Tag Archives: super glue

Repairing a Hole in an Acrylic Stem

Blog by Greg Wolford

A couple of weeks ago I received an IM from a Facebook friend; he’s a pipe collector and reseller. He attached the following photos of an acrylic stem with a hole in the underside.

He had seen photos of some of my work bad wanted to know if I could repair this stem for him; he said the top of the stem and the stummel were pristine and this was the only problem with the pipe. I said I could fix it so he told me the stem would be in the mail in a couple of days.

A week later I found a box in the mail from a sender I didn’t recognize and I wasn’t expecting any packages so I was eager to see what was inside. When I opened the box I found a beautiful large Radice (I forget the model name and didn’t remember to photograph it) inside – with a big hole in the stem; apparently the seller sent the pipe directly to me first and, after repairing it, I would forward it to my friend.

The hole was larger than it appeared in the pictures. And it was a bit “ragged”, too. So I picked it with my dental pick and smoothed it with a round needle file to have a good surface to work with. I bent a pipe cleaner to make it triple-width to fit the slot and greased it with vegetable shortening; I’ve had trouble with petroleum jelly in past not keeping the glue in place real well and have started using the shortening instead.

I began by applying a drop or two of black super glue to the hole an pd then setting it aside to cure; it was going to take several layers to fill this hole so it would be a waiting game. Later that evening I applied a few more drops and left it overnight to cure.

In the morning I found the patch had shrunken, as expected, and needed more glue. I applied two more patches that day, once in the morning and another that evening and allowed it to cure overnight again.

It was at this point I began to have some fairly dramatic vision problems due to diabetes, which I’d been recently diagnosed with. (More on that can be found here if you are inclined to read about it.) So I sent my friend a message telling him what was going on and it might be several more days before I could finish the repair. His reply was no problem, make sure I took care of me first.

Several days later my son and I stopped into the local Hobby Lobby to pick up some new micro mesh pads. As we browsed I found a small “spray bottle” labeled adhesive accelerator; I immediately wondered what kind of adhesive it was for and began to read the label, with my son’s help, since my vision was still not clear. It was for most glues so I thought it might be a similar product to Stewart-McDonald’s super glue accelerator – but only $3.99 – so I bought it. I was now even more anxious to work on that Radice stem!

I experimented on an old stem, vulcanite, with a large hole first, not wanting to “play” with someone else’s pipe. The results were great: the super glue set up hard in about 15 minutes and it looked just like it normally would, with no adverse effects from the overspray. Next I’d try it on the Radice.

It was, indeed, a few more days before I could see well enough, long enough to work on the repair. I sprayed the patch with the accelerator, applied the final drips to the patch, sprayed it again and set it aside for 30 minutes. I then filed, sanded (220/320/400/600 grits) and wet-polished with micro mesh 1500-12,000 grits, a final polish with McGuire’s Scratch X 2.0 and hand waxed and buffed the stem with Halcyon II wax; I don’t like buffing acrylic stems, especially when they aren’t mine and are expensive! This is the final repair:

He is thrilled with the results, as am I. And I’m even happier to find a local source, and less expensive alternative, for the accelerator. If you have a Hobby Lobby nearby you, I highly recommend you grabbing a bottle and giving it a try; you’ll save yourself a lot of time and a few bucks to boot.

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/

Medico VFQ – Save This Old Pipe Project

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Blog by Greg Wolford

I saw this old Medico V.F.Q. go through two or three eBay auctions with no bids. I have recently been admiring pipes with Cumberland stems and thought this one would make an excellent “project” pipe to see how well I could repair a Cumberland stem. (A side not here: This is not a Cumberland stem I have found out; it is nylon/plastic.) So I wrote to the seller and offered $5/shipped for the pipe, noting that I didn’t care how she shipped it, just safely and cheaply would suffice. She posted a seven-day auction with an opening bid of $5 with free shipping; I was the only bidder.

When the pipe arrived it looked as bad, maybe worse, than I had expected. The stem was really chewed up and the finish was shot. There were also several fills that I hadn’t been able to see in the (above) auction photos. I decided to work on the stem first so I broke out some tools.

