delrin stems
delrin stems
Anyone here make their whole stem out of delrin? I know a lot of people make the tenon out of delrin and the rest of the stem out of their preferred material. I wasn't sure if anyone did this or not, or if there are some "do's and donts" that I am not aware of. Any info will be appreciated.
Thanks for all of the replies. That's what I was wondering. I made a replacement stem out of delrin for my friend's Dr. Grabow. The material cut very well on my lathe, but it did take some time and elbow greese to file and sand it into shape. I didn't have a problem shinning it up though. I have a bar of Lucite at my house, whould it be wise to make start making stems out of that? Is that something that pipe buyers look for when they are looking for a pipe? Can they tell what material the stem is made out just by looking at it?
Vulcanite and Lucite (acrylic) have a slightly different "mouth feel". Acrylic is harder. I can tell the difference by tapping it againsts my teeth, but it isn't always obvious just from looks.
You also need to use the cast acrylic. The extruded acrylic tends to melt when turned on the lathe, even at very slow speed. I have about 5' of 1" diameter that I now have no use for. I should have listened to Kurt.
You also need to use the cast acrylic. The extruded acrylic tends to melt when turned on the lathe, even at very slow speed. I have about 5' of 1" diameter that I now have no use for. I should have listened to Kurt.
Last edited by Frank on Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
Regards,
Frank.
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Grouch Happens!
People usually get the gods they deserve - Terry Pratchett
Frank.
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Grouch Happens!
People usually get the gods they deserve - Terry Pratchett
I forget which post it was, but I think you said something like "...use the molded not the extruded", without giving a particular reason.KurtHuhn wrote:Woah, woah, woah! Hold on there, mister. Since when did *I* become the voice of experience and reason?Frank wrote:I should have listened to Kurt.
My genius reasoning was, "There probably isn't that much difference, so I'll get this cheap 6' rod of it on ebay".
Result: See my original quote above.
Regards,
Frank.
------------------
Grouch Happens!
People usually get the gods they deserve - Terry Pratchett
Frank.
------------------
Grouch Happens!
People usually get the gods they deserve - Terry Pratchett