Tag Archives: bite marks

A Reborn Peterson Tankard

Blog by Steve Laug

I have looked for one of these little Peterson Tankards for a long time. I have always liked the delicate simplicity of the pipe. The bowl is a round tankard and the pencil shank with the silver Peterson collar looks elegant. The rim is rounded and crowned. The stem has a gentle bend that allows the pipe to sit plat on the base. It is stamped on its base Peterson Tankard, Made in the Republic of Ireland. The pipe is pictured in the photo below, the third pipe down. It was one of the five I found on my recent pipe hunt.The Tankard was in worn but decent shape. The finish was dirty and there was darkening around the bowl middle from the hands of the previous owner. The rim had a thick buildup of tars and oils that had hardened. There were burn marks around the inner edge of the rim at the back of the pipe and the right front. The burn on the front of the bowl was more extensive that then one on the back inner rim. The bowl had a thick cake in it and the shank was dirty. The stamping was readable but faint. The stem had tooth marks on the top and bottom sides of the stem near the crease on the P-lip. It was badly oxidized and there was a heavy calcification around the stem about an inch in from the button. The silver ferrule was clean and would shine up easily. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake back to bare wood. I scrubbed down the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap on a cotton cloth and wiped it off to clean the briar. The next photo shows the reamed bowl and the caked rim top. It was very thick so it would take some work with sandpapers and oil soap to remove the tars. I scrubbed it with the soap and then with alcohol to remove as much of the tars as possible. I then sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding sponge. I wiped it down with acetone once I had finished sanding it. The extent of the rim damage can be seen in the second photo. I wiped down the finish with acetone on cotton pads to completely remove the wax and the finish from the outside of the bowl. I set the bowl aside to work on the stem. I used a Bic style lighter to “paint” the surface of the stem and lift the tooth marks. Doing this I was able to remove many of the tooth dents and lessen the depth of the remaining ones. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the rest of the dents and the oxidation and calcification. I reshaped the button and the crease to sharpen them. There was one tooth mark that I could not minimize further without damaging the thickness of the stem at the crease. I used a clear super glue to fill that spot. Once the glue had dried I sanded it and then used a needle file to reshape the crease and smooth things out. I sanded the repair with 220 grit sandpaper and then with medium and fine grit sanding sponges until I had blended it into the surface of the vulcanite. I sanded the stem with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads to polish and finish it. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three grits. Once I finished with the micromesh pads I buffed the stem with White Diamond and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax to protect it and give it a deep shine. I decided to leave the finish natural and not stain it. I rubbed it down with a light coat of olive oil to enhance the redness of the briar. I took a close up photo of the rim to see if the scratches were still visible. At the back side of the rim there were still some scratches that I needed to work on more to remove. I also wanted to see if I could also remove some more of the rim damage from the burn marks.I sanded the rim with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to work on the scratches and the burn marks. Working on the surface with the sanding sponge I was able to remove the scratches and some more of the burn marks from the surface. I sanded the bowl with the same fine grit sanding sponge and then buffed it with White Diamond. I took special care around the stamping to make sure that I did not damage the light stamping. I gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and lightly buffed it to a shine with a soft flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is shown below. The birdseye grain on the sides and the cross grain on the ends both work really well. It is a beautiful pipe and I think it will be a great smoking pipe as well. It should provide many more years of service and certainly live beyond my lifetime to be passed on to a new generation of pipemen.

