I can’t pass up a sale or a freebie. I added another (CP) Charles Peterson L.E. Pipe to my collection. This is a Peterson System Deluxe Natural Rusticated 2S. As always (@vtgrad2003, go ahead and laugh) I had to modify it. The airway was drilled way high in the mortise and the bowl 😖. Sooo, rather than waste tobacco or pipe mud the bottom of the bowl to bring it up, I inserted a short aluminum tube. Now the airway sits dead center and on the bottom, no more “handful” of wasted tobacco dottle after every smoke. I also removed the factory bowl coating and coated the outside with Halcyon Wax and gave it a buff. I used the wax to seal the briar from dirty fingerprints like the waxing of a meerschaum pipe. It worked very well on my Peterson Natural Sandblasted Barley Spigot, it’s coloring beautifully. Hopefully this pipe colors similarly. I also bought a Tsuge pipe cap to see how they are made, they are simpler than I expected and it works great. I am going to make some. I loaded the new Pete 2S for it’s inaugural smoke with some of the C&D “Ghosts of Christmas Future” from the tin I received as a freebie add-on. It is smoking like a champ. The aluminum tube is working excellently. I’m confident it will work exactly as I expected…no wasted dottle👌🏻
@RockyMountainBriar Nice modification to take care of that airway problem. 2 questions: How did you secure the tube? Did you insert it into the tenon, like a stinger or what? And has the aluminum tube caused any noticeable condensation? Just curious... By the way, great looking pipe!
@KA9FFJ It’s just a friction fit in the shank airway. Since it’s a Pete System pipe, the airways from shank to stem do not line up…and are not supposed to. The shank airway was originally ~4mm, I cleared it with my 4mm drill bit by hand to smooth it out. I inserted a long piece of 5/32” O.D. thin wall tubing to the heel and marked where it entered the shank/well. I removed the long tube and cut it at the appropriate angles and de-burred the ends. Then I aligned the cut ends correctly and inserted it into the airway, made sure it touched the bottom of the bowl and then trimmed the mortise end with a small, sharp knife. It’s soft aluminum. The airway is about 3mm now. The tube is just friction fit. I should still be able to remove it if necessary with a screw used as an extractor. Over time it might get stuck, but it really shouldn’t get any gunk around it. If it does and I needed it out, it’s soft enough to drill out, a drill bit would probably “hook” it enough to spin it free before it actually started cutting anyway.
With the moist (but not overly so) aromatic tobacco I smoked yesterday, it burned great. It left nothing but dry gray ash in the bottom of the bowl, no dottle, no moisture in the heel. The pipe never gurgled at all. The Deluxe System did it’s job and all the condensation from the smoke was in the well as it should be. I have a picture of the heel of the pipe after the smoke, but it’s on another device. I will post it here later this evening. Note, there was no condensation in the heel or the short piece of aluminum tube, it didn’t even color a pipe cleaner when I ran it through after the smoke. The well in the shank had about 1/8”+ nasty water in it that required a piece of twisted tissue paper to soak it up and also to wipe the outside of the Peterson Deluxe System condenser/tenon extension/chimney (whatever your preferred term is). The stem and shank tube, internally, were clean and dry. The mortise/well was soaked, as per the correct function of the Peterson Deluxe System/Standard System design.
I’m drying some MacBaren “Golden Brown Burley London Blend” L.E. 2021 to stuff in my new Christmas present to myself. It’s a Barling Benjamin Guinea Grain shape 1814.
@KA9FFJ Here is the heel of the Pete XL02 right after I dumped the ash, and the well after I had swabbed it out with tissue. “Dry as a popcorn fart”, as my father would say.
@RockyMountainBriar Thanks for being so thorough in answering my questions. Much appreciated. By the way, that Barling pipe?... Add that one to my list. 😏
Went to visit my brother in law who's in assisted living at north county St. Louis yesterday. My wife noticed a Tinderbox b&m about 5-8 minutes from where he now resides. So after our visit, I stopped by and met Larry, a fellow Marine, and the owner. We talked a while, and found out he could use some help with restorations and refurbs, so I gave him this website and the "pipe refinishing" thread to check out my work. Meanwhile I got a relatively new blend called Happy Hour and decided to give it a try later last night in my Fulushou... Going to have another bowl later today and hope it's as enjoyable as my 1st bowl last night...
