Tag Archives: banding

Shaping a Round Metal Band to Fit a Square or Diamond Shank

I have been working on refining the process of shaping the nickel bands that I use in repairing cracked shanks. The pressure fitting of round or oval bands is relatively easy. The round bands merely need to be heated and then pressed into place. The oval bands need to be “squashed” to size. This is a bit trickier in that you need to figure out the diameter of the “unsquashed” circle of the shank and match that with the band size that will be used. Doing this has been a bit of an experimental process for me. I am getting to where I can estimate the size and when it is shaped accordingly it fits well. But that took time. I have no special tools to help with the measurements other than a tape measure that enables me to get close to the size I want to begin with.

Tools of the trade

The starting point – a round band

But when it comes to shaping a diamond shanked band or a square shanked band that is a different matter altogether. I begin with a band that has the same diameter as the shank of the pipe I am going to work on. I squeeze it to an oval and try to pinch both ends to get a fold. I then squeeze it into an oval the other direction and pinch the ends. This gives me a band that is in essence a square with a bulge on each side.

Squashed to an oval – step 1

Squashed to an oval the other direction – leaving an odd shaped almost square

Once I have the basic shape squared as it appears above, I use a flat blade screwdriver to square up the corners. I place the blade of the screwdriver flat against the inside edge from one side to the other and then push the outside edge with my fingertips working my way around the square on both sides. With this process I have roughly squared up the band and it is ready to be placed on the shank of the pipe.

I slide it on the shank of the pipe as far as it will go without binding and then use a small furniture hammer (picture above) to square the edges of the band. I then reverse the band and do the same thing a second time. I am very careful with the hammer as I do not want to crack the shank. I merely want to get the band as square as possible before I heat it and pressure fit it on the shank. The next two photos show the squared band after it had been put on the shank and tapped into shape with the hammer. I finished by reinserting the screwdriver and squaring off the corners.

The square is done

The band is squared and ready to be pressure fitted.

The new band is in place on the shank.

That is the journey in photos and words from a round to a diamond/square band. As you work with bands and improve upon my method keep us posted. I am always open to learning better and more efficient ways of working. One thought I have had is to get square blocks of various sizes of either hardwood or metal and use these inserted in the band to allow me to flatten the band more thoroughly and sharpen the corners. But until then what you see in this article is what I do and so far it works for me.

Reclaiming an EPW Bulldog – Restoring it Twice

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Blog by Steve Laug

This old time long shanked bulldog was a mess when I got it. At first glance it looks pretty good. But it was not. The shank had previously been banded and that band was lost. It was a deep band and filigreed so it left marks. There were also two large cracks in the shank that extended about an inch into the length. The rim was clean but the top portion of the bulldog shape – above the double rings was also stained and filled with holes from the nails that had held the decorated rim cap in place. There were four holes – back, front and both sides. There were also deep gouges where the decorative border had cut into the briar. The stamping was faint and read EPW in an oval. There was no stem with this one either so it would need to have one made. The overall finish on the bowl was not too bad in that it was not dented or burned or damaged on the sides and undersides of the bowl. I decided to try banding the shank and see what I could do about the cracks on the top right side of the shank and the lower left side of the shank. They would in all likelihood be an issue. I did not have a deep band so I tried with a narrower band (about ½ inch deep). I shaped a round band with a flat blade screwdriver and a hammer until it was the right shape to fit the shank. I heated the band and pressed it into place.

The next three photos show the band in place. If you look close in the photos below you can see the crack on the top of the right side shank. The one on the left underside of the shank did not come out in the photos. You can also see the nail holes in the bowl above the double rings.

The next series of three photos shows the fitting of a new tenon. I drilled the stem and then used a tap to thread the stem so that I could screw in the new tenon. In the photos below you can see the tap in the stem and the new threaded tenon just above the bowl at the centre of the picture. The third photo shows the hole in the stem threaded and ready for the new tenon.

Once the stem was ready I dripped a little superglue on the tenon and screwed it into the stem. The next two photos show the tenon in place. I still needed to turn it with the Pimo tenon turner to reduce the size to fit the shank of the pipe.

I used the tenon turner and reduce the diameter of the tenon until it was close to fitting and then hand sanded it until it fit correctly. With the cracked shank the fit was critical. I did not want the tenon too big as it would open the cracks. The two photos below show the tenon after turning. It still needed a bit more hand sanding to make a perfect fit.