Restoring a Peterson Dunmore #72

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Blog by Steve Laug

The Dunmore line from Peterson really is a stripped down pipe. The one that I worked on this weekend was in essence a system pipe. The lack of a ferrule is made up for by a stylized carving around the shank end. The stem sits snugly against the end of the shank but is not flush with the diameter of the shank. The saddle on the stem has a different flair than a regular Peterson pipe. The one we found had a Plip stem. This particular Dunmore was found by my friend John when we went pipe hunting this weekend. We had a blast as can be seen from the haul of pipes that he picked up below. The Dunmore is picture at the top left of the first column in the photo below. below. While John worked on restoring the oak pipe rack that he had found I worked on his Peterson Dunmore. This old pipe had some beautiful grain – birdseye on both sides and cross grain front and back. The bowl almost perfectly aligned with the grain on this one. I forgot to take pictures of the pipe before I began cleaning it up so the only one that is left of the pre-clean is shown in the group photo above. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and then cleaned out the sump and the internals of the bowl and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol until all came out clean. The finish on the bowl was virtually non-existent as it had worn away. I wiped it down with acetone to clean the briar and remove the oils and marks that had settled on top of the wood. The acetone pads came away dirty with the grime more than with any previous colour or stain. Cleaning the surface revealed even more clearly the marvelous grain that was on this pipe. The top of the bowl and rim had some damage from tapping out the pipe. The outer edge of the rim particularly had taken a beating. The bowl was still in round so the inner edge was fine. To minimize the damage to the top and the outer edge I set up a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper and worked on the bowl top. (The whole time I was working on this pipe I gave a running commentary to John as he wanted to know the process so that he could clean up some of the other pipes once he had finished the rack). After topping the bowl I sanded the outer edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove some of the darkening around the bowl top. I resanded it with medium and fine grit sandpaper to remove scratches and did the same to the rim top. I sanded the entirety of the rim and edges with 2400 grit micromesh to smooth it out. After wiping down the briar with alcohol to remove the dust from the surface of the bowl John and I decided not to stain the pipe but to keep it natural. I rubbed it down with a bit of olive oil to give some life to the wood and then buffed it with White Diamond. I was careful to not buff the areas around the stamping so as not to damage them. I chose rather to buff these areas by hand with a shoe brush. I gave the bowl several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buff to shine it. There were two small crevices that showed up on the inside of the bowl on the right side about ¼ inch below the rim. I mixed a batch of pipe mud and filled the small crevices and smoothed the mud over the surrounding area of the bowl. I set it aside to dry while I worked on the stem.

The stem had a lot of tooth chatter and a few shallow tooth marks on the top and the bottom next to the button. It also had a deep oxidation that required a lot of elbow grease to remove. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the surface oxidation and the calcification near the button. I “painted” the stem with my Bic lighter to raise more of the oxidation to the surface and also to raise the small tooth marks on the stem. I sanded it some more with the 220 grit sandpaper followed by a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. That work brought it to the condition shown in the next two photos below. I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down between each set of three pads with Obsidian Oil. After finishing with the 12,000 grit pad I buffed it lightly with White Diamond on the wheel and then rubbed it down one more time with the oil. When it had dried I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it to a shine. I hand buffed the completed pipe with a bit more wax and a shoe brush to finish the polish. The finished pipe is shown below in all of its beauty. I am really glad we decided to leave the wood natural and only give it a light oil finish before waxing. The grain stands out well and the feel of the pipe in hand is very nice. John loved the finished pipe. I am looking forward to hearing from him once he has smoked it a few times.

Restoration of a Barclay Rex HGP Briar Root Labelled “THE DUKE”

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I read a post by dmcmtk on Pipe Smokers Unlimited Forum regarding a pipe he picked up that was a Barclay Rex with a white spot on the stem. He had written to the store and received a response that the pipe was made for them by Dunhill. I had no idea that Dunhill had made pipes for the NY shop so I began to hunt down some of these pipes looking for the tell-tale white dot on the stem. I found some on Ebay under the Barclay Rex shop store there and one stood out to me and seemed to call my name. The write-up on the ad read:

“This is a HGP Stubby Briar Root estate pipe that has been carefully restored on-site.The stem is in excellent condition and has very little visible wear; there are a few nicks on the bowl. This pipe was made by hand for Barclay Rex and likely dates to before 1960. The letters HGP actually stand for the craftsman’s initials.”

The story and the shape intrigued me and it had the white spot on the stem. I was hooked. It had a buy it now price so I went for it. I contacted the store and paid the bill and the pipe was mine. I was not too concerned about the condition as I would work on it anyway. The ad said that it had been carefully restored on-site so I would see what that meant when it arrived. The photos below were on Ebay and give a good idea of why the shape caught my attention. I wrote to Barclay-Rex to find out a little background information on this pipe and the stamping it showed in the pictures. I received this email response:

Dear Steve,
This was made by a pipe maker who worked for Barclay Rex for a time in the mid-20th century. His initials were HGP and he would stamp his pipes as such. We are unsure why the maker decided to place a white dot on his stem, but we have come across one or two more of his with the same combination. Unfortunately, his full name has been forgotten with time.
– barclayrex1910