The first thing I did was to try to raise the dents with the heat of a tea candle. Not being actual rubber (which I didn’t realize yet), this had little effect. Next I began with needle files to take off some of the roughness. This made some improvement and gave me a better surface to work with for patching with super glue, which I applied at this point. You can also see the shape of the pipe as a whole here when I got it.

I worked in stages over a few days on the stem: allowing the patch to cure, adding more as it shrank, touch it up a little as I went with files or sandpaper. Once it had finally cured into a patch that filled and covered all the dents on both sides I began to shape and smooth it with files and 220 grit sandpaper. The button was ragged and kept getting that way when I worked on it; it was at this point I think that I realized I was working with nylon not rubber. When this revelation struck I decided to begin working it toward the best finish I could get with micro mesh and not spend a lot more time on this stem.

From beginning to final end.

I had been doing a running post on Pipe Smokers Unlimited forum with this project. Steve, our humble leader and blog owner, contacted me with the welcome news that he had a very nice VFQ stem that he would send to me for this pipe. I excitedly accepted his gracious offer and sent him my address. When the stem shows up, if it fits, I will add photos of the end product; thank you again, Steve.

It was now time to get the bowl going, starting with a good leaning, inside and out. The pipe needed reaming and the shank was clogged with gunk, too. So I reamed it back to bare wood, pretty much, and cleaned the shank with many pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and a set of shank brushes until the final cleaners can out white; I also cleaned the stem at this point.

The finish was terrible so I took some cotton balls and acetone to the stummel, scrubbing off the years of grime and broken layer of what I assume is/was lacquer. With the old finish gone there were a few things now obvious: there were a couple of large fills to address and the bowl needed to be sanded to remove some scratches, and it needed topped.

I started with the topping process, using 220 grit sandpaper. I realized that the rim char was too deep to get all of it out without getting into the large fill near the top of the bowl’s front so I rounded the edges of the bowl to remove the edge char and see how deep that was; it wasn’t bad. I decided to leave the top for now and work on the fills; after the fills were done I came back and sanded the top smooth.

I wanted to use this pipe to experiment on, not just the stem but also the fills. In the past when I have used super glue and briar dust to patch a fill it is usually much darker than the rest of the pipe; sometimes I can blend it in well and other times not so much, so I wanted to try something different here, with an eye toward a future project. A few months ago I bought some black and amber super glues from Stewart McDonald; they offer black, amber, clear, and white. The black I plan to use on stems but the amber I thought might work well on patching fills and this was the project to try it on.

I removed one fill to start, just in case the experiment didn’t go well; the dry time on this stuff is very long so I suggest you try the accelerator if you order from them (I forgot it).

I used my dental pick, a beading awl, and a file to pick out the old putty. After the putty was out I dripped a bit of the amber glue into the hole, leaving extra to feather when I sanded it. I also used the end of the awl to make sure the glue went all the way into the hole. Then I waited until it cured a few hours, tapped it down with a tamper, in case there was any air pockets, and let it finish curing. When it was set through, several hours, I began to sand with 220 grit paper. And I was really pleased with the initial results: an almost perfect match to my eyes!I then decided to take out all the fills and patch them the same way, with amber glue and nothing else.The waiting game began again. Some hours later I noticed that the large fill at the top needed more glue so I dripped in another layer and waited more. This morning I finally got to start sanding the new fills down, and the entire bowl as I went. The results on these fills were a bit varied from the first one I soon saw. Even when sanded smooth a couple of the fills weren’t as nice and I have a few ideas why: I didn’t use the awl to make sure the glue went in all the way, I didn’t go back and tamp it part way through the curing process, and I may not have gotten all the pink-filler out. The next time I do this I will be sure to remember these items!