The next four photos below show the restemmed pipe. The stem fit perfectly against the band and the look was exactly what I was aiming for. The issue that remained was the two cracks that extended further than the band.

The next three photos show the work of patching the nail holes and the cracks with briar dust and superglue. I packed in the briar dust with my dental pick until they were filled and then I dripped the superglue into the spots. Once they were dry I sanded them down to remove the excess and blend them into the surrounding bowl. I wanted them to be less visible and be able to be blended in with the stain when I got around to staining it.

With the nail holes filled on the front and back of the bowl I was finished with the patching for now. I still was bothered by the ones on the sides of the bowl but would deal with them later. I sanded down the patches one more time with a fine grit sanding sponge and then wiped the bowl and shank down with an alcohol dampened cotton pad to remove the dust and remaining finish. The next series of eight photos shows that process as I prepared the bowl to be restained.

I restained the pipe with an oxblood aniline stain. The next series of four photos shows the pipe after staining. The nail holes and small holes on both sides of the bowl really bothered me. The cracks, while well bonded stood out clearly and made me wonder about how well they would hold up. I laid the pipe aside for a couple days to think about some solutions to the problem. I mulled over whether I should order a deeper band for the shank or whether I should cut down the shank and make it a normal sized bulldog. I did nothing to the pipe for two days and then on the third evening I came home and went to my work table to see what I could do to deal with the damage on the old pipe.

I decided to cut off the shank at the inside edge of the nickel band. I wanted to use the nickel band as the straight edge for the saw. I have seen too many pipes where the cut off shank was poorly cut and at an angle. So I used a hacksaw that has a perfect blade for working with briar. The teeth are fine so they do not chip the wood as they cut it. The cut when completed is clean and smooth with no chips. The next three photos show the set up for cutting and the cutting process itself. (I apologize for the second photo – it is hard to saw and take a photo!) But you can get the idea. The third photo below shows the finished cut.

I took the two pieces back to my work table and removed the cut off piece of briar shank from the band. When they fell out they were in two pieces. I cleaned up the band and straightened out the angles to make sure it would fit the shortened shank. It was just a bit too deep and when in place would cover the W of the stamping but it would do a good job on the cracks. With the piece cut off the cracked shank had two very small cracks left that would easily be repaired by the band. I smoothed out the cut end with a piece of emery paper. In the second photo below you can see the cut off shank piece. It is cracked all the way through and in two pieces. Note also that the mortise was threaded for the older original screw tenon.

I put the band in place on the end of the shank. It was a good tight fit but would not slide all the way in place. So I set up my heat gun and heated the band (Photo 1 below). I then pressed it into place on the shank by squarely pushing the shank and band on a metal plate (Photo 2 below). The final three photos below show the shank with the newly fitted band in place. The shank is ready to be drilled deeper to fit the tenon.

I matched the drill bit to the mortise in the cut off piece of shank. I used a drill bit one size lower and drilled the mortise to the depth of the tenon. I then used the proper sized drill bit and drilled it a bit larger. Once I had the drilling down I sanded down the tenon with some emery cloth to make a clean tight fit and inserted the stem. Once the stem fit well I decided to rework the nail holes and holes in the sides of the top half of the bowl above the double rings. I packed in briar dust and dripped super glue in to them. The next two photos show the repaired/filled holes.

The glue and briar dust dried quickly so I sanded them with 320 grit sandpaper to smooth them out to the surface of the briar. The next four photos show the sanded patches and also the sanded stem. I used the same sandpaper to sand off the oxidation on the stem and clean up the surface of the stem so that I could work on it with the micromesh to bring out a deep black shine. (In the background of the photos I left the piece of cut off shank for a sense of the size of the piece I removed from the length of the pipe.)

At this point in the process I was ready to work the stem with micromesh sanding pads to remove all of the scratches and bring back the deep black. The shorter stem gave the pipe a great look in my opinion. The finished length is 5 inches as opposed to 5 ½ inches but it looks more balanced to me. The loss is the long shanked look of the original bulldog. The gain is a more solid pipe with less chance for the breakage to continue and render the pipe irreparable.

The next series of photos show the progress of sanding with the micromesh pads from 1500 – 12,000 grit. The first four photos show the stem after I wet sanded with the 1500, 1800 and 2400 grit micromesh. After wet sanding I polished the stem with some Maguiar’s Scratch X2.0 and then took it to the buffer and buffed the stem with Tripoli and White Diamond.