When the pipe arrived it was in good shape. The stamping indeed was HGP over Briar Root on the left side of the shank and The Duke on the bottom of the shank. Part of the shank and bottom of the bowl was flattened so that it was a sitter. I took it apart to examine it more closely. It was anything but cleaned and restored. The stem was rough – there was oxidation next to the band that went quite deep. There was a gouge on the right side of the stem that was quite deep. The top and the bottom of the stem from the taper to the button had obviously been modified to make a more pronounced taper. The file marks were still evident in the vulcanite. The width of the button end of the stem had also been modified and was narrower than originally designed as the sides of the stem also showed file marks. The button itself had a orific opening but someone had modified it into a poorly shaped slot. The stem had deep tooth marks on the surface of top and bottom near the button. There was a bite through on the top side next to the button. The angle of the taper was very abrupt and sharp with distinct cut marks. The tenon was fit for a filter by the appearance of it and the inside was very tarry. A filter would not have fit with all of the buildup in the stem. The bowl was another story. It was out of round with burn marks on the inner edge that needed some work. It had been reamed so that was not an issue. Then inside of the shank was filthy. The tars and oils were thick against the end of the mortise.

I decided to work on the stem first. I wanted to address the taper of the stem and cleanup the file marks and gouge in the top portion. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the scratches and reshape the taper. This took quite a bit of sanding to reshape the angles and edges of the stem. There was a slight hip on both sides of the stem that needed to be sanded out to get a smooth flow to the lines of the sides. The next series of photos show the progress in reshaping and repairing the stem. I worked on the taper first to remove the sharp angles of the sides and top of the taper and work on a flow to the profile of the stem. I sanded the gouge on the top right side of the stem until it disappeared and also worked on the transition from the flattened top and bottom of the taper and the round end next to the shank. The wet spot on the first photo next to the button highlights the spot where the small hole in the top of the taper was. At this point the taper is smooth and the transition is beginning to look right. The profile shot below shows the work that has been done. I continued to sand and smooth out the taper to give it a look similar to a Peterson tapered stem. The first photo shows the taper after all of the shaping. I rubbed some Vaseline on a pipe cleaner and inserted it in the orific slot in the button so that I could patch the hole in the top side of the stem. The second photo below shows the size and placement of the hole. I used black super glue for the repair and sprayed it with the accelerator to harden it more quickly. I found that the accelerator allows me to sand more quickly but curing actually takes longer. I sanded it with sanding sticks to smooth it out and then build it up several more times to give more thickness to the stem at the button. I reshaped the sharp inner edge of the button with a needle file. After sanding with the sticks I sanded the patched area with 220 grit sandpaper and then with medium and fine grit sanding sponges to smooth out the scratches and blend in the superglue patch with the rest of the stem surface. I finished sanding the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-3200 grit pads and dry sanding with 3600-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each three grit sequence of pads and let it sit until absorbed before continuing with the next set of three pads. When I finished sanding with the last three grits of micromesh I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and when dry put the back on the pipe and gave it a buff with White Diamond. I set the stem aside and turned my attention to the bowl. I decided to top the bowl to even out the rim as most of the inner rim damage did not go too deeply into the bowl. Topping it would smooth out the rim and allow me to correct the damage that made it out of round. I set up the topping board with the 220 grit sandpaper and sanded the top until the rim was smooth and the burn damage was minimized. I sanded the inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to further mask the damage to the inner rim. I sanded the topped bowl with medium and fine grit sanding sponges and then with 1500-4000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I cleaned out the sanding dust from the bowl with a damp cloth and wiped down the top of the bowl with an alcohol wipe to prepare it for restaining. I decided against restaining the whole bowl and to just stain the rim. Thanks to Greg I have a set of staining pens that make this kind of thing quite easy. I started with the lightest stain pen and then used the medium stain pen to match the colour of the bowl. I buffed it with White Diamond and then gave the bowl and rim a quick buff with carnauba wax. After the buffing I sanded the band with the micromesh sanding pads and then polished it with a polishing cloth. The finished bowl is shown in the photos below. The next photo shows what I did next, though in retrospective I probably should have done this first, I did not. I cleaned out the inside of the shank with isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners to remove the tarry buildup in the mortise and airway of the pipe. Once I finished cleaning out the inside of the pipe I gave it a quick buff with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax, buffing with a soft flannel buff between coats. The finished pipe is shown below. The restoration and refurbishment are complete and now it can be honestly said that it has been “restored”. The amount of work it took to bring this pipe back to a finished look was far more than I expected when I bid on it. I honestly was surprised at how dirty and unfinished it was when it arrived. Now I have a pipe that I can be proud of and enjoy smoking. The look and feel in the hand is exactly what I like and I look forward to firing up the first bowl in it very soon.

