Tag Archives: stem work

Louis Blumfeld 1901 BBB Bent Billiard – by James Gilliam of jsecpipes.com

When James posted his work on this pipe on the pipe forums I was amazed at how beautiful it looked. Wow a 1901 BBB – one of my favourite pipe makes and one of the old ones as well. Imagine the surprise when I got an email at the same time asking if I would like a write up and photos of the restemming for the blog. I did not have to think twice to answer that email. I quickly fired back an affirmative and what you have below is the story from James. Thanks again James for taking the time to document your work on this old timer. Enjoy smoking that great piece of pipe history. Below is his tale.

Every story has a beginning and this one even has a pre-story. The excerpt below was posted on several forums I’m a member of so I thought I would repeat it just for those that haven’t seen the posts.

“As some of you know I attend the 100km van Ieper in Belgium nearly every year since 2002. It’s a walk around the WWI Battlefields that consumed Ieper. I’ve been bitten by the pipe making bug, and how and along the way dabbled in restorations just because, but my search for a pre-WWI era pipe is finally over. I ended up getting this piece of history from Alan at Reborn Briar. Now he did the pipe restoration.. and a brilliant job he did, the only thing the pipe was missing was a stem.. well I can do that… I decided not to bore out the mortise and left it threaded, made a threaded tenon out of horn, since I don’t have any workable bone, and decided against using Ivory…… and went with Cumberland for my stem material.. I’m happy…Happy Columbus Day everybody”

Now for the rest of the story. What sticks around in usable condition for over 100 years… not too much, but since I’m kinda into this pipe thing, tobacco related history rates up there for my interest factor. This past July I was able to attend the Newark (UK) Pipe show, set up a table and sell some pipes. You never really sale (or at least I don’t) all the pipes you want to sale, but you do get to meet a lot of really interesting people, and the next table over was Alan Chestnutt from Reborn Briar. I’m always amazed at the folks like Steve and Alan that get into the restoration business. I’ve done a few, even wrote an article about it, but creation is where my passion lies.

Anyway, talking with Alan pre-World War I pipes came up, and fast forward to September he had one that he was going to restore but without a stem. As I mentioned above, stems are no problem…. that’s the making/creating/using machinery aspect I like. When the pipe arrived I was amazed at how well it looked. I mean wow, 1901, and all that.

The only real thing that threw me was the threaded mortise. Looking around the shop I pickup up a few of my mistake mouthpieces and tried fitting a few. The 7mm tenon fit without a problem, as it just slid into the mortise. But later that night while sitting around thinking about the mouthpiece I figured I’d make it as close to the original as I could. The stems profile was already in the leather case. So what do we know at this point.. 1900’s meant ivory, bone, or the like type of tenon. I don’t have any bone to use and didn’t really want to use ivory……but being a pipe maker I do have horn. I usually end up keeping the horn points after using the remainder of the material for a shank extension.

So horn it was to be. I shaped the tenon, drilled and set out to thread the tenon. I’m sitting with a 8mm tenon drilled to 4mm for the airway and went about threading the horn. Unfortunately it crushed under the pressure of my die, but I guess it only made sense… so I made another, except this time I threaded it first and then drilled it… And here is where the pictures come into play.

Threaded tenon, prior to drilling

And it fits just like it is supposed to. Looking right above the pipe you can see my trial delrin tenon with new threads.

Mouthpiece rough cut and drilled. The mortise is also threaded. I cleaned up the junction end before the next steps, so the fit would be flush

Epoxy’d and left to rest a while.

And it fits. So at least the scary parts are now done.

Drawing on the Cumberland to get my bearings at to decide where I want the saddle to sit. The line closest to the junction was chosen.

Time to sand a bit with a machine.

And done

Now it’s file time.

Now it’s sandpaper time.

And more sandpaper… I probably left a step or two out here…just to save the pictures, but my process is machine, medium cut file, fine cut file, another fine cut file, nail files, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1200 sandpaper, buffing paste, more sanding, high glass paste (Sometimes more sanding to remove scratches I missed) and a final buff. Here you can see the stem is bent to its final form.

And now it’s all shiny.

And here are the final pictures. Alan did the bowl, I did the stem and I have a pipe that is twice my age… gotta love it. Hope you enjoyed my story.

Cleaning a Bristol Mat Geante – by AJ Verstraten (AKA Bananabox-Ninja)

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This post has been written by a Dutch reader of the blog, AJ Verstraten who contacted me a few weeks ago. Several emails later and we had exchanged a lot of ideas and tips. I thought it would be of interest for others here to read about AJ’s ultrasonic cleaner addition to the process. It was one I had not heard of before so I asked him to write up a piece on it with pictures of a pipe that he put through his process. AJ was graciously willing to write it up and submit it for posting here. Thanks AJ for your willingness to do this. It is great to hear from others about the methods they are using and how they work. The photos are well done and the words well written. Without further ado here is AJ’s article.

Greetings, my name is AJ and I hail from the Dutch city of Dordrecht. I go by the internet name of ‘Bananabox-Ninja’ and I am more easily found under that name then under AJ.

A few weeks ago I broke my knee in a motorcycle accident and it was put in a plaster cast with the instruction to let it rest and heal up. In this time I stumbled upon Steve’s website through ‘Het Pijprokersforum’ a forum of Dutch and Belgium pipe smokers.

As I like to refurbish pipes myself and I had time to kill I went through his whole website and learned many, many new things. In the weeks that followed I tried to get a hold of the things Steve used and tried them myself, like the black superglue and the grinding pads for example. Blown away by how well some things worked out I sent an email thanking Steve for all the tips and asking if he had ever used an ultrasonic cleaner. He replied that he had not but that he was interested to know in the workings and would I like to write about it?

So this weekend I cleaned a pipe from my ‘project-box’ and snapped pictures from beginning to end including the ultrasonic cleaning method I currently use. (The numerical key below the photo identifies the tools in the photo.)

These are the tools I tend to use in the cleaning/refurbishing of a pipe, currently I have some tools on order and they have not come in yet.

