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Pipe refinishing

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  • @RockyMountainBriar here is an odd one for sure. I have an old German porcelain and antler stemmed pipe I would love to try and smoke, but there is a cloth/string wrapped flexible tube connecting the mouth piece to the shank that is cracked with age. Any idea how to fix or replace?  Also that computer looks fantastic! great work.
  • *Comoy not comouter, apparently my auto correct doesn't know pipes yet.
  • Ya got me there.  I was thinking to myself....what computer?  I even went back in the pics looking for a computer🤪
  • @Zouave
    Hmm, that is a tough one🤔.  I can’t even think of an easy replacement/modification?  Quite an ornate pipe👍🏻  I have not dealt with anything like it.  A piece of silicone tubing might be a good replacement to at least get it to smoke if you could find one.....and figure out how the original is attached.  I’m not going to be much help, I have never seen one up close.  I can’t even think of anything else that has a similar construction...except maybe a canvas fire hose.....that might be a little large😬
  • @RockyMountainBriar thanks for input. I'm kind of stumped on it. It's just threaded into the horn/antler sections of the pipe. The only thing I can think of is cutting up a hooka pipe tube? But it still has to fit the original parts. Looks like it stays on the back burner for now. 
  • @Zouave
    Hmm, never thought of that..of course...I have not examined a  hookah either.
  • A tip from our friend steve@pipestud.com

    Pipe Smoking Tip For Today - Keeping your pipe rims free of darkening. I personally do not do this regularly but have done it in the past and it works. After loading your pipe, put just a very small dab of Vaseline on your finger and rub a very thin layer around the rim of your pipe. Believe it or not, the rim will not darken as that very thin layer of Vaseline protects it!
    -------------------------------------------------------------------

  • Hmm, I would think the petroleum in Vaseline would soften and destroy the finish?  Not so?
  • I suggest asking the author..... No?
  • One thing that helps concerning the rim-darkening/charring problem for me, is by loading the bowl leaving approx. 1/8" from the top edge of the rim. This is not to say it PREVENTS rim char, but usually prolongs the original look for a much longer time. Not using a torch lighter helps as well... IMHO... 
  • edited May 2019
    I just received a Peterson Dublin Millenium 988-1988 commemorative pipe today, an EBay purchase.  It was one of my “Holy Grail” pipes that I have been trying to obtain for several years.  Anyway, it was listed as lightly smoked.  Lucky me, I believe it has never been smoked. There were three fills that were a bit lighter colored, but still solid.

    Now, for any of you that have heard the horror stories of when Peterson “dip stained” their bowls/stummels, I’m here to tell you it’s more than a rumor, at least around 1988 anyway.  Even though the pipe looked unsmoked to me, contrary to the auction description, I decided to run some cotton swabs and pipe cleaners soaked in Everclear through the shank and stem, and Everclear soaked paper towels in the bowl.  WOW, was I surprised, the first cotton swab in the shank came out full of stain, but no smoke residue.  There was so much stain on the swab that I used it to touch-up the fills.  It worked beautifully.  The thing that really amazed me was the first Everclear soaked pipe cleaner I ran through the stem...holy moly!, the stain was even in the stem. The three straight pipe cleaners and paper towel on the right were from the stem.  The swabs, pipe cleaners, and paper towels on the left were from inside the shank and bowl.
  • ZouaveZouave Master
    @RockyMountainBriar that's a sharp looking Peterson, nice find! I have always loved the looks of Petersons.  Lol, that paper towel looks like crime scene evidence though!!! 
  • edited May 2019
    @Zouave
    I was thinking the same thing when I posted it😖
    I think I could have stained a new pipe with the residue in this pipe.
  • KA9FFJKA9FFJ Master
    @RockyMountainBriar Holy cow!  Who'd a thunk it?
    Nice pipe, and if anyone can get it into good smoking shape, my money's on you...
  • ZouaveZouave Master
    @RockyMountainBriar you do amazing work! Those look fantastic.
  • @Zouave
    Thank you.
    I keep forgetting to post before pics...actually I keep forgetting to take before pics.  I get a bit excited to see them finished, so I start on them and don't want to stop to takes pics.
    I stained the #04 a bit darker than it was originally because it had seven, not small, fills.  They hide better that way :)
     Again, I hate fills, but the pipe is just too rare.
  • ZouaveZouave Master
    @RockyMountainBriar ok, I have a nice broken stem on this old guy. How should I attack this problem?
  • @Zouave
    If you want to use that stem, I assume?