Next I prepared the bowl for staining. I finished sanding with 220, then 320, and finally 400 grit paper and wiped the bowl down with alcohol to remove any dust left behind. Then I began staining the bowl with a medium brown stain marker. I applied one coat as evenly as I could and let it dry about 10 minutes. Then, the secret I think to using these, I applied a second coat in small segments, wiping it with a paper towel to even out the color as I went. The rim got 3 coats of stain. Next I gave the stummel a light buff with Tripoli, and the entire pipe a buff with white diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax, then a buff on a clean wheel before a final hand buffing with a microfiber cloth. I’m very happy with the end results of this multi day project. I think the fills look and blend much better, especially the first one. And I believe with a little more tweaking and experimenting this is a very good option for patching fills. From a $5 eBay catch to, well, it’s probably still not worth much – but I’m glad in the end that I took the time to Save This Old Pipe.

EDIT

The new stem that Steve sent me arrived in the mail. I have written about and post the story, along with new photos, here.

Black Superglue Patches (ring around the collar) – by Joyal Taylor aka holymolar

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Blog by Joyal Taylor

This is the third article by Joyal (known online as holymolar). Again it is with pleasure that I put this on the blog. Joyal had emailed me that he was working on this piece for the blog. I was looking forward to reading his thoughts on this. Others have mentioned the problem to me when they used the black super glue. Joyal has done some good experimenting and I am pretty certain he has gotten to the root of the problem. Thanks Joyal for taking time to write-up your experience and tips on this patching process. This is a what rebornpipes is all about – taking ideas and experimenting and improving them. Without further introduction have a read on what Joyal has learned.

The first few times that I patched stem holes and deep tooth marks with black superglue, I ended up with white margins like these: (very evident when a flashlight is shined on the patch at an angle).

At first, I thought that I must have contaminated it by sanding before the glue had totally set. But now, I’m convinced it was because I didn’t remove all of the oxidation beforehand. I’ve learned a few tricks with black superglue patching.

Here’s the before photos of a Dr Grabow stem that I recently patched. It’s not a high quality vulcanite but a relatively soft rubber.

Tip #1 – Absolutely ALL oxidation and oils must be removed before patching. There are many ways to remove oxidation but, for this, I prefer the most aggressive method that I know – A bleach bath for an hour or more. Then a 1 hour alcohol bath to remove the bleach smell and taste. The bleach causes surface pitting but, in my mind, that means it has removed the deepest oxidation. (Sometimes I’ll follow with a Oxyclean bath as well). After the bleach and alcohol, lots and lots of sanding is necessary to smooth down the pitting. I use 220-800 grit with water.

Tip #2 – Clean out the hole with a small round burr in a Dremel. Remove all oxidation and discolorations from inside the hole. “Feather” the edge which makes for better blending of the glue/stem junction and it also removes any microscopic particles of oxidation that may be hiding in the ragged edges.

Tip #3 – Now use 1000 grit sandpaper on the edges to smooth it out some more. Remove any dust or oils with an alcohol wipe.

I sand down the overfill (220-2500 grit) until it’s even with the surface. (If necessary, I’ll freshen up the bit with needle files). Then micro mesh (4000 -12000), carnauba, and buff.

Here’s the after photos on that Dr Grabow stem before final polishing/waxing – .so it can be seen better without the glare of the camera flash on fully polished stems. No more “ring around the collar”.

Sometimes, on good quality vulcanite, I have difficulty seeing where the patches were.

A Journey from a Sad Apple to a Handsome Prince

Repairing a Tinderbox Monza that Easily Could Have Been Firewood

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Blog by Steve Laug

The pipe I repaired today was the one I wrote about earlier entitled When is a Pipe Not Worth Repairing https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/when-is-a-pipe-not-worth-repairing/ It was stamped Tinderbox Monza and according to a 1974 catalogue on Chris Keene’s site it originally sold for $15. It could be purchased in a matte finish smooth or a hand rusticated version. The shapes were varied and the sizes also varied. I have repaired one other pipe that had the same rustication but no stamping on it so I would imagine it also is a Monza. Monza pipes were made by Lorenzo for Tinderbox. They were a house line of Italian made affordable pipes during the 70’s.