I then dry sanded with 3200 -12,000 grit micromesh sanding pads. The next series of seven photos show the progress of the developing shine on the stem. Once I finished with the 12,000 grit pad I wiped down the stem with Obsidian Oil and when dry buffed it with White Diamond for a final time. The only thing remaining was a final buff with carnauba wax.

The final four photos below show the finished pipe. I applied several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe and stem with a soft flannel buff to give it the final shine. When I started on this pipe I would have never guessed that I would refurbish it twice, band it twice, stain it twice, work the stem twice, and on goes the list of second times on this one. But the end product speaks for itself. I like the look of the shortened shank and tight band. This one will outlast me in its service to pipemen in the days ahead.

CPF French Briar Bulldog Restemmed and Refurbished

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This morning I decided to start working on one of the pipes that came in the lot of bowls I picked up off of EBay. I chose one of the CPF Bulldogs. It looks to be an old timer. It also looked like it had quite a different look in times past as there were signs of a band on the shank and something around the rim as well. It could well have been the gold/brass filigree that is often seen on these old timers but there is no way of telling for sure. The bowl rim was clean as if once the decoration was removed the briar underneath was raw stain. The bowl itself was also absolutely clean on the inside – taken back to bare briar. Around the inside of the rim there were several small nail holes that looked like they held the rim cap in place. These holes were also on the outside as well though they had all been patched. The shank was cracked and repaired. The repair looks to be old and may well have been under the band that had disappeared. The mortise was originally threaded but that had been drilled almost smooth. I had a stem in my box of stem that would fit with a little work. It was the right size and the angles on the diamond matched those on the stem – a rare feat to be sure. I would not have to do much sanding to bring it fit well. The finish was clean but there were lines on the bowl and the shank from the cap and band. The stamping was clear – CPF in an oval with French above and Briar below. It had a gold paint that had been applied to the stamping and it was very clean. The series of three photos below show the condition of the pipe and the new stem when I began this morning.

I asked Robert Boughton about the CPF brand stamp as he is currently refurbishing an old CPF Meerschaum and had done work on the brand. He sent me the following information:
“Chuck (Richards) assigned to me the challenge of finding out what CPF stood for and anything else I could learn… I found conclusive evidence that despite several other names associated with CPF, it indeed stands for Colossus Pipe Factory…Below are the links I sent to Chuck at the time and a few more. But again, it’s nothing Chuck didn’t already know. He also knew it would be good experience for me and that I would enjoy the task! Indeed, I was proud of my findings!”

http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=C…s_Pipe_Factory Bottom of center row of newspaper clip
http://www.google.com/search?q=colos…w=1600&bih=658
http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.html See CPF — includes briars
http://pipesmokersforum.com/communit…ing-one.10858/
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedi…pipe-287735110
http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/es…oduct_id=74274

With that information in hand, thanks to Robert, I went to work on this older American bulldog to bring it back to life. I had an old nickel band that fit pretty well to the shank. It was shorter than the original band but it covered the repair in the shank. I heated it and pressure fit it to the shank. It was a bit dented and would need to be straightened once it was in place. I then worked on the stem to get it fit the shank and band connection. I used medium grit emery paper to remove some of the vulcanite to get the sides and angles of the stem to match the shank. This had to be done carefully so as not to change the angles. Each side had to have the same amount of material removed to keep the diamond angles even. The next series of four photos show the stem after it has been shaped and sanded to match the shank and the band.

I cleaned out the inside of the stem as it was very dirty. I had sanded down most of the oxidation and the calcification on the stem earlier but needed to work on that some more. I also used a dental pick to clean out the slot as it was packed tightly on both sides of a small centre hole what was left. I finished sanding with medium grit emery cloth and move on to 320 grit sandpaper to begin to work on the scratches in the stem. The next three photos show the stem after sanding with the emery paper (photo 1) and then the 320 grit sandpaper (photo 2-3).

At this point in the process I decided to bend the stem to get the flow of the pipe correct. In retrospect I could have waited until I had polished the stem to do the bend. But I was curious to see the look of the bent stem on the pipe bowl so I set up my heat gun and carried the stem to the gun. I have been using a hardwood rolling pin that my wife discarded as the curves to bend the stem over. I find that using this keeps the bend straight and also gives me the degree of curve I wanted. I adjust the curve by where I put the stem on the pin to bend it. I use low heat on my heat gun and move the stem quickly over the heat about 3 inches above the tip. It does not take long to heat it to the point it is ready to bend and then I lay it over the pin and bend it. I hold it in place until it cools enough to set the bend. The next series of three photos show my set up for bending the stem.

