@RockyMountainBriar great advice. I've gone back and looked at a lot of work in this forum and there are some real craftsmen. I bought 151 everclear which is the strongest you can get here in NC now i'm pretty sure. I've seen a number of videos on salt treating for ghosts. I did also finally find a micromesh sanding recommendation about stems and glad to hear you concur. I will likely buy a senior 3 reamer to start since it seems reliable and i like the stepless adjustments. I assume after using the drill bit in the stummel that if you're cleaning anything else out that you're using a bristled cleaner and more alcohol? Is there a food safe alternative people use for cleaning carbon deposits within stems?
@KA9FFJ you mention an alcohol bath in older posts that seems separate from de-ghosting. What is it that you're doing and for what purpose if you don't mind me asking.
@Whoispra I’m not familiar with other stem cleaners. I have heard of a stem cleaning “system”, but dangled if I can remember the name. It’s kinda expensive (at least for me). It is used for restoring old vulcanite/ebonite writing pens, it’s not for acrylics, etc. however.
@RockyMountainBriar I guess i should clarify. I just mean what liquid product could you use in conjunction with pipe cleaners to clean all kinds of stems without risk of damage or discoloring.
DishSoap and Oxiclean would be ok for acrylic/nylon/plastic stems, but it will exacerbate the oxidation on ebonite/vulcanite, actually water will do the same sometimes, especially hot water. I’m not sure what others use. I mainly use Everclear, but lower proof alcohol will work on acrylic/plastic stems as long as it doesn’t soak in it. @KA9FFJ, @PappyJoe, anyone else have something that works for them better and “less chancy” for cleaning/sanitizing stems than Everclear or other high proof alcohol?
@Whoispra When I first popped on here asking similar refurb questions years ago, @PappyJoe suggested loading damp spent coffee grounds in a newly reamed and cleaned bowl to mitigate ghosting. It worked for the pipe I was working on.
@Whoispra On that sterling band, 1st try a light rubbing of cigarette ash (not pipe or cigar ash) with a paper towel. It will bring back the shine without damaging the stummel and stem. If there are pits that remain, you may have to use micropads, then the cigarette ash.
The problem with removing the oxidation from a vulcanite stem is you are also going to remove some of the vulcanite. I have had some pretty oxidized stems that I have soaked, wet sanded with micro mesh pads and have gotten them to be black and shiny under the lights in my work area. Then I take the pipe outside and hints of the oxidation still appears.
What I do now is place the stem in a container with enough mineral oil in it to cover the stem. I then use the micro mesh pads to bring it to a shine. After cleaning and rinsing in water to remove the oil from the airway, I run a pipe cleaner through the stem to dry it out. I dry the outside and then put a light coat of mineral oil on it.
As far as the bowl goes, I like to first pack the bowl with cotton balls soaked in 190 proof alcohol (or the highest proof you can find) and let it sit for at least 12 hours. I then gently ream it while the cake is still wet. I am also a big fan of packing used coffee grounds that are still moist in the bowl and letting it sit for another 12 to 24 hours followed by a quick rinse in warm tap water. I let the pipe sit for at least a day to dry out before smoking.
@KA9FFJ I have a full set of micromesh pads coming but luckily my wife is a casual silver smith so i'll probably have her tape off the shank and polish it with her materials. @RockyMountainBriar yeah it's seen better days but truth be told it doesn't stink at all. I guess I expected it to wreak but it actually smells nice whatever they were smoking in it. @Pappy Joe thanks for the extra advice. In NC 151 is the highest proof you can get and i have a bottle of everclear to deghost. Given the amount of cake i may opt for the wet ream as you've suggested. I have a senior pipe reamer on the way. I think it'll be a fun little exercise.
Recieved some predrilled stummels from the Chicago Pipe Show compliments of a good friend here at TPL. I decided to tackle a stummel that has a pit located on the stem. I first had to drill the mortise. That was no easy feat since I don't own a set of pipe jaws for my lathe. I had to make a make-shift brace to lock in a small vise and, after plumbing the shank, used a forstner bit and my drill press to get the job done. Next I turned the tenon on a bit to fit, then sanded the shank and stem to match. So far so good.