This particular Monza had seen better days. I described it in my earlier essay as being virtually ready for the scrap heap. The bowl was badly caked and the one inch diameter bowl had been reduced to a hole small enough that I could barely squeeze my little finger in the bowl. The top portion of the cake had been carved or hacked away with a knife and the bottom portion had also been hacked away. This left a solid girdle of carbon cake around the middle of the bowl. The bottom of the bowl had been gouged at and the right side of the bottom had a huge “smile” carved in it. The rim had been hammered into rough shape so that the outer edge was ruined. The lava build up on the rim was very thick and it totally covered striated rustication that had been present when the pot was new.

The stem was chewed and carved with a huge chunk out of the underside making it non-repairable. The stem had then been covered with a softy bit and left to calcify on the stem. The pipe was a mess. Once I removed the stem I could see that the airway had been left immaculate. There were no tars, no oils, no dirt – it literally shined it was so clean. The inside of the stem was the same. This pipe had been cared for in a functional way and probably smoked to death by the original purchaser. It was the clean airway that tempted me to give this pipe a remake. It must have been someone’s favourite pipe for him to go to the extremes that this pipe had seen in terms of treatment. Every action the fellow carried out on this pipe only made sense in a utilitarian sense of prolonging the purpose the pipe was made for.

The outer edge of the rim on the back of the bowl had a chunk missing and a crack running down the outside of the bowl. It also ran on the top of the rim and had yet to break through on the inside of the bowl. The crack ran down along one of the striations carved in the bowl for about ½ inch. It was not very deep once it moved away from the chip at the top edge of the bowl.

The close up photo below shows the cake that forms a ridge around the centre of the bowl. The top had been carved away and the below the ring of cake it had also been carved away. The bowl bottom visible on the top of the photo below shows the gouge that had been carved on that side of the bottom. The other side remained intact and hard.

The front edge of the bowl had been hammered hard or scraped against something and the outer edge was worn and rough feeling.

I reamed the bowl with the largest PipNet reamer cutting head in the set and was able to scrape the cake back to the wood. I wanted to see if the walls of the bowl were charred or burned. I further scraped it with a knife blade and found that the walls were solid under the cake. The wood did not have burned or charred portions.

The stem was ruined as can be seen in the photo below. The bottom side was missing a large triangular shaped chunk that went almost from side to side. I thought about cutting off the end and reshaping the button but the damage was extensive and the previous owner had carved the airway in the broken portion so the material left behind on the top and bottom of the stem was scored and very thin. I would need to fit and shape a new stem.

I picked at the surface of the rim with the dental pick and could see it was not going to work so I topped the bowl. I decided to make a smooth rim to match the smooth band on the shank and the bottom of the shank. They would set each other off well when the pipe was restained. I set up my topping board and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and twisted the bowl into the sandpaper until I had removed the damaged portion of the rim. The crack on the surface looked as if it had been filled already with some sort of glue and it was solid. This is visible in the photos below.

Once the bowl was topped I dropped it in the alcohol bath to soak and loosen the grit and grime that filled all of the rustication on the sides of the bowl. It was a sticky and tarry mess and I wanted to soften it. I soaked it for about an hour and then scrubbed it with a brass tire brush. I picked out all of the grooves with the dental pick and then put it back in the alcohol bath for yet another hour. Once it came out of the bath I scrubbed a final time with the brush and then picked out any remaining grit in the grooves. I then wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the softened finish and the remaining grime.

I used super glue and briar dust to fill the divot/chip on the outer edge of the bowl and make it less ragged looking.

I found an old stem blank in my can of blanks that would work with the pipe. It was not a saddle stem like the original one but it would work well. It was considerably larger in diameter than the shank of the pipe so not only would I need to use the PIMO tenon turner to fit it in the shank but I would also need to remove the excess vulcanite and match it to the shank.

I used the Dremel with the larger sanding drum that comes with the set to cut back the vulcanite and shape the stem. This takes time and a steady hand to keep it from nicking the briar and causing more damage than help.