1 – Polishing wheels and waxes
2 – Sanding paper (600 & 1000), sanding pads (1500 to 12000) and modeling files.
3 – Ultrasonic cleaner
4 – Old socks (but clean)
5 – Vaseline and 96% alcohol
6 – Hard and soft bristled pipe cleaners
7 – Q-tips (cotton swabs)
8 – Pliers
9 – Assortment of drills
10 – Senior pipe reamer
11 – Games Workshop paint
12 – Electric motor (0-2000 RPM) with grinding wheel (1500)
13 – Toothpicks

The pipe I chose to work on and record is a nice straight, big chambered Bristol Mat Geante, I presume the Geante is for its size as the chamber is rather big or as we say in Dutch a ‘Speciekuip’ (mortar trough). As far as I can tell Bristol a B-brand from France but I am unable to pinpoint exactly. I personally like the bird’s-eyes all over the left and right side of the bowl.

As you can see the stem has oxidation all over and the bowl itself is rather dull. Not visible on this photo are the 2 bite marks on the stem.

First I cleaned the pipe on the inside with alcohol and pipe cleaners until they came out almost white. If there is a thick layer of tar in the air canal I use the drills to scrape the inside out lightly using drills of various diameters. Tar will give way far more easily than the ebonite or acrylic it is in.

In this case it was not needed as the pipe’s previous owner was very tidy or had not smoked it much.

Then with just water and the grinding wheel I removed the heavy oxidation from the stem, careful not to create a round shoulder or to grind off too much for it to create a ridge.

Using the sanding paper wrapped around a file I removed the hard to reach oxidation on the mouth bit.

And afterwards to fill the bite marks using the superglue, q-tips and toothpick.

Now the stem was ready for the ultrasonic bath. This is a new method I have only recently started using and so far I am positive on the results. Using a mixture of 50-50 water and alcohol with a teaspoon of disinfection agent, place the stem in the liquid and let the bath go at it for 8 minutes.

This bath can also heat up to 40 degrees but seeing as ebonite tends to bend back to it’s original shape if heated too much I leave that feature off.

You’ll notice in the last picture that the stem looks almost the same as it went in, however when you pull a pipe cleaner through it, there will be some mild discoloration coming out of the stem.

This method of cleaning is a good way to get the last remaining specks of dirt out of those hard to reach places, I myself was skeptical at first but I was swayed when I pulled the pipe cleaner through it after the bath I found that it did do its job.

It does not however remove oxidation completely, I tried with an unprepared stem and it came out browner than going in.

So as an extra step I find it a great addition to my cleaning process.

In the mean time I cleaned some of the soot from the top of the bowl with some spit and the old sock. Especially the part of the sock that fits over your ankle is rather coarse and excellent for this process. The chamber had a nice smooth coal layer in it so I left it in there.

After the bath I gave the inside of the stem few more scrubs with the pipe cleaner and the outside another run with the grinding wheel.

Then I started polishing with the wheels and the waxes.

First a pre-polish with brown, followed by white, a coat of carnauba wax and a final buff.

The end result as you can see below:

Refurbed a Tanganyika Meerschaum Prince

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Blog by Steve Laug

This morning I got around to cleaning up another one of the pipes I found on my trip – a little Tanganyika Meerschaum prince. The stampings on the pipe were simple, only a shape number that looked like a 27 on the underside of the shank and the block letters Tanganyika on the underside of the stem. The star logo on the left side of the stem is different from the typical elephant, giraffe or running man, which have come to be associated with Tanganyika Meerschaums. I wanted to see what I could find out about the little pipe so I did a search on Pipedia and was able to find some information on the pipes made from Meerschaum that was mined there. The following is a synopsis of the article found there.

Kiko, meaning “pipe” in Swahili-Kiswahili to English translation, is probably the best known of the various brands of meerschaum pipes from there. In East Africa Meerschaum is found in Tanganyika, once known as German East Africa, and since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania. The main deposit comes from the Amboseli basin surrounding the Lake Amboseli. Tanganyika Meerschaum is normally stained in shades of brown, black and yellow, and is considered to be inferior to Meerschaum from Turkey. Even though, the raw material is mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation and to a large extent used for pipe making. Uncounted pipe makers throughout the world were supplied with Amboseli Meerschaum, preferentially used for Meerschaum lined briars or leather-clad pipes. In Tanganyika the Kilimanjaro Pipe Company Ltd. produced the following brands: Caveman, Countryman (Elephant logo), Kiko (Elephant logo), Kikob (Elephant logo), Kilimanjaro (Rhinoceros logo), Kudu (Giraffe Logo), Makonde (Rhinoceros logo), Merlin (Flying bird or Antelope logo), Sportsman (Elephant logo), Tembo, Townsman, Twiga (Giraffe Logo), White elephant (Elephant logo)

This little prince I had was dirty and there was a screen contraption in the bottom of the bowl. It did not smell of anything other than strong Lakeland style tobacco so I am guessing this was a contraption to keep the bowl from getting moist in the bottom. Not sure about that however. The exterior was dirty and had sticky gum on it from the sales label. The rim top and down the top edges of the bowl had been darkened prior to smoking to give it a classic aged look like the pictures below.

The top of the rim was darkened as were the edges when it left the factory. In this case they were spotty and uneven. The bowl had a slight build up of cake. The shank was dirty with tars but smelled strongly of tobacco. The stem was slightly oxidized and also very dirty inside and out. The metal screw in tenon was dirty and had tarry buildup on the threads. The stem was slightly overturned.

I used a dental pick to pry the screen ball from the bottom of the bowl. It had been squashed into shape and the top indented to mirror the bottom of the bowl. The side of the screen had been opened toward the airway in the bowl bottom as well to facilitate smoke getting through. I wiped down the exterior of the bowl with alcohol dampened cotton pad to remove the grime and the buildup of gum on the stem and the bowl.

I sanded the meerschaum bowl with 1500 and 1800 grit micromesh sanding pads and then buffed the bowl with Tripoli and White Diamond to get a shine on the meerschaum.

I cleaned out the shank and the bowl as well as the stem with pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in Everclear. I kept cleaning until the pipe cleaners came out clean and unstained.