    I would start by cleaning it very well with Everclear.
    I would then fit a balsa wood wedge that goes just past the break-out into the stem by about 1/8” and the same height and width of the button, maybe slightly under size to give the repair some thickness, and extend slightly past the bit.
    Carefully scratch up the beveled/broken edges of the break in a cross-hatch pattern with an X-Acto knife.  You can also use a small bit in a pin-vise to drill a few shallow holes into the edges of the break to “pin” the epoxy.
    Mix some PC-7 Epoxy or, if not available, some other somewhat stiff epoxy.  PC-7 can be a dark gray almost black when mixed, and lay the epoxy over the balsa wedge and “tamp” it down into the cross-hatch scratches.  Build up the epoxy to form the bit ledge.  Let the epoxy dry completely.
    File the epoxy flush and file the lip profile.
    Take an X-Acto and shave/carve down the epoxy so it is a little below the final stem profile that you want.
    Clean the epoxy and stem with Everclear again.
    Use some Loctite #380 Black Max Cyanoacrylic and apply that over the epoxy and “feather” it out a bit past the broken area.  Let that dry.
    File the profile of the stem, lip, and bit end, and sand it until it is pretty much smooth.
    Use a small pin-vise and drill bit to carefully remove the balsa, it is pretty easy to remove.  Carefully clean the bit and airway with a pipe cleaner and some more Everclear. 
    To strengthen the repair some more, carefully add small drops of Black Max inside the bit with a drop on a straightened paper clip to apply it.  You don’t want to close the airway with Black Max now that you are this close.  You can use CA Accelerator to speed up the Black Max set, go easy with that stuff too, sometimes it will “frost” the CA Glue.
    once that is all set, do the final sanding and polishing.
    That particular pipe stem looks like an easier one to fix, nice wide angled edges on the break, and pieces of the bit on either side to shape to.
    There you go.  You asked for it...you got it😀. Hope it helps.
    At least that is how I would do it😉
  • @Zouave - @RockyMountainBriar suggestion is spot on if you want to fix the stem yourself or if their is important stamping on the stem.

    I am not that ambitious when it comes to repairing chewed up stems though and I will always take the easy way out of sending the stem to one of the professional pipe repairers I use and have a new stem made. A good shop can take the little metal oval off the old stem and move it to the new one. 

    Obviously you can't get any stamping on the stem replaced in most cases. 
  • ZouaveZouave Master
    @RockyMountainBriar @PappyJoe thanks for the great advice and instructions. I am going to have to print those out and tack it on my work bench to follow. I'll post a picture after I see if I can get it half way decent. Pappyjoe there was a small oval in the stem that must have had a Maker's Mark inlayed into it that was missing. I made a small silver replacement and epoxied it into the cavity. Hopefully I can do allright with the break repair. Thanks again to you both for the help it's very appreciated. 👍
  • @Zouave
    As a side note, I have a “button file tool” that I purchased online from Vermont Freehand.  It is actually a clay modelers tool.  It is like a mini saw/file, it works well to remove the balsa and clear/form the bit airway after drilling a small hole through the balsa to start.  I think the tool will actually work like a drill to start through the balsa too.  I also use the file on my Leatherman Squirt P4 to carefully (very carefully and slowly) file the airway nice and square.  It has a file with “teeth” on both sides that fits most fishtail airways very well.
  • ZouaveZouave Master
    @RockyMountainBriar thanks for the advice. I'll check it out. Need to get some epoxies first.
  • Working over a new-to-me Comoy’s Guildhall #412.  Tightening the stem with my hot air pencil and a chopstick.  The small tip puts the heat right where I need it.
  • The stem was a bit crooked/twisted to the left so I used the big heat-gun and a pipe cleaner to align it.
  • Next comes the USMC Black dye for the bottom layer of the contrast stain.
  • I partially polished off the black stain with heavy grit buffing compound, then stained the pipe with medium brown for the second layer.
  • ZouaveZouave Master
    @RockyMountainBriar outstanding work! It's great to see the steps you used.  It's one thing to read them, but seeing them really shows all the hard work!
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