Once I had the stem close to the diameter of the shank I took it back to the work table and hand sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to finish the fit. I sanded it until the transition between the shank and the stem was seamless. My fingers needed a break from sanding at this point so I decided to repair the gouged out bottom half of the bowl. I inserted a pipe cleaner in the airway to keep any of the plaster mix getting into the airway. Then I mixed up some plaster of Paris in a shot glass and used the spoon end of a pipe nail to put it in place in the bottom of the bowl. I tamped it with the tamper head of the nail and smooth it out.

When the plaster had set I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain mixed 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol. I wanted the dark stain in the striations to come through the stain coat and give some contrast to the coloration of the bowl. I applied the stain with a cotton swab, flamed it and reapplied and reflamed it until the coverage was even across the bowl. I worked to get the rim and the smooth portions of the shank to match in colour.

I sanded the stem with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches left behind by the 220 grit sandpaper. I followed that by sanding 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 with Obsidian Oil when I had finished and then buffed it with White Diamond.

The vulcanite stem blank I used was an older one and must have come out during the war years. I had read that in those times there was often piece of metal found in the vulcanite of the stem material. This particular stem had a nice bunch of it on the right side of the stem near the shank. It almost looks like the remnants of a stamp on the stem but it is not. It appeared as I sanded the stem down to fit the shank. The photo below shows it about midway between the top and bottom of the stem near the shank junction. The glare of the flash highlights it as well.

With the stem polished and ready and the pipe stained it was time to bend the stem. I used a heat gun to heat up the stem until it was pliable and then bent it over the round handle of a chisel that I had on the workbench. I used the original stem as a pattern to determine how far to bend the stem.

I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil a final time and then buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond to give it a shine. I then gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and applied the wax to the bowl with a light touch on the buffing wheel. I finished with a buff with a soft flannel buffing wheel. The finished pipe is shown in the pictures below. I think it will last a few more years and yet again deliver a good smoke. In fact I would not be surprised at all if it does not last longer than I will.

Refurbishing an Old Zulu Bowl

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I was gifted a few pipe bowls that needed to be restemmed and refurbished by a friend. The first of these that I decided to clean up and restem was an old Zulu bowl. It is stamped Algerian Briar over Made in France on the left side of the shank and no other identifying marks. Thus the maker remains a bit of a mystery that I am not sure can be solved. The bowl itself was in fair shape. The cake in the bowl was not thick but it was particularly crumbly and soft. The finish on the pipe was also shot. The varnish coat was gone and the stain was streaked and damaged. There were a cut groove next to the left side of the stamping and a smaller one on the right side of the stamping. The shank was filthy and caked with oils and tars. The rim was in great shape with no damage to either the inside or outside rim. The grain under the stain coat looked promising with cross grain on the front and back of the bowl and the top and bottom of the shank and mixed birdseye on the sides of the both.

I had a stem in my can of stems that fit almost perfectly. It was damaged and would need some work but the fit and bend was perfect for the Zulu shape.

I fit the stem in place and wiped down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the remaining finish on the pipe. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare wood. I cleaned out the shank and the bowl with cotton swabs and Everclear.

I sanded the stem until the transition between the shank and the stem was smooth. I used both 220 grit sandpaper and medium and fine grit sanding sponges to smooth it out. The end of the stem was badly damaged and the button was ruined. I decided to trim off the damaged end of the stem and rework the button. Once it was cut back I cleaned out the stem with Everclear and pipe cleaners. The stem was badly plugged with tars so I had to use a bent paper clip to push through the airway. I used shank brushes and pipe cleaners to remove the tarry build up and open up the stem once again.

The airway was still wide and open so I did not need to reshape it. The top and bottom of the button were thin so I could not remove any further material. I reshaped the externals as best as possible by rounding the ends of the stem and making the button more oval in external shape.

The slight dents in the stem that remained would not lift with heat so I filled them with superglue until they were level with the surface of the stem.

I cut the new button with needle files and shaped the end of the stem to have a better flow and taper to the new button. This involved removing some of the thickness of the stem and making the taper more angled. I used files and sandpaper to reshape the stem.