I then decided to work on the bowl of the pipe. I wiped it down with acetone on a cotton pad being careful to avoid the gold stamping in the shank. I also sanded the line around the rim and the shank with 320 grit sandpaper and then with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to try to minimize the line around both points. I used a flat tip screw driver blade as a smooth surface to hammer out the dents and rough spots on the band. I also laid the shank flat on a board and used the screw driver tip to smooth the inside edge of the band and square up the corners of the diamond. The next series of six photos show that process. I finished by inserting the stem and continuing to smooth out the band.

I wiped the bowl down with another acetone wetted cotton pad to remove the sanding dust from the bowl and the rings around the bowl. I used a dental pick and retraced the rings to clean them out as well of previous wax and dirt that catches in those spots. The photo below shows the pipe bowl ready to restain.

Before staining I worked on the stem some more to smooth out the remaining scratches and bring it to a shine. I used micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to bring the stem to a glossy finish. The next twelve photos show the progress shine developing after each successive grit of micromesh sanding pad was used.

Once the stem was done I was ready to stain the pipe. I used an oxblood aniline stain to restain the pipe. I applied it with a cotton swab, flamed it, restained and flamed it a second time. The next two photos show the bowl with the oxblood stain applied just before I flamed it. Once I had flamed it I took it to the buffer and buffed it with White Diamond.

After I buffed it with White Diamond I gave it repeated buffing with carnauba wax to protect the stem and the bowl. The next four photos show the finished pipe.

Restemming a Custombilt Look Alike

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This morning I decided to restem an old Custombilt look alike pot that I had in my box of pipes for repair. I am getting down to only twenty or so pipes left so it is the pipes I have left until the end. Some of these I left because they had no charm to me and others because I just was not ready to work on them. This old no name pot was one of the ones that held no charm for me. The rim was pretty covered with grit and grime. The finish was not in too bad a shape. There was a small crack in the shank which would need to be banded and then the matter of matching a stem to the pipe hung in the air. This morning I went through my can of pipe stems and found an old cast off taper stem that was the right diameter to match the shank. The tenon would need to be sanded to fit the mortise. I set it aside and reamed the pipe and cleaned the shank before fitting the stem. I opened the crack in the shank a bit with some pressure from a dental pick and dripped some super glue into the crack and held it tight until it set. I then heated a nickel band and pressure fit it to the shank. I sanded the tenon by hand with 240 grit sandpaper until the fit was snug.

Once the stem was a good snug fit I went to work on the bowl. I cleaned the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a soft bristle tooth brush. I wanted to remove as much of the grim from the rim as possible and clean up the rustication on the rim surface without damaging the finish. I repeated the process by applying the soap, scrubbing and wiping it off with a cloth.

When the rim was clean I wiped down the outside of the bowl with the Oil soap as well and removed the grime that remained on the surface. I then wiped the entire bowl down with some acetone on a cotton pad to even out the stain colouring. Once it was dry I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the pipe and stem with Tripoli and White Diamond.

I sanded the stem with a sponge backed medium grit sandpaper. I find that this allows me to get into the crevices on the button and to follow the shape and taper of the stem well. At this point the two photos below show the stem after the buffing and sanding. I spent a bit of time working on some tooth marks along the edge of the button on both the top and the bottom of the stem. You can see the work that has been done near the button in the photos below.

I worked on the stem with the micromesh sanding pads using the 1500, 1800 and the 2400 grit with water to sand out the scratches and the remaining oxidation. At the conclusion of this process the stem was a nice matte black and the oxidation was basically history as can be seen in the photos below.