Once satisfied with that phase, I started with 60 grit, then 100, 220, 360 and 500 to finish the shape of the stummel. It's now time to take it into my little pipe shop to start the final phases:
Next phase completed. Next will come the staining... Remember, these are NOT prime stummels. They all have small flaws, so I'll be trying to get the "biggest bang for the buck" by trying to eliminated the most obvious flaws from being so... so... obvious.
Next: Staining. Decided to go with 30 drops of saddle tan with 1 drop of oxblood on the bowl, and black on the rusticated area... I flamed the stummel and gave it a good alcohol wipe. Next is to lightly sand the stummel with 1000 grit, finish the stem and then wax and buff...
So 1 down, and 9 to go: Oh, by the way, I made the plunge and purchased some pipe chuck jaws for my lathe from Vermont. My make-shift set up and using a drill press to drill out a mortise was too nerve racking for me...😬
@KA9FFJ I’m anxious to see how you chuck partially finished pipe stummels with the VT pipe jaws. I haven’t come up with a good way yet. I have an idea, but it’s not a simple or quick one, it requires a bit of machining. Half the battle for me is finding the aluminum or steel materials (at a decent price) to start with. Buying material in small quantities is expensive.
@RockyMountainBriar Not sure either, but I too have a few ideas. Since everything else is predrilled and I'm only having to set up to drill the mortise, I'm hoping to find an "acceptable" solution. Just about ANYTHING has to be better than what I just went through...🙄😬 I must say, it is rather neat working with virgin briar for a change...
Have been slowly working on the comoy that I purchased. mostly working on cleaning the stummel. Have yet to finish reaming it but haven't had a lot of time to dedicate to it. I do have a question about the Senior pipe reamer. Mine is probably a knock off but what do the reaming "blades" look like on yours. Would you characterize them as sharp? I suspect they are designed not to be so as not to damage the briar.
@Whoispra Yea, mine is a knockoff and it is not sharp, but I have probably a dozen different pipe reamers, and none are sharp. The sharpest is probably the SPC reamer, kinda like a Savinelli type, I think it is an oyster knife maybe…or something similar.
@Whoispra I don't know that it really matters but, if needed, I always do my reaming, deghosting (if necessary) and thoroughly cleaning the shank and bowl before proceeding to anything else. Including the stem, cleaning the internals is usually the dirtiest part of the process so I like to get that out of the way first rather than risking getting the outsides dirty or smudged up again. Just me... Oh, by the way. My senior reamer has what I would call semi sharp edges. They are not knife-like, but seem to do well for me...
I’m with @KA9FFJ, clean the pipe inside and out before anything else. I start by reaming the cake back to bare wood, or as close as I can get, with my assortment of reamers and sandpaper. The next step is cleaning the airway and shank tars. If it is particularly nasty (Latakia Tars are disgusting) the pipe gets the salt/Everclear, and/or alcohol retort treatment. If a ghost remains, I put it in my ozone chamber for several hours, or days, depending on its persistence to haunt. Then comes sanding and stem work if needed, then staining, then buffing and waxing.
Well, I recieved my chuck jaws from Vermont Freehand yesterday. I selected a stummel to try them out based on flaws. That way, if I screwed up, I was planning on rusticating it anyway. I put water on the pipe to see what kind of grain, if any, was there. If you have dealt with virgin or sanded down briar, you know that once wet, any and all flaws show up. I found about 7 pits and flaws around the bowl, and also a hairline crack at the end of the shank. First order of business, cut 3/8" off the shank back to good briar. Then I put the pipe in the jaws, plumbed it up and drilled the mortise, then turned a shank ring from some acrylic rod. After that, I turned the tenon for a good tight fit. Then did a little sanding and semi-polishing around the shank/stem connection. Here it is after the above stages:
Used medium brown on the bowl and shank. I've said this before. If left alone, medium brown is VERY dark. The only way I know to get it to look more brown than black is a thorough alcohol wipe...
Comments
@KA9FFJ you mention an alcohol bath in older posts that seems separate from de-ghosting. What is it that you're doing and for what purpose if you don't mind me asking.
I’m not familiar with other stem cleaners. I have heard of a stem cleaning “system”, but dangled if I can remember the name. It’s kinda expensive (at least for me). It is used for restoring old vulcanite/ebonite writing pens, it’s not for acrylics, etc. however.
@KA9FFJ, @PappyJoe, anyone else have something that works for them better and “less chancy” for cleaning/sanitizing stems than Everclear or other high proof alcohol?