Yellow Acrylic Stem Patch – Part 3 – by Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)

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This is the third part of Joyal’s article on the yellow acrylic stem patch. His earlier parts of the article chronicle the various methods and procedures he has used in his try to get a matched patch on the acrylic stem he was working on. Please read the earlier installments to see the complete experiment. Part 1 can be found at this link: https://rebornpipes.com/2014/07/08/stem-patch-using-amber-super-glue-joyal-taylor-aka-holymolar/ Part 2 can be found here: https://rebornpipes.com/2014/07/08/yellow-acrylic-stem-patch-part-2-joyal-taylor-aka-holymolar/

This time I tried Behlen’s yellow powder w/ StewMac’s thick clear superglue.
This is the best so far. Good color and opaque. Some of the powder didn’t mix in but it all polished smoothly. I had to leave the patch thick at the edge because every time I tried to sand it smooth it to the acrylic, I would remove more of the original color from the acrylic and have to add more patch material. Oh well, this may be as good as I can do, for now.

Restored – Kaywoodie Flame Grain 13B (Author) Drinkless – Pat Russell

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It is a pleasure to present Pat’s second contribution to the blog. In it he describes his work on an old Kaywoodie in one of my favourite shapes – the 13B. Thanks for the contribution Pat. Keep ’em coming. You are doing some great work.

Greetings friends.

It’s been one heckuva week, one of those weeks where life just seems to take over. As a reward for making it through, I’ve taken a holiday today to restore a beautiful old pipe that has been sitting on my bench for a month or so. This was another $14.00 eBay win, and one I was thrilled about. I started looking for early Kaywoodies about a year ago when I fell in love with the quality of the briar. This lovely little author was in pretty good shape. The drinkless stinger, with 4 holes, and a two digit shape code with one letter dates it to between 1940 and the early 1950s. There was a sizable tooth mark in the top of the stem, a couple smaller bites out of the bottom of the bit, and a few small dings and dents in the bowl. Other than that, the pipe was in pretty good shape.
So I threw the stem in a OxyClean bath, and then took the new PipNet reamer to the cake.
I then wet a tea towel and set the bowl rim down on the towel for two minutes or so, before using the damp towel to wipe off the rim char and tars.
Once that was done, I wet sanded the stem with 600 and 800 grit sandpaper.
Then took the heat gun to the stem to work on those dents.
It took a couple attempts, but they both lifted somewhat.
Then I took 0000 steel wool to the stinger to clean it up.
Following the stinger, I elected to do a surface clean of the stummel with acetone and a cotton pad.
At this point, it was time to make some judgement calls. There was still some rim darkening, there were a couple very minor dents in the bowl, and that tooth mark was still there even after the heat treatment and there was a little bleaching around the top of the bowl. This pipe is for me. I’m a clencher. I elected to leave the tooth mark. I also elected to leave the dents, and do a light tint of the bowl to bring back the colour.

The next step was a date with about fifty pipe cleaners and the same number of bristle cleaners liberally dosed with isopropyl alcohol. After a thorough scrub out, I elected to finish the stem, shank and stummel clean with a retort.
Testament to the fact that isopropyl alcohol and pipe cleaners don’t clean out everything, here are the cotton balls from the bowl post retort.
Post retort, I added two drops of Fiebing’s Light Brown to about half an eye dropper of 99% isopropyl alcohol. I do this to create tints. I don’t always want to restain a pipe, the tint allows me to blend the stain and bring colour back to the bleached areas of the stummel.
After adding the tint, I used a cotton ball with isopropyl alcohol to wipe down the stummel and even out the tint.
Then the pipe went to the buffer. First with white diamond…
Then with Carnauba…
Then after a wipe down with a Dunhill Pipe Wipe…
I love this pipe. I’m thrilled to have it, and can’t wait to smoke it.