With the new button cut I sanded the stem and the entire pipe with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the remaining finish and make sure the flow of the stem was correct to the angles of the pipe. I also sanded it with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove scratches in the briar and vulcanite.

The stain around the stamping on the left side of the shank was very set and stubborn. I lightly sanded it to break through the top coat and then scrubbed it with acetone on cotton pads to match it as much as possible to the unstained briar. I stained the bowl with an oxblood aniline stain, flamed it and restained and reflamed until I had an even coverage on the bowl. I hand buffed it with a soft cloth. I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the stem and bowl with red Tripoli and White Diamond. The photos below show the pipe after the buffing.

I sanded the stem with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and when it dried hand buffed the stem.

I buffed the pipe with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I finished by buffing it with a clean soft flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is pictured below. It is ready to go into service again. I like the flow of the lines on this pipe. The shape and matte like finish work well together.

Rustication & Rebirth of a Racine de Bruyere Author

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Another pipe that Mark included in the trade was stamped Racine de Bruyere. I have no idea about the maker or the time period of the pipe. The stem is an older style orific button (round hole in an end cap style button). Ron had stripped the finish off of the bowl and also had picked out the fills. The flaws in the briar that remained behind sans fills were deep crevices. The stem was stuck in the shank and would not insert the whole way. The stem itself was in great shape – good, hard older vulcanite. There was minor tooth chatter at the button on the top and the bottom of the stem. Once I had removed the stem the tenon was in great shape with a Dunhill style inner tube that extended all the way from the tenon into the airhole in the bowl. The photos below show the extent of the damage to the bowl in terms of the serious flaws in the briar. On top of the shank, on the left side and on the front of the bowl there were deep holes. There were also minor holes in other areas around the bowl. The shape is actually one of my favourite shapes so it would of course be worked on and brought back to life.

I used a dental pick to scrape away the debris in the pits. There were loose bits of briar and dust build up. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad to remove surface grit. I packed briar dust in layers alternating with superglue into the pits. Once they were filled to the top I tamped them down and then dripped superglue into the briar dust. I added more briar dust and also more superglue.

The sandpits, even with the fills, were large and there were many other small pits around the bowl. It made it an easy decision to rusticate the bowl. I used the modified Philips screwdriver to rusticate the bowl. I wrapped several layers of tape around the end of the shank so that I could leave a smooth band there making a stem fit more simple. I also put a piece of tape over the stamping on the left side of the shank. The next series of thirteen photos shows the progressive rustication of the bowl. I decided to do a deep rustication so I worked the tool deep into the wood of the bowl.

When the rustication was complete I used a brass tire brush on the surface of the briar to knock off the sharp points and loose pieces of debris from the work of the tool. My aim was to leave behind some smooth spots that would end up have a contrast stain on them when I was finished.

In order to get the stem to seat properly in the shank I used a knife and beveled/chamfered the inside edge of the mortise so that the stem would sit well. I also found in measuring the tenon that it was slightly too long for the mortise and the original manufacturer had left the end slightly at an angle so that it did not seat well in the mortise. I used a file to reseat the tenon and then put the stem in place. The fit was good, but the diameter of the stem was slightly more than the diameter of the smooth band on the shank so I sanded the band and the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the excess diameter and bring the stem into line with the shank. I finished sanding it with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove scratches.

With the sanding finished the fit was tight and the transition was smooth. I scrubbed down the shank and the stem with some Everclear on a cotton pad to get rid of the sanding dust from the stem. With that done the pipe was ready to stain.

I decided to use a black aniline stain as the undercoat of the pipe. The stain would hide the repaired flaws well as they were also dark. I applied the stain with a cotton swab and made sure that it went into all the nooks and crannies of the briar.

Once the stain was applied I flamed it with a lighter to set the stain and then took it to the buffer to see if I could buff away the stain on the higher parts of the rustication. I used red Tripoli to do the buffing. I kept a pretty light touch as I did not want the Tripoli to build up in the rustication. With that done, the finish was closer to what I was aiming for. I still wanted a few more of the high spots showing.