Once finished with the inside I sanded the outside of the stem with a medium grit sanding sponge and then wipe it down with Meguair’s Scratch X2.0 on a cotton pad. Then I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500 – 12,000 grit. I wet sanded the stem with the 1500-2400 grits and then dry sanded with the remaining grits.

I then buffed the stem and bowl with White Diamond on the buffing wheel. The four pictures below show the finished pipe. In the fifth picture, I decided to sand the rim down some more before finishing and then stained it with a dark brown aniline stain to get the darkened look back to the pipe edges and rim. When I had finished that I flamed it and restained until it was as dark as I could get it and then I buffed it again with White Diamond and coated the stem with carnauba wax and the bowl with a beeswax mixture.

Restemming a Gift Pipe – a Savinelli Autograph 5

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On a recent work trip to Alberta I stopped by and visited Todd Bannard (aka Sasquatch) in his workshop. He did a bit of work on a Delrin sleeve for me and we smoked some bowls together. I left a couple of refurbished pipes with Todd and he gave me a Savinelli Autograph 5 bowl that needed to be restemmed. This afternoon I got around to fitting a stem to the pipe. The briar is a beautiful piece with a lot of gorgeous grain. The bottom of the bowl and the shank are sandblasted. The bowl has a plateau top and the shank took a flush fit stem. It had been barely smoked and certainly was not broken in. If it had been smoked one or two times that may be saying more than is true as the grain in the interior of the bowl is still quite visible. Below are some pictures of the bowl before I restemmed it.

I did research on the Savinelli Autographs to see what kind of stems they had and found a variety of them in pictures. About half of the photos showed a saddle stem with much the same proportions as the one that I chose to use. I went through my box of stems and found one that would approximate the look of the pipes online. I also wanted one that would fit after I turned the tenon. It would also take some minimal adjustment to the diameter of the saddle in order to align with the shank. I drilled open the airway to hold the guide pin on the Pimo tenon turner. I put it in the cordless drill and slowly cut away the diameter of the tenon until it was close to fitting in the shank.

I used a Dremel with a sanding drum to take down the tenon until it fit the shank. The next two photos show the newly cut tenon before I sanded it down to smooth out the marks left by the Dremel.

I sanded the tenon with 220 grit sandpaper and then with 1500 and 1800 micromesh sanding pads to smooth out the tenon. Once that was done the stem fit in the shank snuggly. In the four photos below the fit of the stem can be seen and the excess of vulcanite that needed to be trimmed away from the diameter is also visible.

I sanded the diameter with a Dremel and a sanding drum. I took off the casting marks left along the edges of the blade and on the sides of the saddle portion of the stem. I also used the Dremel to take off the excess diameter of the stem. I worked carefully and slowly along the joint of the stem and the shank so that I did not damage the briar with the sander. I was able to remove the majority of the overage with the Dremel and finished with sandpaper.

I sanded the Dremel marks out and further reduced the diameter with medium grit emery cloth. I sanded it until the fit was almost perfect. I would finish the fit with finer grits of sandpaper and the micromesh sanding pads later.

I set up a heat gun and the rolling pin I use to bend the stems next to it. I heated the stem with the heat gun set on the lower of the two settings. I held it over the heat until the vulcanite was flexible. At that point I bent the stem over the rolling pin in order to get an even bend in the vulcanite. Once it was bent to the angle I wanted I held it under the cold water tap in the sink to set the bend. The next four photos show the process and the resultant bend in the stem.

I took the newly bent stem back to the work table and did some more sanding on the diameter of the saddle to further match the shank. I used 220 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding sponge to clean up the stem and remove the scratch marks left behind by the emery paper. I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a soft bristle tooth brush to remove the dust and grit left in the sandblast portion and the plateau on the top of the bowl. I rinsed the bowl under warm tap water and dried it with a soft cotton cloth. I gave the bowl several coats of carnauba wax on the buffer before inserting the stem and giving it a light buff with red Tripoli. The next four photos show the status of the pipe and the new stem after the polishing on the buffer.

Next I sanded the stem with the micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500, 1800 and 2400 grit micromesh and then dry sanded with the remaining grits 3200-12,000.

When I had finished with the micromesh pads I gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil and rubbed it into the vulcanite. Once it was dry I buffed the stem and the bowl on the buffer lightly with White Diamond and then gave the pipe several coats of carnauba and buffed to a shine with a clean soft flannel buff. The pictures below show the finished pipe. It is now ready for the pleasure of breaking it in. I still have not decided what tobacco to use with it but there are several options on the table. I want to thank Todd for the great looking bowl to be restemmed and I will enjoy it and remember the visit to his shop.

Refurbed Birkdale Canadian – Made in London England Shape # 296

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On my trip in Northern Alberta, Canada I picked up this older Canadian with a sandblast finish. The blast is not deep and craggy but is fine nonetheless. It is stamped on the smooth bottom of the shank Birkdale in script over SUPERB. Next to that it is stamped Made in London over England and then a shape number – 296. I have not heard of the Birkdale brand so I Googled it on the net to see what I could find out about it. There was not much there in terms of solid information. There were numerous posts on various forums requesting information. The information on the brand showed some confusion. From Pipedia Birkdale is a brand of the German pipe company named Wolsdorff. In turn Pipephil pegs Wolsdorff as a chain of tobacconists that had their pipes made by different German companies like Design Berlin and Oldenkott. However, the one I found has the made in London England stamping that removes the German connection. Something about the shape and shape number made me do a search in the Comoy’s shape and number charts available online. I found that the 296 shape for Comoy’s is an oval shanked Canadian, exactly like this one. Thus it appears that the pipe was made by Comoy’s. I am wondering if the Birkdale (which is a region in England) is not one of a line of English regionally named pipes made by Comoy’s. Does anyone have any information on this possibility?

