cheap stems for newbies

[MrChurchwarden]

Hey guys, I recently was toying around and made a black walnut pipe, but don't have the capability/skill to make my own stem, and also didnt want to pay for an expensive one. I found my answer in aristocob.com who sells replacement bits for around 5 bucks including shipping. I think its under a dollar per stem and If you get a few the savings really add up. Now, they are relatively short and pretty crappy( i had to sand some obvious flaws) but I feel like for the newbies out there its a good option.

[MadTinker]

What size air way hole are they? Are they the big holes for Filters??

[Wallbright]

Those look like very cheap plastic ones? Is there a place to purchase vulcanite stems?

[KurtHuhn]

In the U.S.
JH Lowe (Tim West)
Pipemakers Emporium
PIMO Pipecraft
American Smoking Pipe Company (Mark Tinsky)

And a handful more. All have excellent web presences.

[Wallbright]

Thank you Kurt. I purchased some off of ebay but I have no idea what I am doing so I joined here. I also was looking for an alternative in case none of these fit the pipe I am trying to repair. I am pretty good with my hands so hopefully I can figure this out. Link to Ebay lot.

[KurtHuhn]

One word of caution: all premold stems will need fitted to the stummel they're destined for. All premold stems will come with a very roughtly molded tenon, that is significantly oversized.

[Wallbright]

One word of caution: all premold stems will need fitted to the stummel they're destined for. All premold stems will come with a very roughtly molded tenon, that is significantly oversized.

Is this hard to do?

[KurtHuhn]

Most folks use a lathe to cut down the tenon, or use a delrin tenon.

Procedures
Using delrin tenons:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1530

Hand cut stems with delrin tenons (applicable to premolds as well by omitting some steps):
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3537

And some pictures:
http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/

[MrChurchwarden]

yeah they are cheap plastic, but for someone who is making them just starting out i think they are fine. For instance, I procured a 4 ft black walnut branch and am just making some pipes to learn the shaping process, as it is also my first woodworking experience. I have no need for vulcanite really, as they most likely won't be smoked, I just want to be able to practice the stummel and stem transitions

[Alan L]

I've never understood the logic of practicing with a material that doesn't work in any way similarly to what you intend to use for actual objects.

Kinda like teaching yourself to whittle figurines in cold butter assuming it'll work just the same in hardwood or acrylic...

That same $5 will get you a real vulcanite premolded stem (more in quantity) or a lucite pen blank you can carve your own stem from. And yes, I know vulcanite works a bit differently than acrylic/lucite, but any stem you make from these will be more permanent and look better than those cheap plastic corncob stems.

[MrChurchwarden]

from what i have been able to find online, vulcanite seems to run more in the 20 dollar range

[Sasquatch]

Where are you looking? I can get stems for 1.50 each out of PIMO, pipemakers, jhlowe...

[KurtHuhn]

Look here:
http://www.jhlowe.com/bits-rubber.htm

You can a dozen stems for less than $10.

[Wallbright]

Are those stems pre-drilled Kurt? Or would the drilling still need to be done?

[KurtHuhn]

They are drilled through, though I do suggest you use at least a 9/64" tapered drill to ream them to get rid of molding flash and to smooth the airway. This is necessary on all premold stems, no matter where they come from. If you skip that step, it won't smoke nearly as well.

In short, a premold stem needs:
- the tenon cut to size
- the airway reamed to size
- the shape tweaked to match your pipe
- the button size tweaked
- the "bite area" thinned for comfort

It sounds (or reads) like more work than it is.

[Wallbright]

I will try my best and post up pictures if it turns out semi decent. These are my personal pipes though so I don't really mind if they don't look their best, only if they smoke well.