Minimum mortise wall thickness

[Michl]

I have a pipe with a broken stem and I am
considering the possibility of remaking it
for a 6mm or 9mm filter. What is the
minimum thickness the shank's mortise
wall should have. (If it is relevant, the
shank has a silver band.).

Also, assuming a Delrin tenon, what is
the minimum thickness it should have?
I have a Danish pipe with a 1.5mm wall
on the tenon, which holds a 9mm filter.
Should I emulate that?

M

[Sasquatch]

If the stem is banded tightly, you can get away with a much thinner mortise wall than you could with no banding.

I would say you'd be pushing your luck below 3/32" but that's just because 1/16 sounds too thin and 1/8 sounds perfectly thick.


All the 9mm pipes I've ever seen had about 1.5mm tenon walls, which is pretty thin. Mostly acrylic though... don't know if I've seen a delrin one.

[Michl]

If the stem is banded tightly, you can get away with a much thinner mortise wall than you could with no banding.

I would say you'd be pushing your luck below 3/32" but that's just because 1/16 sounds too thin and 1/8 sounds perfectly thick.


All the 9mm pipes I've ever seen had about 1.5mm tenon walls, which is pretty thin. Mostly acrylic though... don't know if I've seen a delrin one.

Yes, on the Danish pipe the stem and tenon is acrylic. I was assuming I would be repairing the
broken pipe with a Delrin tenon, but maybe I shouldn;t. The stem is a lucite stem and maybe I should repair it with a lucite tenon?

[Frank]

Yes, on the Danish pipe the stem and tenon is acrylic. I was assuming I would be repairing the broken pipe with a Delrin tenon, but maybe I shouldn;t. The stem is a lucite stem and maybe I should repair it with a lucite tenon?

Delrin is more forgiving/flexible than lucite/acrylic. There's much less chance of damaging a delrin tenon. Furthermore, because of the flexibility of delrin, there's less likelihood of cracking a thinner walled shank.