Making a band for an old meerschaum pipe

[jim in Oregon]

A month or so back, I won a very nicely carved meerschaum pipe on e Bay for $16.00 inc postage.
It is a CPF pipe which I estimate to be close to 100 years old.
About 6" long with a half bent with real amber stem.

Carving is a large cat ( tiger?) coming around a stump with a bit of tropical foliage .Very nicely done and carving is perfect.Pipe is a darker brown varying to lighter shades as is typical of some of the older carved meers.
Anyhow, pipe had a broken bone tenon and the shank had two hairline cracks on the lower sides of the diamond shank about 3/8" long.
I knew this when considering the pipe.

I removed the remnants of the broken tenon ( one must be very careful with this operation) and among my pipe junk, found a 'new' old bone tenon which fit the threads of the amber stem.
Had I not had one, I would have made one as tap & die are familiar to my hands.
Modified the tenon length a tad to fit the shank depth.

Note:
Prior to this I did run a tiny line of quality superglue ( MaxiCure) on both interior and exterior of the cracks in the shank.
When dry, the exterior excess was gently removed using 0000 steel wool.
Every thing snugged up nicely.So far so good.

The hairline cracks bothered me so I decided to try my hand at making a band to fit the old pipe's diamond shank.

Got a .015"( 15 thousandths) thick X 1" wide 12" strip of brass sheet stock at the model plane shop for $1.99.
Took 3/4" masking tape and wrapped it around the shank with a little overlap.
Marked how I wished the band to contour at stem attachment end and the end nearest the carving.
Unwrapped the tape and trimmed with scissors to the mark.

The top of the shank from shank end to carving was only about 1/4" so I decided to make the band wider on the lower side of the diamondand the tape was trimmed accordingly.
I removed the tape after marking the lines for the cornors of the diamond shank and cut the tape so the joint of the band would be on the bottom where the band was to be widest.
I then taped the top back together and now had a tape template for the band.
Carefully( without stretching or deforming the masking tape) laid the tape template on the brass stock.
Used a sharp pair of Gingher scissors to cut the brass to the band's profiles and left about .100"(1/16") or so extra length on one end for the seam-joint.

Smoothed the edges with a fine Dremel stone and then 200 wet or dry sandpaper under water.

Used an exacto knife to lightly score a line on the bbrass strip where the cornors of the diamond were to be so I could bend the brass.

Before I bent the brass into a diamond shape, I decided to add some texture to the band's surface.

I did this by placing the brass piece flat on my bench vise
'anvil' with a new piece of 60 grit sandpaper atop it and tapping the entire surface with a very small hammer.
The sandpaper left a pleasing texture to the brass surface..sort of matte-antigued look rather than buffed-shiny surface of the brass as it came..

Then using the same small hammer I used the sharp cornor edge of the small anvil( part of the 6" bench vise) to make the bends.
I finished the bends with the back edge of a small knife clamped in the vise and gently tapping with the brass hammer( old gunsmithing hammer)

Then I tweaked the band( not yet joined into a continuous band) and did the final fitting so the band fit snugly and was flush where the stem screws onto the threaded tenon to meet the shank.

Thought about using one of the newer superglues to join the ends of the band..or perhaps epoxy...

On a whim, I took the pipe and fashioned-fitted band up to the mall to a kiosk called 'Fast Fit Jewelry Repair".

Talked to the fellows there and showed them what I was working on and asked them IF they could join the ends of the brass band neatly..and the cost.
The one fellow was not over 25 years old but pretty talented...and tho not any jewelry fix he'd encountered, he knew what was needed.

He had a small laser 'welding' machine there in the kiosk.
He looked at the fit, asked a few questions and marked the band where the seam-weld needed to be made.
He welded the seam first, then using a scrap of the brass I'd brought along, filled the edge of the seam inside and out with brass, also using the laser welder.
A bit of fine buffing and it was done.Perfect fit, snug to the pipe's hank all around and attractive.
Cost was 10.00 to me for his 30 minutes of work while I waited.

The laser welder has eyepieces almost like the LASIK surgery machines used to do eye surgery.The welding is precise and made for the smallest repairs on jewelry, ring settingpoints etc.

Anyhow, Thot I describe the first band I'd attempted to make for a pipe I really like.
The appearance of the pipe now actually looks better than original to me and the brass band, while not sterling, nickel silver or gold nor ornately stamped with flowers or cherubs, fits the wildlife carving nicely and adds a degree of strength to the shank with the two hairline cracks.

The case was worn but in good condition.A bit of gle on the leather trip, a light dye wash with Fiebings leather dye overall outside and a light coat of satin varnish and the case looks nice, tho vintage.

I am NOT a pipe repairman, tho I have made pipes or briar and meerschaum as well as stems, both new and for old pipes all by hand.

Just wanted to encourage those who may need a band for a favorite( not a $200.00 or 2,000 pipe) and want to give it a try themselves..
When one learns new things and they come out well, there is good satisfaction in it.

Anyone has a really valuable collector pipe in need of such a repair should consider Tim West or one of the other talented pipe repairmen out there.Regards, Jim