At this point in my stem rejuvenating process I rub the stem down with Maguiar’s Scratch X 2.0 a fine scratch and blemish remover intended for cleaning and polishing plastic headlight lenses. I rub it on by hand and then scrub it off with a cotton pad until the stem is clean. When I finish with the polish I move on to the next grits of micromesh 3200-12,000 grit and sand until the finish is a polished black with a depth to it. I dry sand with these grits of micromesh. Between the 4000 and 6000 grit pads I took it to the buffer and gave it a buff with White Diamond. I found that the oxidation at the shank end of the stem was still present after the buffing and would require some more work with the earlier grits of micromesh. I buffed that end with some Tripoli and then decided to try the Bic Lighter method to address the remaining oxidation. Once that was finished I sanded the stem with the higher grits of micromesh 4000-12,000 and then coated the stem with Obsidian Oil. I buffed the stem with White Diamond and then reinserted it in the pipe and gave the entire pipe a final buffing with multiple coats of carnauba wax. Here is the finished pipe.

New Life for a Wally Frank Super Delicious Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have become familiar with many of the Wally Frank lines of pipes but this was one I had not heard of before. It almost sounds like something to eat rather than smoke. It is stamped Wally Frank Ltd on the left side of the shank and on the right Super Delicious – interesting stamping indeed. The pipe was one of the bowls that I had in my box needing to be restemmed. It also had a cracked shank that was present before I matched a stem to it. Often a shank will crack like this if a tenon that is oversized is forced into the shank. That obviously had happened to this old pipe sometime in its life. I found a stem that fit the shank and inserted it enough to show the crack in the shank for the first photo below. The crack approximately ½ inch long and was in a portion of the shank where it was thinner than the other side. One of the challenges in restemming these older pipes is the fact that the shank is very often out of round and the stem has to be shaped to match it accordingly. The bowl has some nice grain on it and was well worth restoring. The remaining three photos in the first group of four show the grain and shape of the pipe. Note that rim was not only darkened but was worn on the front edge of the outer rim.

I reamed out the bowl and removed the cake that was present only in the top half of the bowl. It seemed that the lower portion of the bowl was not even broken in. The top of the bowl needed to be topped to even out the flat top of the bowl. The way the angle was after the tars and grime were removed was d a slight slant toward the front of the bowl and the front edge was rounded from tapping out the bowl repeatedly on a hard surface. I used the board and sandpaper to top the bowl and even out the top. I also made certain that the bowl was held against the board to even out the angle and make the top smooth and flat. The first photo below shows how out of round the shank is in proportion to the mortise. Notice the difference in thickness all around the shank diameter. The crack in the shank is at about 3 o’clock on the shank. The next two photos show the bowl after it has been topped and is even with no slant toward the back or front of the bowl.

After I had topped the bowl and evened things out I wiped the entirety of the bowl down with acetone on a soft cotton pad to remove the grime and the remaining finish on the bowl. It came off almost black when I was finished cleaning it. I then needed to band the crack shank. I opened it with the stem and then dripped a bit of superglue in the crack before pressure fitting the band in place. The first photo below shows the shape of the shank and makes the thin area very clear. This would require quite a bit of shaping to make the stem fit the shank correctly. The next two photos show the banded stem and how it fits on the shank. I kind of like the look of the band against the natural colour of the briar.

The next two photos below show the stem shape after I had removed much of the material at the top left corner of the picture. The stem is round at this point but the tenon is no longer in the center of the stem. It is proportionately toward the top left of the picture and on the top bottom when it is in place in the shank.

At this point in the process I restained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain that I thinned with isopropyl alcohol so that it would match the colour of the bowl. My goal was to match the rim that I had topped and was raw briar to the natural patina of the bowl and shank. I mixed the stain until it was the colour I was aiming for and then stained the entire bowl with multiple applications of the stain to the rim. I flamed the stain and reapplied it to the rim, flamed it again and then took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Tripoli and White Diamond. Once I was done with that I buffed the bowl and shank with multiple coats of carnauba wax to bring depth to the shine and also to blend the rim and bowl together.

I then worked on the oxidation of the stem. I had shaped it to fit the shank with my Dremel and when it fit well I sanded the stem from front to button with 280 grit sandpaper and then 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper to remove the oxidation and scratch marks from the Dremel. Once it was smooth I progressed through the micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit. In between 4000 and 6000 grits I polished the stem with Maguiar’s Scratch X 2.0 and then finished sanding with the micromesh. I finished the stem with a coat of Obsidian Oil and then multiple coats of carnauba wax to give it shine. The next series of four photos show the finished pipe. It is shined and ready to smoke.