As for the pipe’s condition – the finish was dirty and somewhat worn. The rim was worn and showed some wear on the inner edge. It was partially beveled inward. The cake was broken and thin on the inside of the bowl. The stain was worn and spotty on the shank near the stem. The stem itself was oxidized and had tooth chatter on the top and underside near the button. The insert logo was missing. From what I can find online the insert design was in the air. The hole was round and like the space for a dot. I suppose it may have had the Comoy’s C with the circle at one time but I am not sure. The tenon on the pipe was an older step down version like the Comoy’s. The pipe was worn and dirty but very salvageable. The three photos below show the state of the pipe when I brought it to the work table.

I decided to make an off white insert for the hole in the stem (the hole did not go into the airway). To make the replacement I have a knitting needle that I use for replacement dots. I used a Dremel to turn the end of the needle down to the size of the hole in the stem. The next six photos show the process of shaping the new dot for the stem. The first four photos show the shaping of the dot stock. The last two photos show the inserted dot.

Once the newly turned end fit into the hole in the side of the stem I cut it off with a pair of needle nosed pliers and began the finishing work on the dot. I glued it in place in the hole with superglue and when it was set sanded it down with a Dremel. When the surface of the dot matched the surface of the stem I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper until it was smooth. The remainder of the finishing on the dot would be done when I cleaned up the oxidation on the stem.

I reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer to clean out the bowl and remove the broken cake. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a soft bristle tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed it until all the crevices were clean and then rinsed it under warm tap water being careful to not get water in the bowl or shank. I patted the surface dry. The first two photos below show the scrubbing process. The third, fourth and fifth photos show the bowl after being dried off. The surface is clean and ready to work with.

I cleaned out the internals of the stem and shank with pipe cleaners and Everclear as well as cleaning out the mortise area with cotton swabs. Interestingly the inside of the shank not only had minimal tars but also there was some of the red undercoat stain in the shank. I was able to remove all of the stain and the tars.

I restained the pipe with a dark brown aniline stain, flamed it and restained and flamed it again until the spots without stain on the edge of the rim and near the stem were well covered. I mixed the stain one part stain to one part alcohol as I wanted it to cover the briar but allow the undercoat of the red to come through once it was buffed and waxed.

I used 1500 and 1800 grit micromesh sanding pads and wet sanded the stem to remove the surface oxidation. I also “painted” the stem with a Bic lighter to burn off the oxidation. The picture I took of this failed to come out so I do not have photos of this step. I then dry sanded the stem with the remaining grits of micromesh from 2400-12,000 grit.

I gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil and rubbed it into the vulcanite. Once it was dry I hand buffed the stem and then gave it a coating of carnauba wax by hand using some Paragon wax. I reinserted the stem in the pipe and then took it to the buffer. I buffed it with White Diamond and then gave the bowl and stem a light buff with carnauba wax. I repeated the waxing until the pipe was well covered. I gave it a final buff with a soft flannel buff. The photos below show the finished pipe. The topcoat of brown stain lets the red undercoat show through and adds dimension to the finished look of the pipe.

Parker Super Briar Bark Cherrywood Restored

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Blog by Steve Laug

The first of the latest lot I picked up on my trip to Northern Alberta was brought to the work bench this afternoon. I decided to work on little Parker Super Briar Bark Cherrywood. It is stamped on the underside of the shank Parker over Super in a diamond over Briar Bark. Next to that is Made in London England with both a size number – 4 – and a shape number – 283.

The bowl had a lot of cake build up in the bowl and had some nicks in the briar around the outer edge of the rim. The finish was dirty with grime in the deep crevices of the sandblast on the outside of the bowl and a buildup of tars on the top of the rim. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth damage on both the top and bottom sides near the button. The Parker logo “P” in a diamond was partly visible on top of the stem. It was merely a painted on logo and not stamped in the vulcanite so it would be hard to clean and leave in place.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer – a T handle and different cutting heads. The smallest diameter cutting head trimmed back the cake to a thin coat. I dumped the carbon buildup in the rubbish and then cleaned out the bowl with a cotton swab dipped in Everclear to remove any leftover loose carbon.

I removed the stem and found that the pipe had an inner tube like the Dunhill Inner Tube that was used as a method of keeping the shank clean from tar buildup.

I scrubbed the surface of the bowl and shank with a soft bristle tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed it until the soap was dirty and then rinsed it off under warm running water and patted it dry. I kept the water out of the bowl and the shank as I did not want those areas wet.

I cleaned out the shank and the bowl with pipe cleaners and cotton swabs and pipe cleaners dipped in Everclear. Once the inside was clean I worked on the oxidized stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to break up the calcium buildup around the button area and to also minimize the tooth marks on the top and the bottom side of the stem. After the initial sanding I scrubbed the surface of the stem with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 to remove the surface oxidation and to soften the oxidation deep in the stem.

I scrubbed the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners and Everclear and used 0000 steel wool on the aluminum inner tube. I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit. I wet sanded with the 1500 and the 1800 grit and afterward applied some white out to the area of the logo. I decided to try and build it up a bit. The logo appeared to be stamped in the stem but as I looked at it I could see that it was a painted on logo. In the polishing of the stem I sacrificed the logo. I dry sanded with the remaining grits of micromesh from 2400-12,000.

When the sanding was completed I gave the stem a rub down with Obsidian Oil and let it soak into the vulcanite. I buffed it with a soft cloth and gave the stem a coating of carnauba wax by hand. I restained the bowl with a dark brown stain that had been diluted with one part alcohol to one part stain. I wanted to cover some of the nicks in the outer rim and some of the light spots on the shank that showed wear and tear. I applied it with a cotton swab and then flamed it with a lighter. I reapplied the stain and reflamed it until I had the colour match I was looking for.

I reinserted the stem and gave the bowl and the stem a coat of Halcyon II wax and hand buffed it with a soft cotton cloth and a shoe brush.

To finish the pipe I buffed the stem with White Diamond and lightly buffed the bowl with the same. After the buffing I gave it a light coat of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean flannel buff. The finished pipe is pictured below and awaits its inaugural smoke.