Right now I’m having one of these to celebrate.
As always, thanks for looking, and feel free to toss any tips my way.

Using Charcoal Powder and Black Super Glue to Repair a Bite Through on a Nylon Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

With all of the blog posts recently on repairing stems I decided to do a little work on one I had here. I wanted to use a black superglue and carbon mixture to see what I could do with this seriously damaged stem. It was a Medico pipe stem bearing the stamping F. The F stamping is a Medico brand mark but this stem was a different diameter than the shank of the pipe that it had come attached to so I replaced the stem on that pipe. I was left with this one and almost threw it away because the hole was large and on both sides of the stem. That combined with the fact that the stem was nylon would make it less desirable to repair for me. There were also deep tooth marks all around the holes. But I figured it was a perfect stem to do experiments on so went ahead with the repairs. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to highlight the tooth marks and the holes. The button itself had dents in it as well and the crease had been flattened.

I cleaned out the debris from the hole with a dental pick (rather than the Dremel and bur that Joyal uses) and sanded around the edges of the hole with 220 grit sandpaper. I removed all of the loose or damaged material from the hole so that the edges were solid. I sanded them to roughen the edges slightly to provide a surface for the glue to bond to. I used a cotton pad and alcohol to clean out the dust from sanding and picking. I cut a piece of cardboard the same shape as the slot in the stem and greased it with Vaseline. I slipped it into the slot. I made sure that the Vaseline did not ooze out into the hole on either side.

I used Stew Mac Black super glue to build up the edges of the holes. I find that I get a much stronger patch/repair if I slowly build up the patch with multiple layers of the glue. I mixed in some carbon powder taken from a charcoal digestive capsule. I put the glue on the edges of the hole; mixed in the carbon and then more glue more carbon to build the first layer. The next series of four photos show the gradual build up of the glue and carbon. The glue was allowed to cure over night between each layer of the repair. I sanded lightly between the layers to roughen the surface of the patch and smooth out some of the pitting. I find that doing so provides a surface for the new layer to bond to.

Once the patch had thoroughly cured and hardened I sanded it. I test the hardness by pressing a fingernail into the patch. If it is not hard I let it sit longer. Once it is hard I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the patch. I used a small needle file to redefine the edge of the crease. Nylon turns white when sanded and so did the patch fortunately. The patch was slightly darker than the stem at this point but would blend in with further sanding.

I sanded the stem with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches. I further redefined the crease to sharpen it. The repairs are visible in the photos as slightly darker than the stem colour at this point.

In the process of the sanding I noticed that the dents in the button itself were not filled enough so I cleaned them out and filled them with black super glue. I also used black super glue to refill some spots on the surface of the blade that seemed to be pitted after the sanding. I sanded these after they were dry using 220 grit sandpaper followed by medium and fine grit sanding sponges. Once the surfaces were flat and smooth to my liking it was time to turn to sanding with the micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12000 grit pads. I went back to the sanding sponges several times when I found that some of the scratches were not adequately removed. I then repeated the wet and dry sanding with the micromesh pads until the surface was shiny and smooth and the patches blended into the stem.

I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and when it was dry hand buffed the s tem and then resanded with the 3200-12,000 grit micromesh sanding pads.

I polished the finished stem lightly with White Diamond. You have to have a very light touch when buffing nylon as the heat the buffing creates melts the nylon and creates a mess. In this case I just lightly touched it and then gave it a light coating of carnauba wax and then hand buffed it. I gave the stem several coats of Paragon Wax and hand buffed it. The finished stem is shown in the photos below.

Reparing a Cumberland Stem on a Kaywoodie Regent Bulldog 98B

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Blog by Greg Wolford

I’ve been hoping to add a Kaywoodie Regent to my collection for some time now. A month or so ago we were out-of-town on vacation when I happened upon one in an antique store. There were actually several pipes in this vendor’s case, most of which I wasn’t interested in. Other than the Regent, there were also two other Kaywoodies I was interested in: a Relief Grain and an extra long Canadian. They all looked to have pretty good bones in the dark little store so I made them mine.

When I got them back to where we were staying I eagerly opened them up to see what I had. I found that they were a lot dirtier and caked up than I thought. I also now got a really good look at the damage to the Regent’s stem; this was going to take some trail and error I knew.

