Busted Shank

[Timberwolf]

Good morning all.

Saturday I received a couple of pipe making kits along with delrin, vulcanite and some shank extension material (zebrawood, purple heart, olivewood) and dove into making my first pipe Sunday at 4:00am.

I couldn't wait to make chips! All was going well on a poker and was finish sanding when tragedy struck! I noticed a very small ridge on the bowl to shank transition and used a dremel to clear it and the dremel dug too deep. I then adjusted the rest of the transition to match the gouge depth and sacrificed the strength of the shank. As I was sanding the button on the stem, too much pressure caused the shank to snap.

<img src="http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd87 ... 488049.jpg">

Can I salvage this baby with a shank extension? Should I use the briar left sticking out of the bowl as a tenon of sorts for an extension? This was going WAY to well. Man, did it bug me when I snapped it. I couldn't get over it until I dove into pipe #2 shown below in rough form.

Thanks for your input!

<img src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd87 ... 457160.jpg">

[KurtHuhn]

It is *possible* to save that pipe with a shank made of another wood, or horn, or anything else. What I would do is get a piece of stainless steel tubing that has a 3/16" outer diameter and 5/32" inner (to match the airway). Drill a mortis of 3/16" using the existing airway hole as a guide - don't worry, the drill bit will naturally want to follow the existing hole, just go slow and be careful. This is easier on a lathe, but you could use a drill press too. I typically hold the stummel in my hands and just guide it onto the spinning bit.

Do not epoxy the steel into the hole. You'll get epoxy into the airway, and you don't want it there. The steel is just there to support the transition.

Get your shank material, give it a 3/16" mortis on one end, a mortis to match your stem on the other end, and drill the airway. To keep things simple, use a hardwood dowel, available at places like rockler and woodcraft, that comes close to the diameter of your stem. If you don't have a lathe, be sure to line it up well on your drill press.

True up the face of both your extension and what's left of your shank so that everything is straight, and epoxy the faces to each other - again, no epoxy goes into the holes.

[Timberwolf]

I received the same advice from www.my-pipes.com.

Thanks for the response! Sounds like it may be a pain in the kiester, but I would love to save that pipe.

Thanks again!

[JHowell]

For what it's worth, I would epoxy the tube into the shank, to add strength and to minimize capillary wicking of moisture between the tube and the wood. I would put only a small amount on the tube, though, and only on the tube. I would also use a thick, non-running epoxy like Brownell's Acraglas Gel. If you put any epoxy in the mortise for the tube, the tube will push it ahead into the airway. If you put it only on the tube (roughen the tube to grip the epoxy) any excess will be outside the joint, on the mortise face where it can be cleaned off. Once the tube goes in, though it stays in. Pulling it out to check something and then reinserting it will introduce epoxy into the airway. Depending on the oiliness of the wood used for the extension, this extra bond may or may not be strictly necessary, but I've heard of face joints failing on extensions, so it can't hurt. Unless, of course you get epoxy inside the airway.

[LexKY_Pipe]

Great advice Jack. I was looking for the name of that expoxy myself. Thanks.

[Alan L]

Just make sure you get the Accraglas GEL, as the standard accraglas is runny as hot honey and will get everywhere. It's also the toughest epoxy I know of, so I use it on knife handles. Not pipes!