Using a Delrin Sleeve to Repair a Cracked Shank

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I spoke with Mark Domingues via email regarding an old Peterson bent billiard he had with a cracked shank. We emailed back and forth regarding different ways of addressing the crack. Mark did not want to band the pipe as he liked the look of the briar and vulcanite sans band. We spoke of ways to repair the shank internally using a Delrin or aluminum sleeve that would be epoxied in the shank. The tenon would have to be resized to fit the new diameter of the shank. Mark responded by sending me the pipe to have a go at. I looked through my repair parts and found a white Delrin tenon that I had cut for me for a different repair I was doing. The tenon was almost the diameter of the inside of the shank, the mortise area. To achieve the fix I wanted to do it would need to be drilled out and turned down for a proper fit as a sleeve insert. The trick would be to allow proper space for the epoxy to be used to hold the repair in place. Too thick and the split in the shank would open up again. The sleeve would also need to be scored to give the slippery surface of the Delrin some bite against the inside of the mortise. I cleaned out the shank carefully with Everclear to insure that the interior surface was clean and I would be able to get a good measurement for the sleeve. Then I ran into a problem due to the lack of equipment I have available for this work. I had no way of anchoring the tenon to drill it out or to turn down the exterior of the tenon. I do not have a lathe which would have made the fix a very simple job. So I set the pipe and the Delrin aside and did a bit of thinking about how to proceed.

Several weeks later I was planning a work related trip to Calgary, Alberta and then later up into the northwest part of Alberta. I knew I would be passing by the area where Todd Bannard, aka Sasquatch on several of the pipe forums, lived. Todd is a pipe maker whose website is Briar, Sweat and Tears http://www.briarsweatandtears.com/ Todd makes some great pipes. I figured he would have a lathe. I gave him a call and asked if I could stop by for a visit and if he could turn a piece of Delrin to size for a shank repair. It would require him to drill it out and to also turn down the outer diameter to make a sleeve. Todd agreed to give it a go. I packed the pipe, stem and the Delrin in my bag and looked forward to my visit with Todd.

After our initial chatting and smoking a bowl together Todd had a look at the piece of Delrin I had brought along. He shortened the Delrin tenon to the proper length for the sleeve insert. He set up his lathe with a chuck to hold the tenon solidly in place and then inserted a drill bit in the other side. He advanced the bit slowly into the spinning Delrin until the airway opened up. He repeated the process with a second larger drill bit until the interior airway was opened as much as could safely be done with the bit. He turned the outside down to size, checking several times by inserting the Delrin into the mortise of the pipe. Once the fit was smooth and easy he reduced it slightly to give room for the epoxy that would also fill space. He turned grooves into the outer surface of the sleeve in order to give it some bite for the epoxy when inserted into the shank. With that done the rest was up to me. Todd and I smoked another bowl in his back yard before I headed out for the rest of my trip north. I cannot thank Todd enough for his willingness to use his skills and lathe to turn the sleeve for me. The next few photos show Todd’s set up on the lathe and his work in drilling it out and turning it down.

When I returned home from my trip to Alberta I set to work on the pipe. I laid out the pieces – the stem, the Delrin sleeve and the bowl in preparation for the repair. The first step for me was to open up the crack in the shank so that I could glue it together. I wanted the crack to bond together but no overdo the glue and harm the finish on the pipe. I inserted the stem in the shank and applied enough pressure to open the crack. I dripped clear superglue into the crack and then clamped it together until it dried. I used micromesh sanding pads to remove the excess glue on the shank.

With the crack repaired it was time to insert the Delrin sleeve. I mixed a two-part quick drying epoxy and put the sleeve over the end of an artist’s paint brush to make it easier to coat the outside of the sleeve with the epoxy. I used a dental pick to spread the glue on the sleeve and made sure that I had covered it completely. When the sleeve was evenly coated I left it on the paint brush handle and used that to press the sleeve into place in the shank. I adjusted the fit with a dental pick and set it aside until it was dry. The next two photos show the sleeve set in place in the shank.

After the epoxy set I used needle files to open the inside of the sleeve as much as possible in order to achieve a good fit for the stem. The original tenon had a smaller step down portion that was the perfect size for the sleeve. I carefully worked with a half round file and then with round files to evenly open the sleeve. When I had a good snug fit on the step down portion of the tenon I sanded down the rest of the tenon to match the smaller step down end. I used a Dremel, a rasp and needle files to reduce the tenon to the same size as the step down end. I worked on it until it fit snugly in the shank.

I sanded the tenon with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth off the marks left by the rasp and the files. I followed that by sanding the tenon with micromesh sanding pads until it was smooth. I used a sharp knife to smooth out the countersink in the shank of the pipe so that the transition from the briar countersunk portion and the end of the sleeve was smooth. The stem slid snugly into place and the repair was finished. All that remained was to polish the newly cut tenon to remove the marks of the files and sandpapers.

I buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond on the buffer. I used a light touch so as not to damage the stamping on the shank and to polish the stem. Once finished I buffed it again with carnauba wax and a clean flannel wheel to polish the wax. The finished pipe is pictured below. The repair on the shank was done on the left side at the 9 o’clock position. The first photo shows that side of the shank. The crack is repaired and barely visible. The pipe should continue to serve its purpose for a long time.

The Story of the Lorenzo Oom Paul – Gift from Bill Cumming

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I returned home from a recent funeral I officiated for a good friend there was a package from Bill awaiting me in the mail box. It was oddly shaped so I was very curious what would be inside when I opened it. I carefully cut the tape on the end of the box that was shaped like a Toblerone bar and slid out the contents. The inside package was wrapped in a short letter that had a beautiful drawing attached to it (I have photographed the drawing and posted it here on the blog). Underneath that was another layer of bubble wrap that contained a stem for a bent bulldog and under that was a beautiful Lorenzo pipe – an Oom Paul with a Savinelli Capri-like finish that Bill had sent as a gift. I am floored by Bill’s thoughtfulness and generosity. Thank you, Bill.

