Stem Splicing
Stem Splicing
Hey all,
I picked up a few estate pieces at the Richmond show this year. One was a 69 Dunhill that had a pretty serious bite through on the stem. Rather than cut a whole new stem and deal with the problems of fitting it to the shank accurately, I decided to take the lazy way and cut off the offending area and replace it with ebonite. Here are the results:
Not too shabby, eh?
I picked up a few estate pieces at the Richmond show this year. One was a 69 Dunhill that had a pretty serious bite through on the stem. Rather than cut a whole new stem and deal with the problems of fitting it to the shank accurately, I decided to take the lazy way and cut off the offending area and replace it with ebonite. Here are the results:
Not too shabby, eh?
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Not shabby at all.
A kindred spirit on the Kurtboard. Cool!
Q: Since the point was to avoid fitting to the shank, how did you get the kept portion black without sanding it to where fit was affected? (a step created)
(Pretty good case of Deep Green goin' on there. You'd have to lose some material at the splice point to get an invisible seam, so you're down to black through the middle; and the new piece is already black, so you're good there... but the old stem between the shank and splice would still be oxidized. And like rust on metal, you can't change it back. It must be removed. Hmmm... this is like a detective story. )
A kindred spirit on the Kurtboard. Cool!
Q: Since the point was to avoid fitting to the shank, how did you get the kept portion black without sanding it to where fit was affected? (a step created)
(Pretty good case of Deep Green goin' on there. You'd have to lose some material at the splice point to get an invisible seam, so you're down to black through the middle; and the new piece is already black, so you're good there... but the old stem between the shank and splice would still be oxidized. And like rust on metal, you can't change it back. It must be removed. Hmmm... this is like a detective story. )
Frank,
The splice did not require a metal tube. I considered it, but settled on turning a tenon on the new ebonite material and drilling a mortise in the old stem. The tenon seated flush with the mortise bottom, so the draught hole is virtually seamless as well. Between the mortise/tenon setup and the epoxy, this joint will likely be as strong or stronger than the original stem.
LL,
Unfortunately, the previous owner must have buffed the pipe with the stem removed or partially removed, so the fit is not perfectly flush. I just didn't want to make matters worse and can deal with a slightly rounded joint on a Dunhill. I didn't need to sand the stem, I just buffed it with tripoli and then white rouge. The joint was carefully sanded using micro mesh 1800-12000 to avoid having to buff the area hard and encountering issues with the differing hardnesses of the two ebonites and epoxy seam. It was really done just to be a fun little fix to make an old dunny smokable for me.
Best,
Jeff
The splice did not require a metal tube. I considered it, but settled on turning a tenon on the new ebonite material and drilling a mortise in the old stem. The tenon seated flush with the mortise bottom, so the draught hole is virtually seamless as well. Between the mortise/tenon setup and the epoxy, this joint will likely be as strong or stronger than the original stem.
LL,
Unfortunately, the previous owner must have buffed the pipe with the stem removed or partially removed, so the fit is not perfectly flush. I just didn't want to make matters worse and can deal with a slightly rounded joint on a Dunhill. I didn't need to sand the stem, I just buffed it with tripoli and then white rouge. The joint was carefully sanded using micro mesh 1800-12000 to avoid having to buff the area hard and encountering issues with the differing hardnesses of the two ebonites and epoxy seam. It was really done just to be a fun little fix to make an old dunny smokable for me.
Best,
Jeff
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Jeff,
Got it. Before, it seemed like you were only moving the problem, not eliminating it. And I couldn't think how to get out of the box. If the stem/shank join was already a bit blurry, there was no issue in the first place, though. Duh. Wanting to do it the way you did "just because" makes perfect sense to me, too.
Modern adhesives are flat amazing, huh? I still run into people willing to bet me that a glued-only splice won't hold.
Nice work. Thanks for sharing.
George (LL)
Got it. Before, it seemed like you were only moving the problem, not eliminating it. And I couldn't think how to get out of the box. If the stem/shank join was already a bit blurry, there was no issue in the first place, though. Duh. Wanting to do it the way you did "just because" makes perfect sense to me, too.
Modern adhesives are flat amazing, huh? I still run into people willing to bet me that a glued-only splice won't hold.
Nice work. Thanks for sharing.
George (LL)
George,
If the joint had still been flush, I suspect that I would have had little difficulty buffing out the stem and maintaining the integrity of the blast. In past restorations this has not proven a problem. A touch or two of the buffing wheel to a blasted shank hasn't been problematic in the past. How would you do it?
Oh, and I saw your post of the bowl top restoration. I've done similar things without using a pan, but a wet cloth and a soldering iron. That enables me to "spot" steam without raising the whole top. Sadly this particular piece was so abused (as was another from the same collection) that the ovular char ring on the bowl may require me to top and reblast the rim if I want to restore it. I'm still up in the air about it seeing as it is only for my personal use. It might be a fun little task if I feel up to it.
Best,
Jeff
If the joint had still been flush, I suspect that I would have had little difficulty buffing out the stem and maintaining the integrity of the blast. In past restorations this has not proven a problem. A touch or two of the buffing wheel to a blasted shank hasn't been problematic in the past. How would you do it?
