Today I finished restemming a GBD 9438 with a new tapered stem. The original saddle stem was unrepairable. I removed the rondelle from that stem and studied how it had been installed. From the appearances of the stem it looked like it was heated and pressed into the vulcanite. Once the rondelle was pressed in it was removed and then glued in place. I used a soldering iron to heat and press the rondelle into the vulcanite. I placed it on the surface of the stem where I wanted it to end up. I measured the distance from the shank stem junction on the original stem and set this one in the same place.

I plugged in the soldering iron and pressed the tip into the rondelle. I pressed it against each of the ends and the middle until is sank into the surface of the stem. Once it was set and the oval was marked in the stem I took it back to the work table to glue it in place. I lifted it from the stem and used a two part epoxy to glue it in place. I put a spot of the glue mix into the oval divot on the stem and pressed the rondelle into place.

When the glue had set I sanded around the rondelle with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-2400 grit. I wanted to smooth out the vulcanite around the rondelle and shine the stem again. In the photo below I have included the original stem to show the pressed divot of the rondelle in the vulcanite. The GBD letters were pressed into the surface and left their mark. The divot under the rondelle on the new stem looked identical to this before I glued it in place.

The two photos below show the finished installation of the rondelle in the stem. The fit of the rondelle is approximately the same as it was in the original stem. It is a nice finishing touch to the restoration of this old pipe. Thanks to those of you who commented on the previous restoration article on this pipe and encouraged me to use the rondelle on the stem. I appreciate the suggestions and now will enjoy the finished look of the pipe.