Proof grain alcohol for about 24 hours and then start reaming out some of that carbon. It would also dissolve or soften the tar in shank so you could clean it out. 

    If you're concerned about soaking a pipe in 91% isopropyl, just rinse it good with warm water after the cleaning and let it dry for a day or two. Professionals I know use this method all the time.
  • Great tips @PappyJoe. I am the first one to admit I am not meerschaum oriented. So your comments are gladly recieved and appreciated...
  • @KA9FFJ - Just don't do it with meerschaum. 

  • Fininshed 2 out of 3 briars. Won't bore you with the details, but here they are...
  • @PappyJoe
         Thanks for the advice, but personally I don’t like to soak my refurbs stummel.  I have heard of several other people that refurb pipes professionally that op to take that route though.
         I personally start by reaming the carbon, then wipe the outside of the stummel and spray the stem with Martin-Senour professional glass cleaner.  It makes the tars slide right off.  This protects any original finish and any stem logo’s.  If the pipe needs more and there is no way to save the original finish, I wipe it down with Everclear inside and out.  The stem will get the Everclear soak, without submersing the logo, and cleaned from there.  After I clean the shank somewhat with Everclear soaked pipe cleaners, I make sure the stem fits snugly, then I use the Everclear retorte to further loosen, clean, and sterilize the shank and stem.   If there are any dents in the stummel, I use a damp towel and a hot iron to pull out the dents as much as possible.  I let the stummel dry then take the whole pipe and stem to the buffer just to see how it is looking.  If the color looks good to me, I finish buffing.  If it needs sanding and stain, I get out the sandpaper and Feibings, and finish from there.  Then the whole pipe goes into my ozone chamber for several hours for further sterilization and de-ghosting.  Whew....
  •      Here are the next few steps completed on that WDC refurb.  I just need to buff out the stem scratches and polish up the bowl.  I have decided not to stain the stummel, we’ll see what the “buff & wax”  brings out🙂.  Then into the ozone box.
    I don’t feel like going out to the garage today (where my buffer is) to start the space heaters.  It’s 2 above zero Fahrenheit this evening already and dropping.  A far cry from the 50F yesterday at this time☹️
  • I acquired this Archway bent from Israel. 3 or 4 pits and burned spots, plus the stem was BROWN from oxidation. I started marking it up for reworking...
  • Long story short - Here it is now...
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