I wiped the bowl down with Everclear on a soft cloth to remove some more of the black and then buffed it with White Diamond. I then gave it a top coat of oxblood stain to bring out the contrast and highlight the high portions of the rustication. I buffed it again with White Diamond.

To remove the tooth chatter and the scratches from fitting the stem to the shank I used my usual array of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with the 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry.

Once the stem was done I used 2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded the high spots on the rustication on the bowl and the shank to further accentuate the contrast. I buffed the bowl lightly with White Diamond and then buffed the pipe as a whole with White Diamond yet again. Once it was done, I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I also gave the bowl a very light buff with the carnauba wheel – too heavy a touch and the wax fills in the crevices of the rustication. I then hand buffed it with a shoe brush to finish the shine. The completed makeover is shown in the photos below. The pipe is ready to enter into a new chapter of its life.

Since posting this I have found out some information about the stamping. Racine de Bruyere means Genuine Briar. It was stamped on pipes coming out of St. Claude. The stamping does not define the maker but the region. The pipe was probably made in late 20’s to early 30’s. I found the original eBay sale description that showed the pipe as it was when Mark received it. I have included those pictures below. Note the gold leaf/paint in the stamping.

Reworking a Peterson’s Irish Seconds Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

This pipe was another one I got in my trade with Mark, an Irish Seconds made by Peterson. It is stamped on the top of the shank, IRISH SECONDS and on the underside of the shank, Made in the Republic of Ireland. There is no shape number or other stamping on the pipe. The briar is actually very nice except for a flaw that ran around the bottom of the front of the bowl like a smile. It had been filled with white putty that had shrunk and left a shallow groove its entire length (from side to side of the front). The finish was non-existent and I am not sure it ever had been stained. The stem was evidently a replacement and did not fit well against the shank. The diameter of the oval on the shank and that of the stem did not match. The stem was also lopsided at the junction. On the underside of the stem there was a trough carved about ½ inch from the button that functioned as a groove to make the stem a dental bit. It too was poorly executed and was rough. The dimensions on this pipe are diminutive – its length is 5 ¼ inches, height is 1 5/8 and outer diameter of the bowl is 1 ¼ inches. It fits well in the hand and is very light in weight. I suspect that if it were not for the flaw noted above this would have been a higher grade Peterson.

The next photo shows the extent of the flaw and the white fill material on the bottom front of the bowl. This is the only flaw on the bowl.

The next two photos below shows the groove that had been cut in the stem to make it function as a dental bit.

I used a dental pick to remove the white fill material in the flaw and then wiped it clean with acetone. The groove was not deep but it was long and quite wide. I used a combination of briar dust and superglue to replace the fill. I packed the area with briar dust using a dental pick and then dripped superglue into place. While the glue was still wet I quickly put more briar dust on top of the glue and packed it in place as well.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and then a medium grit sanding sponge. I wiped it down with Everclear and then filled the remaining groove with clear superglue until it was a bubble on the surface of the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper once it was dry. I sanded the stem shank junction with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the transition and make the fit more seamless. I followed that by sanding with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches. I was careful in sanding the shank to make the flow of the shank into the stem a gradual incline rather than an abrupt change. I have found that in doing this the stem and shank flow look as close to original as possible.

I sanded the front of the bowl with 220 grit and also with the medium and fine grit sanding sponges. The fill still had spots that needed more work.

I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to clean up the finish. I am very happy with the transition from the shank to the bowl.

I did more sanding on the fill on the front of the bowl and refilled the spots that needed work. I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain thinned 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol. I have been using this mixture since I opened the bottle of stain several months ago and now am at the bottom of the bottle so it may be slightly darker.

The stain went into the new fill material but it turned very dark. I continued to apply the stain to the area and flame it repeatedly until the blend was better.

I buffed the pipe with red Tripoli and the White Diamond to see where I stood with the staining.