The pipe is a classic example of an Oom Paul sitter. The finish is in excellent shape and the rim is perfect. The inner bevel of the rim is smooth and unblemished and the bowl is still perfectly round. The bottom of the bowl is flattened enabling the pipe to stand on its own – which it is doing now next to my keyboard as I write this post. The bowl is clean and smells of rich tobacco recently burned in its depths – a great smell in my opinion. The shank and well (sump) is also clean due to Bill’s creativity explained later in the letter from him I have included in this post. The stem has minor tooth chatter but no bite marks and is oxidized but will clean up nicely. The Upside down cursive L on the top of the blade of the stem is stamped and still bearing the white colour it had originally when it was purchased. This one will be a simple restore and I will soon be enjoying a bowl of tobacco in it.

Here is Bill’s letter to me that accompanied the pipe. It gives the story of the pipe and an interesting discovery Bill shares with regard to a trick for easing the gurgle that often is found in the Oom Paul pipes.

The Story of the Lorenzo Oom Paul – by Bill Cumming

I started smoking a pipe in Germany while in the US Army, as did some buddies. We all started with Dr. Grabow’s or basket pipes. The first quality pipe (no reflection upon Grabows!) was one my friend bought, a Savinelli Capri – he loved it, a real prize! Shortly after I found a Lorenzo Oom Paul, dark brown, more rusticated than sandblast… identical to the one I’m sending you, except yours is more red (very close to the stain on Capris, though they also come black).

I treasured this pipe! Bought in 1969, I still have it, it smoked as well as my friend’s Savinelli Capri and I’ve always felt same quality as a Capri … NOTE: I have 3 Capris.

I became an Oom Paul aficionado! I loved how they sit, how they look, how they “hang”, how they have a heritage, their noticed by others; they’re not all that common… I collected Oom Pauls: Savinelli Capri, Savinelli Estrella, Edwards, Caminetto, Savinelli Non-Pareil, even some nameless basket Oom Pauls. I also found two matching Oom Pauls to mine from Germany – a smooth and the red one I’m sending you. I still have my first (1969) and the smooth one. I “horse traded” some of the other Oom Pauls, but also still have some I won’t part with.

NOTE: Steve, I took them under my wing, with a real attachment from my first one. Sure, I knew the “rap” against them – gurglers and unable to pass a cleaner directly from stem into the bowl (inherent engineering) with one notable exception. The Savinelli Non-Pariel Oom Paul will send a cleaner straight through!

But, let me share with you a bit of a revelation. I always accepted the engineering of Oom Pauls and if they gurgled, I carefully removed the stem from a hot pipe to run a cleaner through the draft hole. I know that’s a “no-no”, but I’ve never cracked a shank.

• I started to realize most of the gurgling is in the stem, not the draft hole.

• I, later, became a big fan of Peterson Systems!

• It dawned on me, one day, this is fact… Oom Pauls are not (never were billed as) system pipes. Yet, their engineering is similar! A bit of a well, a cleaner goes into the well, not the draft hole; Peterson Systems have a military bit so it’s easy to remove the stem to run a cleaner into the bowl.

• So why couldn’t I incorporate the same little “trick” I use with Peterson Systems?

• Many folks seem to regard Sytems as too high maintenance! During the smoke, if you set the pipe down and it falls over (like spilling a cup of coffee), you’ve now sloshed the accumulated foul smelling liquid into the draft hole or up the stem!

• I took somebody else’s wonderful suggestion for Pete Systems… while preparing the pipe for a smoke, I roll up a small piece of tissue paper, or Kleenex, into a “pea” and push it down into the well with a pipe tool, making sure this “paper pea” is beneath the draft hole. BINGO! The “pea” absorbs all the moisture and juice, and is easily plucked out and discarded after the smoke. I’ve read some stories about horrible system estate pipes where the well was never dumped, never cleaned… ugh, like, how bad do you suppose it smelled? This “paper pea” is (for me) a mandatory integral part of enjoying System pipes.

• So, I thought, why not do the same thing with my Oom Pauls? BINGO again! I make a smaller “pea” (and nobody ever claimed an Oom Paul was a System Pipe) but his has given another dimension to smoking and enjoying my Oom Pauls! The engineering is no longer a problem. Gurgle? The moisture is in the stem (mostly) – run a cleaner through the stem (down) and you can easily fell the “softness” when it hits the “pea”!

•I never remove a stem anymore from a hot Oom Paul pipe.

Well, Steve, I don’t know your history with Oom Pauls, or other shapes. I’ve noticed a lot of your pipe work is on straight pipes. You mentioned you found most Lorenzo pipe to be too large. I don’t think the three Lorenzo Oom Pauls (the red one for you) are all that large. They are smaller than all my other Oom Pauls (Caminetto, Savinelli, Edwards).

It’s a narrow, but deep, bowl so fits well with certain tobacco. The rustication is identical to my original 1969 dark brown pipe. That one, the smooth one and the red one (yours) all smoke fine.
I like the little upside down L on the stem.

I’m downsizing some of my pipes, doing a bit of “horse trading” again, but I felt passing this Lorenzo Oom Paul to you would be a fitting “return gesture” for the unexpected gift from you.
I hope you’ll enjoy it (I’m sure you’ll clean it up a bit) especially maybe some cold fall or winter evening. Maybe my story has provided you another perspective on Oom Pauls! I guess we all remember our first love! 🙂 – Bill Cumming

Once again, thank you, Bill. What follows are the details of the clean up and refurbishing of your gift to me.

The next two photos show the pipe on the work table. The photos do not show the dust in the deep grooves of the bowl. They do show the overall good condition of the pipe.

I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a fine bristle tooth brush. I use the Murphy’s undiluted as I have found that it does not remove the finish as easily. Once I had scrubbed all the nooks and crannies of the rustication I rinsed it under warm water until the soap was gone and then patted the bowl dry. I kept the water out of the bowl and the shank while I did the scrubbing and rinsing to keep the interior dry. The first photo below shows the soap on the briar. The second, third and fourth photos show the bowl after I had rinsed it with the warm water and dried it off.

I cleaned out the shank and the bowl with Everclear and pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until they came out clean and then coated the exterior of the bowl and shank with Halcyon II wax and hand buffed it with a shoe brush. The photo below shows the pipe after the waxing and buffing.

