Tag Archives: pipe racks

A Father/Son Restoration Project – Breathing Life into a Humidor Pipe Rack

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Blog by Steve Laug

In the past months I have restored eight of Anthony’s father’s pipes. He had written me regarding the restoration work; “I have a few pipes (8 or so) that haven’t been smoked in 15 years. They were my dad’s. I would like to get someone to restore them”. We chatted back and forth via email and the long and short of the story is that I restored all eight of his Dad’s pipes. The photo below shows the mixture of pipes that he sent me. There were some interesting shapes and most are very dirty and have very little if any of the original finish left on the briar. All have an overflow of carbon on the rim top and all have chewed, damaged stems and buttons. Anthony remembers his Dad smoking them throughout the years he was growing up so they went from regular use to being boxed and stored. They needed a lot of TLC to bring life back to them but it was fun to work on them. When he received the pipes back in his home he contacted me about a rack that he believes his father made. While I am not sure of that (it is very much like the box humidor 6 pipe racks I have seen in the past) it certainly needed a lot of work. I don’t usually work on pipe racks but I thought this would be a worthy exception. When it arrived it had a tarnished brass plate on the top of the lid with his father’s initials engraved in it. There were water stains/damage marks on the top, front and sides of the rack. The finish was gone and the condition of the outside was very rough. The base that held the pipes also was worn and water damaged. The inside of the box had a metal base held in the box by removal cedar panels. I could slide out the sides and remove the metal base. The pictures below show what it looked like when I unpacked it and had removed the dust and debris on exterior. All totaled it was a mess. The water damage had left some deep stain marks and I had no idea if I could minimize them. I took the cedar plates out of the box, removed the metal plate from the bottom of the box. I also took out the humidor disk from the lid and took pictures of the parts and their condition. Note the rust on the metal base. The second photo below shows the box with the lining removed. I left it sitting in pieces for a week or more and an email from Anthony spurred me to do some more work on it. I cleaned all of the parts with Murphy’s Oils Soap and rinsed the box and parts down with warm water and a damp cloth. I took photos of the box at this point to show progress. I lifted the brass plate off the lid so I could polish it as well. The cleaned rack sat in this dismantled condition for several months. I just did not have time to work on it at all and to be honest I also did not have the desire. Fast forward to last week. My father was visiting and wanted to help me with some of the work I was doing on pipes. I looked at the rack and I thought why not it would be a great Father/son project. So we tackled it together and began the restoration of this rack. Dad worked on it quite a bit, sanding and working on the divots and the stains trying to remove the damage. We were having very little success. Then I remembered the oxalic acid could be used to remove water stains so I ordered some from our local pharmacist. I picked up 500 grams of the crystals and my father mixed it with water and began to scrub the exterior of the rack. He worked on the water damaged spots and scrubbed the entire rack with the acid mixture. It took repeated scrubbing but the water damage began to fade and in some places it disappeared entirely. Even where it did not all disappear it was lightened significantly and looked far better. After the acid wash, Dad sanded the entire rack down with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to smooth out the grain in preparation for staining. We stained the rack with Danish Oil Cherry stain. We rubbed it into the finish and wiped it off with a cloth. We repeated the process four times to get good coverage and a smoother look to the rack. Between each coat of stain we sanded it with a fine grit sanding sponge to remove and bubbles or roughness. While Dad was working on that I polished the brass monogram plate on the buffing wheel and with 6000-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I put some white glue on the underside of the plate and reinserted it in the space on the cover. It too is not flawless but it looks better.

Once we had finished the staining and polishing we put the internal cedar panels and metal base plate back in place in the box. We reinserted the humidor plate in the cover. The water stains on the front were gone, the ones in the pipe rack were greatly minimized and the rack looked better. My Dad and I had a great time working on this project together. I normally do no work on racks at all. I like working on pipes not racks! But I am glad I made this exception. It was a Father- Son project working on a Father’s Pipe Rack for his son. Now I need to pack it up and get it in the mail so Anthony has his Father’s pipe rack to hold his Father’s pipes.

What’s Inside The Cupboard?

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This beautiful oak cabinet sits on top of my pipe cupboard in my office at home. This cupboard came to me as a gift when I was the president of the Vancouver Pipe Club from a member down on Whidbey Island, Washington. It came as a bit of a surprise and one that was very welcome. It is well made with brass knobs for handles and inset brass hinges on the inside of the doors. The joints are well done and the nails have been hidden well behind putty in a subtle way to make them less visible. The back of the cabinet is also finished and smooth. It is fastened to the back with nails or staples and the holes are filled and the back stained to match the rest of the cupboard. The detail done even on the back side of the cupboard speaks to the fine craftsmanship of the piece. The top of the cupboard is set off with a crown moulding that makes it look far older than it is. The paneled doors also give it an air of antiquity with the decorative beaded moulding around the inside panel. The flat base extends beyond the width and length of the cupboard making a very stable base for the piece. It is designed to be either a free standing piece or to be hung on the wall. Inevitably when people visit me in my office they ask about the cupboard and what might be in it. The closed doors seem to hide something that must be important. Some folks ask right away what it contains while others glance at it throughout the visit and then either in the midst of things or at the end as they are about to leave. It seems that they just have to know. I love the fact that the design is unique enough and secretive enough that it calls forth questions.

Cupboard 002

Once the doors are opened the quality workmanship continues to be evident. The way the craftsman organized the inside is pretty simple. It is designed to hold 24 pipes facing bowl out toward the front and has two drawers at the bottom for holding other accessories or in my case some of my pocket pipes. The slotted bar at the top third of the first half and the top third of the second half of the cabinet is made up of twelve U shaped cuts in each one that hold stems easily without them turning or being damaged. The U’s are sanded smooth and given a coat of Varathane or varnish so they are well done. The two bases below the slots are also scooped out with a router and sanded smooth for the bottom of the bowl to sit in without damage. The U cut and the scooped base hold the pipes securely. The top base and the bottom one are set into grooves that have been cut into the side walls. The case is very stable and has no side to side play. The drawers are designed to slide easily into the slots cut and polished for them. In my case I use the top shelf for six of my Dunhill pipes (left side of the top) with two others laid behind them, three of my John Calich pipe and one Ashton, one Steve Weiner and a Tinsky Dublin. The second shelf houses the rest of my Tinsky’s. All but one of them has been smoked. The unsmoked pipe in the picture came at a time when I was drawn to smaller bowls. It is being reserved for a time that may not be true!

Cupboard 001

Once I succumb to the curiosity of my visitors and open the doors on the cupboard all of the ones who are pipemen love looking at the pipes and the workmanship of the cupboard. The non-pipesmoking guests just shake their heads, unable to figure me out. I don’t say anything that would enable them to figure it out. I just reach for a pipe and polish it while they stand looking at me and the cupboard with what appears to be a growing incredulity. One day when I get my shop set up I want to use this cupboard as a pattern and make a few more for my other pipes. I love the way the doors protect the pipe stems from oxidizing in the light and keep the pipes looking pristine. The bottom drawers are a great place to stow away folding pocket pipes that I do not use very often and other pipe paraphernalia that I seem to continue to accumulate.