Banding a cracked shank – Pressure fitting a metal band on a pipe shank

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Blog by Steve Laug

There are many options in terms of the bands that can be used to repair a cracked shank or to give a cosmetic facelift to a pipe shank. Pipe Makers Emporium carries nickel, silver and gold bands in both short and long lengths. They also carry end caps should you want to use an end cap on a pipe or do a repair on a Peterson pipe. I have included pictures of the options that you can choose with regard to bands. I personally purchased the nickel banding assortment that is in the first photograph. It gives you a wide range of diameter bands that can be used. From this I then replenished the areas that I needed more and also added some silver, gold and end caps to the lot. This set up has worked for me for many years and I just add as necessary.

Pipe Makers Emporium also sells a banding tool that they advertise as making banding more simple. I have not used the tool as I find that my method works well for me. I will detail my procedure below and include photos of the process.

My process for banding a pipe will be seen in the following photos and the accompanying description of the work.

The pipe that I needed to band had a crack in the shank at the top. You can see the length of the crack. I always clean it out with a dental pick and drip some superglue into the crack and squeeze it together with a clamp that has rubber on the teeth. Once the glue is dry – which is actually very quick – I choose a proper band (in the case of the pipe that I picture below it is a 13.5mm nickel band). The ideal choice is a band that is approximately the same size as the diameter of the shank. You do not want it too large as it will slide when the pipe is disassembled or heated. You also want one that will bind together the crack in the shank. The 13.5mm was perfect and matched the size of the shank.

I place the band on the end of the shank – in this case it only fit minimally along ¾ of the band. One edge was too tight to fit. I heat the band with a heat gun, being careful not to burn wood – this generally only takes a few moments.

I then pressed the shank into the band on a piece of soft carpet that is on a solid table top. Do not force the fit as a heated band will tear. Reheat it until it is pliable enough to fit the shank well. When you are satisfied as to the fit and placement of the band, cool the band slowly before proceeding to work on the edges. I use room temperature water and dip the end of the shank with the band into the water. If you use the tool here you can press the end into the bowl at the end of the tool to round the edges and make for a nice fit. I use a piece of tightly woven wool carpet and twist the end of the banded shank into the carpet. In my opinion this does the same thing as the shank tool.

When the band is in place the pipe is ready for the stem to be refitted. Often the tenon will need to be reduced in diameter to fit the tightened shank. In the case of this pipe I needed to fit a stem as the bowl did not come to me with its stem. I used sandpaper to turn the tenon down to size on an older stem that I had in my jar of stems. The next series of photos show the band in place on the shank. It is pressure fit and it is tight and immovable. The third photo shows the top view of the shank and you will notice that the crack that was very visible before is now no longer visible. The fourth and fifth photos show an end view of the fit of the band. It is flush with the end of the shank so that the new stem will fit snugly in place.

The next series of four photos show the new stem that is fitted to the pipe. There is still some oxidation that needs to be removed from it but you can see the fit and finish of the stem and the banded shank.

New Life for a BBB Ultima Thule Pocket Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I picked up this little BBB in the same lot as the little BBB bulldog that I posted about recently. It is a similar pocket size (4 and ½ inches) and needed a bit of work. It is stamped BBB in the standard diamond and over that Ultima Thule. (According to Wikipedia the name refers to any distant place beyond the known world.) Under the diamond it is stamped Own Make. The first two pictures are the EBay seller’s photos. When the pipe arrived I can honestly say that the seller did a great job on taking honest photos. The pipe was solid but in rough shape. The rim was slanted toward the front and round all the way around with many nicks and dents in it from tamping the pipe out. It was still round on the inner edge which is pretty amazing on these old timers. This was a pretty well cared for pipe other than the tamping. The finish was dirty and spotty – lighter in some places than others – with a mottled look to it. The stem was oxidized and the edge/ shoulder at the shank junction was rounded and no longer a good smooth fit. There were no bite marks on the stem and the surface was smooth under the oxidation. This would not be a bad clean up.

I separated the stem and bowl and reamed the bowl. I wiped the exterior with acetone to remove the remaining finish and the grime. Then I placed the bowl in the alcohol bath to soak while I worked on the stem.

The stem actually was relatively easy to clean up. I wiped it down with a damp magic eraser and removed the majority of oxidation. Then I sanded it with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper followed by 1200-6000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I gave it a coating of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. Once the bowl was finished I would buff them together. I did not want to chance rounding the edges even more. I also did not want to lose any more of the button on the pipe stem by over buffing.