When I got home I took some better photos, showing the damage to the stem. There were deep teeth marks on the top and bottom of the stem and the edge of the side where the clover logo is was almost gone completely. This was going to take a lot of time and some research to get it even close to decent again I now realized.

My first step was to try some experiments on a Medico VFQ. Although I ended up with a good looking and smoking pipe, the experiments were somewhat in vain: the stems on the VFQ turned out to be nylon. So I now turned to some fellow restorers on the PSU Forum for hints. tips and ideas – and they really came through with many ideas and several new articles posted by Joyal. Some of the best advice for this project come from JoeMan: the idea of using activated charcoal powder with Gorilla brand super glue.

This project took days to complete do to all the patching a rebuilding of the stem. So, I didn’t do a great job documenting it all with photos and because of the extended time frame of the project I may miss a step or two in this article; I apologize in advance for these things.

The fist thing I did (after thoroughly cleaning the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol) was try to raise the dents as much as I could with heat from a candle; there was little success here.

Now I began the filling and shaping process. This took many forms and layers: I used clear super glue, both “regular” and gel, mixing in some of the StewMac black glue at times, and also Gorilla brand super glue both with and without charcoal powder mixed into it. one of the challenges was to add strength and black-color in some places while not covering up too much of the red in the Cumberland stem. Another challenge was to build up that chewed up side so the end of the stem would have the proper shape again.

The StewMac glue was too thin and took so long to dry that it wasn’t much help to me on this project. The Gorilla glue, both “plain” and with the charcoal powder mixed in, was a big help; it is thicker and dries quite fast, especially when the powder is mixed in.

Another thing that added time was the way I went about this repair. There were multiple layers needed, as well as different thicknesses, so I would apply a patch, let it cure, and then shape it as I needed, and then start the whole process over again. I did this many times to get an acceptable result. This photo is after almost all of the layering and shaping was done:

I used needle files and a vulcrylic file for most of the shaping. I also used 220 grit sandpaper. After I had the final shape I was happy with I wet sanded with 320/400/600 and then micro mesh through 12000 grit; after 600 and every few grits thereafter I also polished the stem with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0,which helps me see if I’ve missed anything along the way. The next four images are before micro mesh and after:

As you can see, this stem came out pretty nicely and is more than useable now. Then lines came out well, to my eye, and the rebuilding and patching blended rather nicely.

I didn’t do a lot to the stummel; the nomenclature is readable but very weak. There are some small “pocket” marks but I think they give the pipe an air of character so I basically left the stummel as I found it, sans, the thick cake, mess of tars and oils in the shank, and the buildup on the rim. The rim did require a very light topping and a round or two with the medium touch up marker to give it a head start on matching the patina on this rest of the wood. I only very lightly buffed the pipe with white diamond and carnauba wax and ending with a soft clean buff and hand polish with a micro fabric cloth.

I just noticed there is a bit of wax residue that I missed in the photos. Oh well, that’s easy enough to take care of after while ….

I’m very happy with how this project came out. It will soon find its way, I think, onto my rack where I can hopefully enjoy it for many years – unless my wife learns of its collectors appeal and potential value, then I might be in trouble!

Yellow Acrylic Stem Patch – Part 2 – Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)

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Blog by Joyal Taylor

Earlier I posted a You Tube video that Joyal posted about patching this yellow acrylic stem https://rebornpipes.com/2014/07/08/stem-patch-using-amber-super-glue-joyal-taylor-aka-holymolar/ It is part of an ongoing work in progress where Joyal is experimenting with different mixture to patch a bite through in an acrylic yellow stem. This is Part 2 of the ongoing experiment. Thanks Joyal for taking us with you in this experiment.

Since the amber superglue didn’t work well on this stem, I’m trying other things.

I tried mixing yellow and orange Fiebing’s Leather Dye with clear superglue, but the dye caused the glue to set instantly, even before I could mix it.

Next, I tried StewMac 2 part clear epoxy with Fiebing’s yellow and orange dyes, which mixed well.

Before photo of only one side of the stem, but I worked on both sides:

I used a round bit in my dremel to remove the previous amber superglue patch and discoloration. Also, I roughen-up the area in front of the bit to try to re-color that area.

I tried several combinations of yellow and orange dye until I got close to the color of the stem

Close up photo looks like it may work

After shaping the bit with needle files and sanding/micromesh the epoxy.

