Loose Tenon

Discussion of pipe restoration and sales, as well as pipe repair and maintenance tricks.
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Great Plains Piper
Posts: 27
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: North Dakota

Loose Tenon

Post by Great Plains Piper »

So with my poor man's workshop and really only hand tools to work with (nothing beyond a cordless drill) I find myself with a loose fitting tenon

I bought a replacement tenon from Pimo because I was also buying a couple other things from them, otherwise I would have just got another one from Tinsky, who made the kit I am working on and whose stem would have fit much nicer I am sure. I was assured that the stems from Pimo come with a tenon already in place but I had no idea that the "tenon" was really little more than a notch at the end of the stem from which you could turn the tenon down to make it fit yourself. This seems crazy to me because if I had the ability to do so easily why would I be needing a pre-cut tenon in the first place? Anyway the story is long but it shortens up like this:

Tinksy kit
busted Lucite tenon
attempted fix/glue failed
Pimo replacement
jimmy-rigged lathe-like setup on hand drill
tenon still too big but I forced it and cracked the shank (CRAP!)
cut away cracked shank section
drill mortise deeper
adjusting/sanding/swearing trying to make junction meet up
more sanding
anger/despair
junction starting to look ok but now loose tenon

So I know a loose Lucite tenon isn't the end of the world. I wanted to give a little background so that no one will just hop in here and say something like "just pop it on your lathe and...", but I also wanted to maybe get a suggestion or two before I go trying one of the most likely stupid ideas in my head.

Also, I've sworn off Lucite tenons. I don't really have the tools to do delrin or steel inserts or anything like that with any ease but I will certainly be exploring other options next time I'm not using a vulcanite stem
Thus o’er my pipe, in contemplation
Of such things, I can constantly
Indulge in fruitful meditation
And so, puffing contentedly,
On land, on sea, at home, abroad,
I smoke my pipe and worship God.


-Johann Sebastian Bach
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wisemanpipes
Posts: 528
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 12:11 pm
Location: Guelph, Ontario

Re: Loose Tenon

Post by wisemanpipes »

if a tenon is a tad loose on my own pipes. i just put them either in hot water or hot sand for a minute then push a tiny screw driver one size up through the hole. it worked on a vulcanite stem on a sav i have, but ive never tried lucite.
wmolaw
Posts: 585
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:50 pm

Re: Loose Tenon

Post by wmolaw »

wisemanpipes wrote:if a tenon is a tad loose on my own pipes. i just put them either in hot water or hot sand for a minute then push a tiny screw driver one size up through the hole. it worked on a vulcanite stem on a sav i have, but ive never tried lucite.
You can do the same with drill bits (the end that don't cut!) Just heat it slightly, either in water, heat gun, flame, etc and gently push in the drill bit end which is only slightly larger than the draught hole. Then run it under water. That will tighten it up.
socrates
Posts: 316
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 1:32 pm
Location: Oahu, Hawaii, USA

Re: Loose Tenon

Post by socrates »

wmolaw wrote:
wisemanpipes wrote:if a tenon is a tad loose on my own pipes. i just put them either in hot water or hot sand for a minute then push a tiny screw driver one size up through the hole. it worked on a vulcanite stem on a sav i have, but ive never tried lucite.
You can do the same with drill bits (the end that don't cut!) Just heat it slightly, either in water, heat gun, flame, etc and gently push in the drill bit end which is only slightly larger than the draught hole. Then run it under water. That will tighten it up.
After reading this I used the technique instead of the kit for the same purpose. Works great!!!!

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