I removed the bowl from the alcohol bath after 1 hour of soaking. I dried it off and cleaned out the shank with pipe cleaners, shank brush and cotton swabs soaked in isopropyl alcohol. I worked those until they came out clean. I used sandpaper on the interior of the bowl to smooth out the remaining cake and clean the surface. I wiped it down with cotton swabs and isopropyl afterwards. I used the sanding board and paper to top the bowl and bring it back to a flat and even condition. I did not have to remove very much of the top but I wanted it to be straight and not slanted toward the front. I used my normal variety of sandpapers (280, 400 and 600) to do this and finished it with micromesh sanding pads 1200-6000 to remove the remaining scratches. I wiped down the bowl with a cotton pad dampened with acetone to remove any sanding dust and remnants of the topping process. I restained this bowl with an oxblood stain thinned with isopropyl to arrive at the original colour. I flamed the stain and when dry took it to the buffer and gave it a buff with White Diamond.

I reinserted the stem and the gap and roundness of the shoulders on the stem made a smooth fit impossible to attain. I decided to use an old BBB band that I had in my box and heated it and pressure fit it to the shank. I liked the finished look of the pipe. I gave the entirety several coats of carnauba wax and a polishing buff with a clean flannel buffing pad. The pictures below show the finished product.

Stemming an Alan Stevenson Long Shanked Apple

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I was gifted this stummel by a friend who passed on one of Alan`s rejects or cast off pipes that just did not make the grade for him. This one came to me unfinished and without a stem. I worked on it quite a while trying to fit a stem. That seems like it should have been an easy task but it was not. There was a twist in the drilling of the airway that made all stems fit at an angle rather than facing straight on the shank.

I stained the pipe with a black under stain and then buffed it off to highlight the grain and then gave it a top stain of medium brown. I opened the airway a bit large to straighten it as much as possible. I faced the shank with sandpaper to even things out as much as possible. The problem with the twist in the airway did not allow a stem to face correctly so I banded the shank with a pressure fit nickel band. I fit a stem from my stem can so that the tenon fit well and then did minor adjustments to the outer diameter of the saddle to make a proper fit into the band. With the band I left it extended beyond the edge of the shank by a 1/8^th of an inch. The stem fit well into that area for a good tight fit. I polished the stem and the bowl with White Diamond and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax to finish.

Restemmed Savinelli Hand Carved Folk Art Bowl

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I picked up the three pipes below at an antique mall in Washington. The third one is the one about which I am writing this article. It came with the two stems pictured with it below. Neither of them fit the pipe. I decided to work on a tapered stem for this one. The bowl as badly faded in terms of colouration. One side was darker than the other. The rim was darkened and tarred. What attracted me to this pipe was the interesting folk art carving on the bowl. There was a hand carved vine that was carved around the bowl top with and interesting line on the top and bottom of the design. There was also a sheaf of leaves on the front of the bowl. There were also the initials C. J. I believe carved in the front of the bowl. They were done in an old Germanic style script. The carving was nicely done and very folksy. I decided to pick it up rework it.

The first thing I did to it was to clean and ream the bowl. I wanted to have it clean to work on. I do what I call a field dress when I pick them up in the shops. I generally have a bottle of Isopropyl alcohol and a small reamer and pipe cleaners to get the major grime off. I have added some cotton pads to that kit. I cleaned enough to bring home with less work to do at home. I finished cleaning and reaming it. I scrubbed the top of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush until the tars and grime were gone. I scrubbed the carvings as well and wiped off the soap. Once it was clean I found a nice taper stem in my can of stems and fit the tenon to the mortise. I then used my Dremel to get the stem diameter to match the shank. When it was as close as I could get it with the Dremel I dropped the bowl in the 99% alcohol bath to soak while I worked on the stem with sandpaper – 240 grit, 400 and 600 grit wet dry and water – to remove the scratches and smooth out the surface and flow of the stem.

When I took the pipe out of the bath I dried it and looked at the shank. I kind of like the look of a nickel band on these chubby pipes so I pressure fit a band on the shank. I then restained the pipe with some medium brown Feibings Shoe Dye (an aniline stain). I flamed it to set the stain and then took it to the buffer to polish the new stain. The carving held a bit of the stain so they are just a shade darker than the rest of the bowl.

I sanded the stem with my micromesh list – 1500 – 6000 grit pads. Once done I buffed the stem (on the pipe) with White Diamond. I gave the whole pipe several coats of carnauba wax to build a shine and make the grain shine.