I scrubbed the stem with a cotton pad and Meguiar’s Scratch X 2.0 polish. It is used for polishing plastic and removes oxidation and scratches to the finish of plastics. I have often used it as the first step in removing oxidation. I find that it quickly removes the surface oxidation and softens the deeper oxidation as well. I followed up the cleaning with the use of micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to remove the softened oxidation. I stopped after wet sanding with the 1500 and 1800 grit pads and used a liquid paper used in correcting typos in typed writing to re-whiten the stamping on the stem. I then continued to sand the stem with the remaining grits of micromesh pads until the oxidation was gone.

I then polished the stem with White Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave the bowl a good light buff as well. I took it back to the work bench and wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry then coated the stem with carnauba wax and hand buffed it until it shined. The four photos below show the finished pipe. It is cleaned, refurbished and ready to smoke.

A Unique Vertical Oval Shank Meerschaum Reborn

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I saw this old Meerschaum pipe bowl on Ebay and decided to put a low bid on it. I was not surprised to have won it and paid for it quickly. The seller packed it very well and shipped it off to Vancouver, Canada. Below are the Ebay photos that caught my attention. I think the thing that intrigued me the most was the vertical oval shank on the pipe. To restem that pipe would be a great challenge – find a stem large enough to work with and shape it until it fit. I thought I had just the stem in my box – a gift from a friend on Pipesmokers Unleashed Forum, Robert.

From the photos it looked to be in rough shape. The pipe case said it was a WDC but I have no way of knowing if that is true. The gold filigree on the band looks like the old WDC pipes of the late 1890s but I am still uncertain as to the maker. It was in rough shape as can be seen from the photos. There were many scratches and gouges around the outside of the bowl. The shank had marks on the top that looked like someone had taken a file to it. The rim was probably the worst. With the rough edges on the back right side of the bowl the rim/top appeared to be angled to the right side and worn down. The tar build up was heavy in the bowl and on the rim. The tenon was broken off in the shank. It appeared to be an old bone tenon and a bone insert in the mortise that was threaded to take the screw in tenon. I am assuming the pipe probably had an amber stem in its first appearance in the shop but that was long since broken and lost. The WDC case was also very rough – the edges were worn away, the wood broken and a hinge dangling unused. The inside was badly stained.

Yesterday afternoon I came home from work early and found a package awaiting me – I knew that the meer had arrived. I had to laugh when I cut open the box – it had a previous label a Funeral Home in Ohio. I don’t know if that was a commentary on the pipe bowl that resided inside the box or if a funny coincidence. I cut the tape and opened the box. The pipe inside was both in worse shape than I had imagined from the seller’s excellent pictures and in better shape. The meer under the band was cracked as can be seen in the photo above and that was as it was when it arrived. The scratches in the surface of the bowl were not as deep as they appeared in the photos and the pipe when place on the rim on a flat board was actually not slanted to the right – the damage to the outer edges of the right back side made it appear worse than it actually was in reality. The next photos show the pipe on the work table just out of the box.

After examining it carefully with my lens and a dental pick I decided to begin the clean up by trying to remove the tenon. I used the screw that I generally use to remove a tenon to no avail. The threads in the mortise were locked tight around the tenon. I picked at it with the dental pick and was unable to remove it that way either. I decided to drill out the old tenon. So I set up a cordless drill with a drill bit slightly larger than the airway in the broken tenon. I slowly drilled the airway with the bit and exchanged it for increasingly larger bits until I had the airway cleared of the debris. I then used a ¼ inch bit to open the mortise and clear out the remaining debris of the mortise and tenon. The second photo below shows the mortise after I opened it up. I used a dental pick to clean out the remaining pieces and hand turned the quarter-inch drill bit into the mortise to smooth out the walls of the airway and open it to receive a new tenon.

I took the pipe bowl back to the work table and set up a coarse sanding block on my worktable to top the bowl of the meer. I have used this block in the past with good success on the softer meerschaum material. I placed the bowl, rim down on the surface of the block and sanded it in a clockwise direction (no reason for that other than I am right-handed). I sanded it, checking often to see how the rim was cleaning up until the surface was clear and the top of the bowl once again level. Surprisingly I did not have to remove too much material from the rim to clean up the surface.

When I had finished the sanding, I used micromesh sanding pads to sand the top smooth once again and remove the scratches from the coarse sanding block. The micromesh sanding pads from 1500 – 12,000 grit bring a shine back to the surface of the meer and prepare it for rewaxing once the pipe is finished.

At this point in the process I decided to see if I could fit a new stem on the pipe. The diameter of the oval shank was quite large and would require a large diameter round stem. To make it an oval stem would require that much of the existing vulcanite of the stem would have to be removed in the shaping process. I had an old Brebbia stem that a friend on Pipe Smoker Unleashed Forum sent me for an old Peterson that I was restemming. The tenon was too small for the Pete but too large for the old meer. I used a Dremel with a sanding drum to remove the excess material from the tenon until the fit was very close. The remainder of the fitting was done with a wood rasp and sandpaper. Once the tenon was finished I pushed the stem into the old meer to check on the fit of the tenon in the newly opened mortise. As can be seen in the photo below, the fit was perfect. You can also see from that photo how much work would need to be done to fit the stem to match the shank of the pipe.

The stem had deep bite marks on the top and the bottom near the button. They did not break the surface of the vulcanite. I decided to heat the surface of the stem with a heat gun and try to lift the dents from both sides as much as possible. I also wanted to straighten the stem significantly to give a better profile to the pipe. The heat gun worked to achieve both aims. The tooth marks lifted quite a bit and would have to be filled with black superglue to finish the work and the bend straightened to the angle I wanted for the new stem.

I sanded the initial excess vulcanite off the diameter of the shank with the sanding drum on the Dremel. Once I had removed a large portion I took it back to the work table and used a rasp to continue to shape and reduce the stem to the right proportions. The next series of eight photos shows the effectiveness of the rasp in shaping the stem. (In the midst of the shaping my daughters brought down a bowl of popcorn for a snack while I worked – that appears in several of the photos.)

I removed the stem from the shank and cleaned up the tooth dents so that I could fill them with black superglue. The glue takes quite a bit of time to cure so I waited until I was finished for the evening and then filled the dents and set the stem aside to cure over night.