Oh, and I saw your post of the bowl top restoration. I've done similar things without using a pan, but a wet cloth and a soldering iron. That enables me to "spot" steam without raising the whole top. Sadly this particular piece was so abused (as was another from the same collection) that the ovular char ring on the bowl may require me to top and reblast the rim if I want to restore it. I'm still up in the air about it seeing as it is only for my personal use. It might be a fun little task if I feel up to it.
Best,
Jeff
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The whole situation is becoming clearer as we talk. You obviously have the chops to handle stem/shank junctions in whatever way necessary, and make your having "been there" undetectable.jeff wrote:If the joint had still been flush, I suspect that I would have had little difficulty buffing out the stem and maintaining the integrity of the blast. In past restorations this has not proven a problem. A touch or two of the buffing wheel to a blasted shank hasn't been problematic in the past. How would you do it?
At first, I only saw the pics and the phrase, "avoid dealing with fitting stem to shank accurately," and thought you meant in a truly, not-touch-the-wood sort of way. Because you had to.
As for how I would do it, nothing different than you did. Just get 'em to match with the least amount of impact (material removal) possible, and retouch whatever that impact turned out to be.
Oh, and I saw your post of the bowl top restoration. I've done similar things without using a pan, but a wet cloth and a soldering iron. That enables me to "spot" steam without raising the whole top.
That's the standard way, of course. I just got to playing with the idea of how much damage could be undone without shortening the bowl, and raising all of the rim and cutting it back yielded a better result than spotting because of the double action. Everything up then cut back to zero lets you take off material, while spotting alone doesn't. And some of the dents are "in" that sawdust (so to speak).
Blasting, too. You're very much the Real Deal, then.Sadly this particular piece was so abused (as was another from the same collection) that the ovular char ring on the bowl may require me to top and reblast the rim if I want to restore it. I'm still up in the air about it seeing as it is only for my personal use. It might be a fun little task if I feel up to it.
I think it is time for me to click on that "see all posts by" button. I'm new here, and somehow you got under my radar.
Bingo!LatakiaLover wrote: As for how I would do it, nothing different than you did. Just get 'em to match with the least amount of impact (material removal) possible, and retouch whatever that impact turned out to be.
Oh, you might say I've seen a piece of briar or two before.LatakiaLover wrote: Blasting, too. You're very much the Real Deal, then.
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This is truly weirding me out. I do regular sweeps w/ Google and etc. to capture pipe & tobacco news; have whole pages of links to forums, newsletters, blogs, show schedules, and so forth. Hell, even some foreign language sites I can't read, for the pics. Not to mention stacks of books and magazines. And I've been going to shows since the PCCA days...
And I've never heard of Jeff until this thread.
He's a newcomer in a relative sense, granted, but not THAT new.
(cue Twilight Zone theme music)
Oh well, better late than never. (Still shaking head in amazement)
And I've never heard of Jeff until this thread.
He's a newcomer in a relative sense, granted, but not THAT new.
(cue Twilight Zone theme music)
Oh well, better late than never. (Still shaking head in amazement)
Nice job Jeff,
I have an old GBD "Prestige" with a bite through, not as bad...but it's through. Now that I see it can be done I ask you this , any reason to think it won't work on acrylic? Pipe is a great example of cross cut/ birdseye and I'd like to save the stem with the rondell. Thanks, great to see you again my friend!
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes
I have an old GBD "Prestige" with a bite through, not as bad...but it's through. Now that I see it can be done I ask you this , any reason to think it won't work on acrylic? Pipe is a great example of cross cut/ birdseye and I'd like to save the stem with the rondell. Thanks, great to see you again my friend!
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes
Watch out, he'll be talking about your ass next, Jeff.Nick wrote:Is the stem the clear perspex? I imagine the joint might be visable if its clear.
Lindsay Lohan is hot! But you're not too bad either Jeff.
Happy Smoking,
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
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Earlier I said about Jeff:
So I did that, and visited his site as well. Hm. Seems I got all excited for nothing... Ordinary, template-looking site; average beginner's barely-adequate shop; and no eye for pipes yet, though he has promise. Seems to lack immersion and committment, too.
Oh well. The anticipation was fun for a few minutes. Maybe the next surprise encounter will turn out to be a real pipemaker.
(As in, read all that in John Cleese's voice, Python-skit style. The reality is exactly the opposite. Anyone who hasn't visited Jeff's site, do so.)
LatakiaLover wrote:I think it is time for me to click on that "see all posts by" button. I'm new here, and somehow you got under my radar.
So I did that, and visited his site as well. Hm. Seems I got all excited for nothing... Ordinary, template-looking site; average beginner's barely-adequate shop; and no eye for pipes yet, though he has promise. Seems to lack immersion and committment, too.
Oh well. The anticipation was fun for a few minutes. Maybe the next surprise encounter will turn out to be a real pipemaker.
(As in, read all that in John Cleese's voice, Python-skit style. The reality is exactly the opposite. Anyone who hasn't visited Jeff's site, do so.)
Last edited by LatakiaLover on Wed Oct 03, 2007 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
That's the moneymaker, you know! My reputation is built on shape and quality after all.TreverT wrote:Watch out, he'll be talking about your ass next, Jeff.Nick wrote:Is the stem the clear perspex? I imagine the joint might be visable if its clear.
Lindsay Lohan is hot! But you're not too bad either Jeff.