The fill still stood out as can be seen from the photo below. I decided to continue to apply stain to the surrounding area on the bowl to darken the bottom of the bowl a bit. My thinking was that if the entire bottom of the bowl was slightly darker the fill would blend in better with the briar.

I sanded the stem with my usual array of micromesh pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit sanding pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil to protect the vulcanite and set is aside to dry.

I buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond. The photo below shows the finished stem after buffing. The repair of the trough is not visible in the photo and is barely visible when held in the light. I am happy with the repair.

I buffed the entire pipe with White Diamond a final time and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect it. I did not want a high gloss on the pipe but rather a slight matte finish. The photos below show the finished pipe. It is ready for many more years of service.

Repairing and Reworking a Comoy’s J186 Billiard

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Another part of the trade I got from Mark was this damaged Comoy’s Billiard. It has some great grain on it. The stamping is Comoy’s on the left side of the shank and J186 on the right side. It also has the characteristic circular Made in London over a straight line England. This circular stamp is next to the end of the shank. The stem was a replacement – it does not have the C logo on it. It had also been repaired. I believe that Mark must have used the black superglue to patch a couple of bite marks in the stem near the button. The shoulders on the stem were rounded and the stem shank junction was not smooth. Otherwise the finish was in fairly decent shape and the stem looked good.

In the letter Mark included with the pipes he noted that there were small cracks in the exterior bottom of the bowl. I examined it with a light and saw that the three small cracks radiated from the three divots on the bottom of the bowl. These were flaws in the briar or dents, I am not sure which. The cracks radiated from the three points to a centre point where they met. They did not extend beyond the divots. Examining the inside of the bowl the bottom was not overly deep and there did not appear to be any cracks internally.

I decided to work on the rounded shoulders on the stem and the stem shank junction first. This is a very easy fix and I thought I would give the cracks a bit of thought before I worked on them. I sanded the stem and shank with 220 grit sandpaper carefully avoiding the stamping. I also did not want to sand too deeply so as to taper the stem artificially from the junction forward. This took care but I was able to smooth out the rounded shoulders. I followed the 220 sandpaper with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches.

I wiped the bowl down with acetone to remove the finish and make the restaining easier. I also wanted to clean up the bottom of the bowl to be able to examine the cracks more closely.

As can be seen in the photo below the cracks are virtually invisible to the eye. There is no burn or darkening around the cracks so I am pretty sure that it is not a burn out. I decided to restain the bowl and see how the stain took in the area of the cracks.

I stained the pipe with a dark brown aniline stain mixed 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol to approximate the colour on other Comoy’s I have. In the photos below it appears far redder in colour than it is in reality. I flamed the stain and repeated as necessary. The cracks were still visible so they would take a bit more work to repair.

I worked on the stem with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I buffed it with White Diamond paying particular attention to the patches around the top and bottom of the stem near the button. I was able to blend them in well and the black of the polished stem and the black of the superglue match.

I decided to work on the cracks on the bottom of the bowl. I scratched out the cracks using a dental pick. I was able to clean out the debris in the cracks and open them slightly. They did not go deep into the briar and there was no internal darkening in the bottom of the cracks. I packed in briar dust and dripped superglue into the briar dust. The photo below shows the superglue briar mix after it had dried. I over filled the cracks to ensure good coverage of the repair.

I sanded the patch with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess glue and followed that with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. The photo below, though slightly out of focus shows the repair clearly. It is almost a Y shaped repair.

I mixed a batch of pipe mud – cigar ash and water to make a paste. To ensure that the bottom was not damaged I picked it clean with the dental pick and then painted it with the pipe mud. Though there was no sign of damage on the inside of the bowl, the pipe mud was a precautionary measure for peace of mind.

I buffed the pipe with White Diamond and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect and to give it a shine. I have set it aside to allow the pipe mud to cure before using it. I want to see if the bowl bottom heats up at all during a smoke. I am happy with the overall look of the repaired pipe. If it turns out that the cracked area over heats then it may well be a candidate for a briar plug. The verdict is still out for now, but time will tell.

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