This didn’t work out so well, either. Not only the color isn’t good but, also, the epoxy feels soft and rough to my teeth and lips.

We learn from our mistakes, so I’m going to continue experimenting with this.

Next, I’m going to remove the epoxy and try patching a third time by mixing dye powders with clear superglue.

I would appreciate it if anyone has other ideas to try for this stem repair.

Stem Patch Using Amber Super Glue, Part 1 – Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)

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In a conversation with Joyal about patching a stem that had a yellow/orange tint I suggested that he try the amber super glue from Stew Mac. He replied that he had tried it and done a video on it on You Tube. He said it was too clear and not opaque enough for a good match. He sent me the link to his You Tube video on using the Stewart MacDonald Amber coloured super glue.

Since You Tube is not something I have ever done, I was intrigued with it. I thought it would be great to post the link here for you to have a look at.

The amber super glue Joyal is using is available online at:
http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Glues_and_Adhesives/Glues/StewMac_Super_Glues/StewMac_Tinted_Super_Glue.html

Part 2 is a continuation of this work and is found under the title “Yellow Acrylic Stem Patch – Part 2 – Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)” can be read at this link https://rebornpipes.com/2014/07/08/yellow-acrylic-stem-patch-part-2-joyal-taylor-aka-holymolar/

Black Superglue Experiments – Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)

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Blog by Joyal Taylor

I have been waiting for this article since the product was mentioned on Pipe Smokers Unlimited Forums. Mark Domingues (who contributes on the blog) and Joyal both ordered the powder to try out. Both said they would experiment with it and report back. Joyal spoke with Mark and they agreed that he would post the results of his experiments. I have used Black Super Glue for a long time now in patching tooth marks and bite throughs on stems. I have dealt with the shrinkage and the long curing times and lived with them. Joyal has done all of us a service in doing this experiment and writing up the process and results of his work. Thanks Joyal for taking the time to work through this and document your process. It is well worth a read.

Experiment #1 – Black Superglue with Accelerator:

I used a round Dremel bur to cut a divot in a vulcanite stem, to simulate tooth marks.

I sprayed the area with accelerator and allowed it to dry for 5 minutes before adding superglue

I let the superglue cure for 30 minutes. As expected, the glue shrunk.

I sprayed more accelerator on the area and added another coat of superglue.

Then I sanded the patch with wet sandpaper (220 – 600 grit).

Later, I used micromesh pads (1500 – 12000 grit) and polished with white diamond and carnauba wax. It polished and shined so well that I couldn’t get a decent photo because of the camera flash.

Experiment #2 – Black Superglue with Plastex, as well as Behlen’s Furniture Powder:

I used a round dremel bur to cut three divots in a vulcanite stem, to simulate tooth marks.

Black Plastex and Behlen’s Black Furniture Powder.

Will use from left to right
Patch 1 – Black Superglue only
Patch 2 – Black Superglue w/ Black Plastex
Patch 3 – Black Superglue w/ Black Behlen Furniture Powder

Patch 1 – cured for 8 hrs, it shrunk. Added 2 additional layers and let the final layer cure for 24 hrs.
Patch 2 – cured for 8 hrs, no shrinkage but the surface was pitted
Patch 3 – cured very quickly, 5 minutes, but the surface was pitted

Sanded the patches with wet sandpaper (220 – 600 grit). Fortunately, I had overfilled Patches 2 & 3 and the sanding smoothed out the surfaces. Extra layers were not necessary.

Later, I used micromesh pads (1500 – 12000 grit) and polished with white diamond and carnauba wax. The patches polished and shined so well that I couldn’t get a decent photo because of the camera flash.

Discussion:
Adding Plastex to Superglue reduced the curing time (it didn’t shrink and one layer filled it up). Also, the Plastex adds strength to the patch and could be good for large patches and holes.

Adding Behlen Furniture Powder could be used if you’re impatient (it has something in it that causes the Superglue to cure very quickly). Too much powder will cause the glue to cure so quickly that there isn’t enough time to place it into the divot.

I haven’t tried it yet, but using the Accelerator first, then Black Superglue with Plastex could be a good way to go.

Plastex can be ordered from: http://www.plastex.net/
Behlens Furniture Powder can be ordered from: http://www.shellac.net/furniture-powder.html or http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/b…owders1oz.aspx

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