Thought I would show off some recent pipe acquisitions and restorations. Found 2 Dunhills at an antique store. Took them to my local pipe shop and had them cleaned up by an expert. They look incredible now. Here are photos of the 2nd one I found. Unfortunately I didn't get any "before" photos of the other one. Bought them both for $10 each.
Here is the 1st Dunhill I got after it was restored. It was pretty nasty but I forgot to get any "before" photos. It's from the 1920s and looked like it hadn't been cleaned since then. Haha.
It finally got up to 8 to 10F today, so I decided to go out to the garage and put the final polishing on the little WDC Milano #11 straight apple. It spiffed up better than I thought, and I didn’t have to top the bowl or stain it either.
@RockyMountainBriar Now that's a good looking pipe! The grain pops pretty good on it too. Good work on the stem as well. I'd say you have one nice pipe there...
I have a question, the other day during the freezing weather, the bowl cracked on one of my briars. Is there any way to fix this or is it a lost cause?
@Zouave Take a look in this thread topic back in November/December. There are some suggestions for repairing a cracked bowl. Page (15) for me, two pages back is all🙂
@Zouave Nah, not a lost cause, especially since it is a sandblasted finish👍🏻 jfreedy’s was much worse, and my Electra had the whole front of the bowl cracked out the size of my thumbnail.
This might not qualify, but I refinished the stem on a cob that was graciously given to me by MM at the St. Louis pipe show. After sanding the stem down, restaining it buckskin, waxing and buffing, I think it looks better... JMO. Here's what it looked like before...
the other day I tried my first attempt at refinishing an old estate pipe. I'm a metal worker by trade so this was all a bit new to me, but I was pleased with the results!
@Zouave Nice job on that bulldog. It looks like there might be some tar buildup in the mortise keeping the stem from going all the way home...or maybe the wrong stem? You might be able to use a salt & alcohol soak to loosen the tars then carefully scrape the inner edge of the mortise where the tenon is wedging, if the tenon looks like it is the correct length. As a caveat, don’t try to force that tenon, shanks crack easier than you might think...Been there done that....once.
@RockyMountainBriar Thanks! The stem fits ok. I just didn't have it pushed in all the way. I was nervous to use the buffing wheels on the stem, but I can't believe how nice it works. Lots of you tube videos before I made a go at it. I think I'm addicted now. 😅
@Zouave Yea, you need to be careful on a stem, if it is not pushed up flush or if you don't put a washer or something between the shank and stem, the buffer will round over the edge of the stem.
When I have a tenon that won't fit flush to the stummel (sp?), and if the gap is narrow, I've used a teeny, colored rubber band. Fills the gap and looks kind of neat; a touch of color.
@motie2 .Reworked a pipe a while back that had that same problem. Used a small nylon washer and seemed to take care of the problem... Great minds think alike ( or at least similar )...
@Zouave took the stem to a hardware store. Found a washer that gave a good fit around the tenon. The washer was slightly larger than the stem. Super glued the washer on the stem, and pushed the stummel back on to insure a good fit. (Used glue VERY sparingly). Nylon washer helped seal well, but have a tendency to "shred" while sanding down, so started with 600 grit and quickly worked my way up the micro pads. I was reworking the stem and stummel anyway, so sanding across stem, washer and stummel simultaneously insured an even, good fit. Hope that helps... By the way, please don't misunderstand me. I did NOT glue the stummel... Only the stem to the washer. I know it probably goes unsaid, but after rereading, I realized that someone might misunderstand...
Interesting project I've taken. This is/was a Longchamp leather covered pipe with a mismatched stem. The leather was near totally dry rotted, so I removed it. Next I gave the stummel an alcohol bath for 24 hrs. I then reattached the stem and hand sanded it down to a nice fit with the stummel. The pipe has some gashes and pits, so I'm going to create a design for rustication. I have 2 bucks in the project and I'm having fun... Here's the "so far" pics
@Zouave I have been looking at the pics of that bulldog and I noticed that the corners on the silver? cap are rounded over. Does the silver continue around to the mortise, or does it stop at the edge of the shank. If it continues to the mortise and caps the shank, I think this pipe may have had a "military mount" type of stem?
Ok. I've completed the rustication. Just enough to hide the abuse and pits while leaving the most grain possible. Next is the staining... Haven't decided which way I'll go with that yet. Although I was able to get the oxidation off the stem, it still needs further cleaning and polishing... Post an update when finished...
Comments
Thanks, it turned out pretty nice for being probably 60-80 years old?
Take a look in this thread topic back in November/December. There are some suggestions for repairing a cracked bowl. Page (15) for me, two pages back is all🙂
Nah, not a lost cause, especially since it is a sandblasted finish👍🏻
jfreedy’s was much worse, and my Electra had the whole front of the bowl cracked out the size of my thumbnail.
Nice job on that bulldog. It looks like there might be some tar buildup in the mortise keeping the stem from going all the way home...or maybe the wrong stem? You might be able to use a salt & alcohol soak to loosen the tars then carefully scrape the inner edge of the mortise where the tenon is wedging, if the tenon looks like it is the correct length. As a caveat, don’t try to force that tenon, shanks crack easier than you might think...Been there done that....once.
Yea, you need to be careful on a stem, if it is not pushed up flush or if you don't put a washer or something between the shank and stem, the buffer will round over the edge of the stem.
Nylon washer helped seal well, but have a tendency to "shred" while sanding down, so started with 600 grit and quickly worked my way up the micro pads.
I was reworking the stem and stummel anyway, so sanding across stem, washer and stummel simultaneously insured an even, good fit.
Hope that helps...
By the way, please don't misunderstand me. I did NOT glue the stummel... Only the stem to the washer. I know it probably goes unsaid, but after rereading, I realized that someone might misunderstand...
The pipe has some gashes and pits, so I'm going to create a design for rustication.
Here's the "so far" pics
I have been looking at the pics of that bulldog and I noticed that the corners on the silver? cap are rounded over. Does the silver continue around to the mortise, or does it stop at the edge of the shank. If it continues to the mortise and caps the shank, I think this pipe may have had a "military mount" type of stem?
Next is the staining... Haven't decided which way I'll go with that yet.
Although I was able to get the oxidation off the stem, it still needs further cleaning and polishing...
Post an update when finished...