A friend brought over a pipe that he had commissioned (I will NOT name the maker - it is a very well made pipe however). He likes short pipes and this one he decided was too long and the proportion of the shank to stem he didn't like either. He wanted me to shorten the stem.
After looking at it, we decided to go to about 3/4 of an inch shorter. Had to get to a spot where there was enough material for a new button.
So, I marked it with masking tape and ground it down.
I'm sure you've already noticed the problem here. We're past the taper from the stem drill 8O So the hole in the stem here is quite large! Looked like about 1/8 or 9/64.
After grinding it down and squaring it up, I cut a new button, slit, and funnel. Then tapered it and flushed it up with the rest of the stem. After shaping and cutting it as thin as I dared I handed it to him. He was thrilled with the new length and shape. He said he likes thick bits too, so that worked out.
Finished cleaning it up with sandpaper and buffed. End result was a happy customer. And about 45 minutes to an hour of my time.
However, I've never had someone request a shorter stem. Is this common?
Oh, I didn't recut a new tenon and go at it that way as there was a logo on the stem and it would have been cut off. So it was easier to grind it and reshape.
Joel