This morning I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and also sanded the superglue patch on the underside of the stem. The next four photos show the stem as it begins to take shape and the repaired spot on the underside of the stem. The oval is coming along nicely but there was still a lot of excess material that still needed to be removed.

I continued to sand the stem to further tune the shape of the oval to match the shank. I used 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess and shape the stem. I worked on the superglue patch on the underside of the stem with the 220 grit sandpaper as well. In the next series of three photos you can see the shape I am aiming for with this stem. You can also see the size of the patch on the stem. The patch is still larger than the marks it covers so more sanding will need to be done on it to blend it into the vulcanite.

I cleaned up the bite marks on the top of the stem and applied the black superglue patch to that surface as well. I set it aside while I worked on the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with Murphy’s Oil Soap on a cotton pad to clean off the grime on the surface while leaving as much of the old patina as possible. The first photo below shows the superglue patch. I applied it and used a dental pick to push it around the surface and also build up a few tooth marks on the edge of the button. The second photo below shows the patch after it had dried and I had sanded the patch with 220 grit sandpaper.

While working on the stem I decided to open the button to make it simpler to insert a pipe cleaner. I used needle files to make the slot larger. The second photo shows the opened slot in the button. I sanded the inside of the slot with a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth the surface and polish the slot.

I took the pipe back to the Dremel and sanding drum to remove more of the excess vulcanite. I had the basic shape in hand and just wanted to get it closer to the size of the shank before doing the finish sanding. I brought it back to the work table and sanded with 220 grit sandpaper until the fit was right. The next four photos show the progress in the fitting of the stem.

I sanded the stem with a medium grit sponge backed sanding pad. It helped to remove the scratches left behind by the 200 grit sandpaper. Then I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to polish and shine the vulcanite and the patched areas. The white Lucite band that was a part of the stem began to take on a shine as well in the process. The next nine photos capture what took about an hour to achieve in the sanding process. I wet sanded with the 1500, 1800 and 2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanded with the remaining grits of micromesh.

I buffed the stem with White Diamond and a blue plastic polishing compound to bring out the final shine on the stem. I hand waxed the meerschaum with beeswax and hand buffed it with a shoe brush. The next four photos show the finished pipe with the new stem. I like the marks and scratches in the meer as they seem to speak of the long journey the pipe took to get to me. The white Lucite band on the stem fits nicely in my thinking against the gold of the filigree band. The slight bend it the stem works nicely for me. From the last two photos you can see the oval shape of the stem now that it is completed. It has come a long way from the round stem I received as a gift from Ron.

A Schulte deLuxe Reborn – by Joey Bruce

11 Replies

Blog by Joey Bruce

Joey has been a reader of the blog for a while now. Then about a month ago now I received and email from him with some questions on an old pipe he had picked up. It turned out to be a WDC bulldog that was in rough shape. We exchanged a few emails and over the course of reworking that old-timer I could see that Joey was hooked on this hobby! I invited him to do a write-up on some of his work and post it here for others to be encouraged and challenged. Last evening he sent me this article on an old Schulte deLuxe that through his efforts had been reborn. What follows is his article and photos. Thank you Joey for taking the time to write this up and send a copy to me. It is great to have you posting on the blog as a writer. Enjoy his work readers.

Hello all. Just dipping my toes into the pipe refurbishing world. I’ve been reading the posts here obsessively for a while now and couldn’t resist trying it for myself. I’ve always loved restoring things whether it’s, old bikes, cars or motorcycles. All the way to obscure things like pens and sewing machines. So it was a natural move into this. Hopefully I won’t bore you. At the very least you’ll be able to see the difference between and amateur like me and the real deal like Steve and Greg.

I recently bought a few estate pipes off eBay. Most were in such great shape they didn’t need anything more than a spit shine. A few I used as practice. Trying out different techniques I’ve read here and see what I like the best. This weekend I went to a flea market and grabbed a bunch of old cheapos that were laying in a box for a few bucks. Figured I’d get more practice and this time actually take pictures.

I grabbed the Schulte deLuxe first as that one seemed like it would be the easiest. First I soaked the stem in an Oxy Clean and water solution (no real ratio. Just about half a tbs to 3/4 water. But really just guessed) to bring out the oxidation. Then I wet sanded it with 1500 grit sandpaper (all I had. Would have been easier to work my way up to that but I just went with what was here) until all the oxidation was removed. After a little elbow grease I took it over to the polishing wheel (Ryobi bench grinder with two 6″ polishing wheels) and hit it up with some red rouge. Working it back and forth until it had a nice smooth shine. Then moved to the other wheel with Eastwood Supply’s version of White Diamond. Working it with a much gentler touch. Wiped off the residue and voila. Better than new.

I moved onto the bowl. This time I decided to try wet sanding the bowl just to see what would happen. I hypothesized that a quick wet sand might just remove the grit and grime. Turns out it quickly moved right past that and into the stain. I probably won’t do that again unless the bowl needs serious work but it was worth a shot. Wet sanding did work well on the top of the bowl to remove the tar. Much quicker than the spit shine method.

You can see how one turn on the bowl with the red rouge turns the wet sand into a nice shine. Probably my favorite part of this whole thing is when you break it all down to its base and start to rebuild it.

I did the same to the bowl as I did to the stem. Took about an hour on the wheel for both. And I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I have yet to polish them with any wax to keep the shine up. I just haven’t picked any carnauba wax up and I’ve noticed the super bright shine dulls after a few days so I’ll be sure to grab some wax ASAP.

If you’re reading still thanks and I hope this helps anyone who is just getting started.

Cheers.

rebornpipes

reclaiming old and worn estate pipes

Tag Archives: stem work

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Refurbed Birkdale Canadian – Made in London England Shape # 296

Parker Super Briar Bark Cherrywood Restored

Using a Delrin Sleeve to Repair a Cracked Shank

The Story of the Lorenzo Oom Paul – Gift from Bill Cumming

A Unique Vertical Oval Shank Meerschaum Reborn

A Schulte deLuxe Reborn – by Joey Bruce

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