Stem Troubles

PipeProfessor

Sometimes a pipes stem is too tight or too lose. What is your advice for newbies to help alleviate these issues?

drac2485

Too loose I put beeswax on the tenon to tighten it up, if you put to much it's easily removed. To tight, I normally clean clean clean the tenon, stem, and (because of being brain dead) the place the tenon goes in the pipe as I normally find that spot very gunned up with tar/crud.

thewanderingdude

Like @drac2485 I use beeswax. I use it for stems that are too tight and for stems that are too loose as well. Beeswax will solve both problems 90% of the time.

PappyJoe

I use beeswax. If the tenon is too tight, I will clean it and the stummel real good. If that doesn't fix the problem and start with some 2000 grit sandpaper and work it until it fix the way I want it.

Abreathawayfromglory

if the stem is really really loose a little heat will make the rubber swell up but be careful not to burn the stem or make it to large 

Subtilis87

I agree @abreathawayfromglory. For most stems heat is the answe. If you heat up the tenon with a heat fun it will expand to its normal width. Vulcanite had "memory" in fact is you heat a bent stem it will return to its original straight form... fresh off the lathe. You can also use a tea light for heat, just work slow, you don't want yo melt. There are good examples on YouTube.

pipeman83

Beeswax.

ghostsofpompeii

This comes up from time-to-time so I thought I'd move it up front as well.

And I agree with the bees wax solution. I've also heated up the tenon and pushed down to make it fit tighter ... but it's too easy to screw it up if you don't know what you're doing. The bees wax is a simple fix and does the trick.

Woodsman

Rubbing a tenon with a pencil will apply a micro thin coating of Graphite to it that should cure the tightness problem.

motie2

Plumber's teflon tape works almost every time, unless the mismatch is too great. Then I use a beeswax AND dental floss wrap.

Corey562

I have found that a loose stem can be tightened up by slightly heating the tenon up ( if it is a ebonite stem) acrylic stems depending on how loose it is I have used every ting from wax to a very thin coat of high heat resistance epoxy.