@Whoispra
When I first popped on here asking similar refurb questions years ago, @PappyJoe suggested loading damp spent coffee grounds in a newly reamed and cleaned bowl to mitigate ghosting. It worked for the pipe I was working on.
Great advise, Brothers.
On that sterling band, 1st try a light rubbing of cigarette ash (not pipe or cigar ash) with a paper towel. It will bring back the shine without damaging the stummel and stem. If there are pits that remain, you may have to use micropads, then the cigarette ash.
That bad boy has been “rode hard and put away wet”. I’ve only seen a couple of pipes with a cake that thick before.
What I do now is place the stem in a container with enough mineral oil in it to cover the stem. I then use the micro mesh pads to bring it to a shine. After cleaning and rinsing in water to remove the oil from the airway, I run a pipe cleaner through the stem to dry it out. I dry the outside and then put a light coat of mineral oil on it.
As far as the bowl goes, I like to first pack the bowl with cotton balls soaked in 190 proof alcohol (or the highest proof you can find) and let it sit for at least 12 hours. I then gently ream it while the cake is still wet. I am also a big fan of packing used coffee grounds that are still moist in the bowl and letting it sit for another 12 to 24 hours followed by a quick rinse in warm tap water. I let the pipe sit for at least a day to dry out before smoking.
Developing the skill and knowledge is a great journey and the result is the end reward. I guess there are a lot of things like that.
I decided to tackle a stummel that has a pit located on the stem.
I first had to drill the mortise. That was no easy feat since I don't own a set of pipe jaws for my lathe.
I had to make a make-shift brace to lock in a small vise and, after plumbing the shank, used a forstner bit and my drill press to get the job done.
Next I turned the tenon on a bit to fit, then sanded the shank and stem to match. So far so good.
It's now time to take it into my little pipe shop to start the final phases:
🤔
More to come later...
Decided to go with 30 drops of saddle tan with 1 drop of oxblood on the bowl, and black on the rusticated area...
I flamed the stummel and gave it a good alcohol wipe.
Next is to lightly sand the stummel with 1000 grit, finish the stem and then wax and buff...
Oh, by the way, I made the plunge and purchased some pipe chuck jaws for my lathe from Vermont. My make-shift set up and using a drill press to drill out a mortise was too nerve racking for me...😬
I’m anxious to see how you chuck partially finished pipe stummels with the VT pipe jaws. I haven’t come up with a good way yet. I have an idea, but it’s not a simple or quick one, it requires a bit of machining. Half the battle for me is finding the aluminum or steel materials (at a decent price) to start with. Buying material in small quantities is expensive.
What's that old saying about a silk sow's ear? Whatever it is you pulled it off, Brother.
Not sure either, but I too have a few ideas.
Since everything else is predrilled and I'm only having to set up to drill the mortise, I'm hoping to find an "acceptable" solution.
Just about ANYTHING has to be better than what I just went through...🙄😬
I must say, it is rather neat working with virgin briar for a change...
Yea, mine is a knockoff and it is not sharp, but I have probably a dozen different pipe reamers, and none are sharp. The sharpest is probably the SPC reamer, kinda like a Savinelli type, I think it is an oyster knife maybe…or something similar.
I don't know that it really matters but, if needed, I always do my reaming, deghosting (if necessary) and thoroughly cleaning the shank and bowl before proceeding to anything else.
Including the stem, cleaning the internals is usually the dirtiest part of the process so I like to get that out of the way first rather than risking getting the outsides dirty or smudged up again.
Just me...
Oh, by the way. My senior reamer has what I would call semi sharp edges. They are not knife-like, but seem to do well for me...
I put water on the pipe to see what kind of grain, if any, was there. If you have dealt with virgin or sanded down briar, you know that once wet, any and all flaws show up. I found about 7 pits and flaws around the bowl, and also a hairline crack at the end of the shank.
First order of business, cut 3/8" off the shank back to good briar.
Then I put the pipe in the jaws, plumbed it up and drilled the mortise, then turned a shank ring from some acrylic rod.
After that, I turned the tenon for a good tight fit. Then did a little sanding and semi-polishing around the shank/stem connection.
Here it is after the above stages:
The only way I know to get it to look more brown than black is a thorough alcohol wipe...