Pretty nippy out but decided to go lunting around the neighborhood. Tried my 2nd bowl of Tinderbox Happy Hour in an Old Charlestowne MM Cob. It was an all around success: enjoyed the lunting, enjoyed the pipe and enjoyed the blend...
A little late, but I had a bowl of Newminster “Black Cherry” in a Pete Deluxe System XL02 last night. Today I fold and stuffed a flake of Newminster “Superior Navy Flake” into it. This pipe smokes bone dry in the stem and bowl, the system well is catching the condensation like it is supposed to…..excellent.
Comments
I loaded the new Pete 2S for it’s inaugural smoke with some of the C&D “Ghosts of Christmas Future” from the tin I received as a freebie add-on. It is smoking like a champ. The aluminum tube is working excellently. I’m confident it will work exactly as I expected…no wasted dottle👌🏻
Nice modification to take care of that airway problem.
2 questions:
How did you secure the tube? Did you insert it into the tenon, like a stinger or what?
And has the aluminum tube caused any noticeable condensation?
Just curious...
By the way, great looking pipe!
Morning pipe.😀
It’s just a friction fit in the shank airway. Since it’s a Pete System pipe, the airways from shank to stem do not line up…and are not supposed to. The shank airway was originally ~4mm, I cleared it with my 4mm drill bit by hand to smooth it out. I inserted a long piece of 5/32” O.D. thin wall tubing to the heel and marked where it entered the shank/well. I removed the long tube and cut it at the appropriate angles and de-burred the ends. Then I aligned the cut ends correctly and inserted it into the airway, made sure it touched the bottom of the bowl and then trimmed the mortise end with a small, sharp knife. It’s soft aluminum. The airway is about 3mm now. The tube is just friction fit. I should still be able to remove it if necessary with a screw used as an extractor. Over time it might get stuck, but it really shouldn’t get any gunk around it. If it does and I needed it out, it’s soft enough to drill out, a drill bit would probably “hook” it enough to spin it free before it actually started cutting anyway.
With the moist (but not overly so) aromatic tobacco I smoked yesterday, it burned great. It left nothing but dry gray ash in the bottom of the bowl, no dottle, no moisture in the heel. The pipe never gurgled at all. The Deluxe System did it’s job and all the condensation from the smoke was in the well as it should be. I have a picture of the heel of the pipe after the smoke, but it’s on another device. I will post it here later this evening. Note, there was no condensation in the heel or the short piece of aluminum tube, it didn’t even color a pipe cleaner when I ran it through after the smoke. The well in the shank had about 1/8”+ nasty water in it that required a piece of twisted tissue paper to soak it up and also to wipe the outside of the Peterson Deluxe System condenser/tenon extension/chimney (whatever your preferred term is). The stem and shank tube, internally, were clean and dry. The mortise/well was soaked, as per the correct function of the Peterson Deluxe System/Standard System design.
Here is the heel of the Pete XL02 right after I dumped the ash, and the well after I had swabbed it out with tissue. “Dry as a popcorn fart”, as my father would say.
Thanks for being so thorough in answering my questions. Much appreciated.
By the way, that Barling pipe?... Add that one to my list. 😏
I’m going to have to start writing them down🙂
@KA9FFJ is spot on, that Barling is a beautiful pipe.
At my local Tobacconist. Having some Hobbits Friend in my Peterson cob. 😀
It takes a talented man to snooze AND puff simultaneously...😏
I was contemplating the meaning of PIPE. 😀
👍🏻
We talked a while, and found out he could use some help with restorations and refurbs, so I gave him this website and the "pipe refinishing" thread to check out my work.
Meanwhile I got a relatively new blend called Happy Hour and decided to give it a try later last night in my Fulushou...
Going to have another bowl later today and hope it's as enjoyable as my 1st bowl last night...
Mighty tasty!
🤣 I think those would have been better.
I didn't finish it and smoked my Friday Savinelli with LL7. So much better. So much.
That could be a fun gig for ya man.
Really sweet, Impossible to light!