Blog by Troy Wilburn
This is the other pipe I got with the Doc Watson. Both came from the same owner estate sale – an old gentleman that had them has since passed on to glory. The two pipes have been together longer than I have been alive. It’s an early Yello Bole in that it has the Imported Bruyere stamp but no “Honey Cured Briar” along with the 2033 four digit shape stamp. I’m guessing 1930 – 1933 roughly.
The pipe as it was when I got it.
I started out by removing most of the cake, then sanding inner bowl with some rough grit paper leaving a thin coat of cake. Next I cleaned out inner shank and stem with 91% alcohol. On these large airway YBs I like to twist 2-3 shank brushes together for better scrubbing. I also scrubbed outer stem with 91% alcohol and a Scotch Brite pad to remove grease, oil, wax etc. This is easiest way I’ve found to remove rim cake. I mix up some Oxy Clean and warm water. Dip a piece of Scotch Brite pad in it leaving it not quite dripping wet. Lay it flat on surface and move rim along lightly. It takes it off pretty fast and will not harm under finish if you are trying to save it. It will leave it discolored but a little mineral oil will bring the color back to original.
Next I went ahead and scrubbed bowl and stem with same pad and Oxy Clean solution. It will remove contaminants and not hurt the finish just dull it. It will remove any light oxidation from stem that might be present. I scrub the stem harder than the bowl. Next I went ahead and scrubbed bowl and stem with same pad and Oxy Clean solution. It will remove contaminants and not hurt the finish just dull it. It will remove any light oxidation from stem that might be present. I scrub the stem harder than the bowl. After getting a good look at the bowl after old dirt and such was removed the finish looks toasted. Sadly it cannot be saved.
So I went ahead and sanded bowl with 400-2000 grit sandpaper. Never touching the stampings with any grit sandpaper less than 1200 grit. I will leave a defect or mark near a stamping just so it won’t be harmed. Luckily the stain I had left over from the Doc Watson was a good match so I was able to use it. I applied three coats letting in dry in between. After third coat of stain I like to apply mineral oil to help the grain stand out and condition the briar. The mineral oil lets you see any defects in the finish and what the bowl will look like when waxed. I set it to the side and let it air dry. I had to do some filing on the stem and button to remove some tooth marks. If you noticed in before pic the stem did not fit tight to the shank, so I filed down tenon a little at a time until it fit tight.
I wet sanded the stem again using 400-2000 grit sandpaper. I put the bowl and stem back together and it is ready for some buffing and wax. On bowls I’ve stained I put about 3 coats of base wax then go back over with white Tripoli then go back to wax .
On the stems I use brown Tripoli, white Tripoli and then wax. Here are pics of the finished pipe.
It was missing a stinger so I dug out an extra I had and cleaned it up.
It should make a fine daily smoker and better than most any pipe I could buy today for under a 100 dollars. I have less than 12 dollars in it.
Troy, Very nice work. For this pipe to be as old as it is, you can see the quality difference from modern pipes in the shape and grain. Keep up the good work!
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Thank you and i agree completely about the old pipes.
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What a rich looking finish!
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What is amazing with the rich stain is that Troy is using a water based stain of RIT dye. It really has some depth to it.
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Thank you
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Thanks Aaron
You may think this is odd but i use a water based fabric dyes , They are very cheap comes in a variety of colors for mixing and basically are the same as water based stain . I use a brand called Rit , the powder form ones . I do all my refurbs pretty much in my kitchen so i store all my materials in a a certain kitchen cabinet , I like the dry powder dyes for safe storage in the house .
It will raise the grain to a certain degree but that does help the brair soak it up , What little it does raise a good wipe down with mineral oil takes care of it and helps lock the dye in .
I do tend to dye mine a little darker then i want because buffing it with wax the first time will take some of the color off and make it a tad lighter.
On that particular color there i use a deep red dye they offer with a touch of orange.
I save money doing it this way and it seems to work for me .
I can do a lot of pipes with a few boxes of dye .I purchased a bunch of colors on closeout at the store i work at for .49 cents a box and have done at least 25 pipes with them and havent even come close to using up half the dye i got .
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Love those old Yello Boles! Did yours have any fills in it? Interesting use of stain as well. I started out using shoe polish, it has alcohol based stain in it plus wax, but switched to stain from Pimo Pipe Supply. They sell powdered stain that you add denatured alcohol to. I store my stain in old baby food jars, Look forward to more of your work.
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I could not find any fills in it.
I look forward to putting up so,e more work on rebornpipes as well .
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Very nice! That old Yello-Bole has some great grain. What kind (and color) of stain/dye did you use? I also like your rule of ” Never touching the stampings with any grit sandpaper less than 1200 grit.”
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Sorry for replying above and not here . Its quite different than the forum im used to posting on.
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