Newbs and restorers
- Thread starter 8ball
- Start date
herfdog
I am no rocket surgeon
I am learning quite a lot for sure!
Tomorrow I'll quickly work on the finish for two of them. Don't quite want to flame them right after having them soaking in alcohol. Lol.
There wasn't much in the sense of scratch, so its a matter or resealing them. One is a 'big ben' and the finish held regardless of alcohol. The two other will want some elbow grease.
herfdog
I am no rocket surgeon
Is there a trick - other than boiling them and holding them in shape?
I am questionning my désire to re curve them prior to try them... lol
All in the labor of love for a pipe.....
I'd leave them be for now and smoke them to see what you like and don't like right??? I'm assuming that's your plan???
herfdog
I am no rocket surgeon
Pretty much yes. I don't know if curved is better or not. Or if I like it. It does look good.
One is still partially curved. I'll post comparative pics when its done
Awesome. Hey rather be safe than sorry and not regret it in the end.
herfdog
I am no rocket surgeon
I tought the salt treatment was going to soften it... I did remove chunks on one of the bowls with the blade of my pipe tool; I don't have a reamer. The other two seems to have not much to remove, can that be?
Of course yes, that's how we learn...
Ok salt treatment. Now what I'm going to explain is my opinion on what works for me. It is far from the only way to do things.
First by looking at ur pic I noticed a couple of things. First the soup bowl. The pipes need to be setting more level. Slight forward tilt on straight pipes and level on full bent pipes. The reason being is you don't want the alcohol running out the shank. Nor do you want it running out of the bowl. An egg carton is perfect for this. Second, I don't recommend filling the mortise with salt. The treatment can make the wood swell and the tenon won't fit in the mortise or will be extremely tight. (I figured this out the hard way). I use a q-tip shoved into the shank and plugged into the draught hole. Some people use ear plugs to plug the mortise.
Usually I ream the bowl first.
Fill the bowl with non ionized salt. I use a dropper or syringe, depending on bowl size, to saturate the alcohol. Being extra careful not to get alcohol on the finish. Leave it sit and periodically add more alcohol. The condition of the pipe dictates how long or how many times I do the treatment.
The salt will harden. Sometimes as hard as a rock. Alot of people have gotten away from salt and use cotton balls instead.
Clean pipe thoroughly and let dry.
First by looking at ur pic I noticed a couple of things. First the soup bowl. The pipes need to be setting more level. Slight forward tilt on straight pipes and level on full bent pipes. The reason being is you don't want the alcohol running out the shank. Nor do you want it running out of the bowl. An egg carton is perfect for this. Second, I don't recommend filling the mortise with salt. The treatment can make the wood swell and the tenon won't fit in the mortise or will be extremely tight. (I figured this out the hard way). I use a q-tip shoved into the shank and plugged into the draught hole. Some people use ear plugs to plug the mortise.
Usually I ream the bowl first.
Fill the bowl with non ionized salt. I use a dropper or syringe, depending on bowl size, to saturate the alcohol. Being extra careful not to get alcohol on the finish. Leave it sit and periodically add more alcohol. The condition of the pipe dictates how long or how many times I do the treatment.
The salt will harden. Sometimes as hard as a rock. Alot of people have gotten away from salt and use cotton balls instead.
Clean pipe thoroughly and let dry.
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So, yeah, everything Grrrrr said. I'll add a few thoughts of my own as well:
- I ream the bowl first. A good reamer is pretty much a necessity and worth the money. I bought my (the Senior Reamer) on Ebay for a ridiculous price. I think I paid about $7 for it. But, having used it, I would be willing to pay full price for one. Just take it slowly and don't try to remove to much of the cake at any given time. This isn't a long process at all.
- As Dave said, keep the bowls upright when you have salt in them. I use a container of uncooked rice. It won't hurt the finish and any pipe shape can sit upright in it.
- To keep salt out of the shank, he uses a Q-tip, I use a pipe cleaner. Either way, insert that down the shank until it comes through into the bowl. Then fill it with salt.
- Fill the bowl with salt until it is almost at the rim. If any salt gets on the outside of the bowl or on the rim, brush it off.
- For moistening the salt with alcohol I bought a pack of these pipettes. One will last a really long time and a pack of 100 is only $4.30 on Amazon:
- And you're right - definitely let the pipe dry when you're done. I use 99% Isopropyl alcohol and I definitely want to make sure that there's no remaining alcohol before I light it LOL!
My heart still aches every time I see this picOh and I should add, after reamer and salt treatment, inspect the pipe. You never know what u may find.
herfdog
I am no rocket surgeon
When you ream the bowl, how far does it go on the bowl? shoudl it expose the bare wood, or just remove anything stuck to it? And, what about the underside of the bowl? I mean, the bottom...
I stop right before I expose the bare wood. You will be able to tell by feel - the cake will ream fairly easily but as soon as you get to the wood, there's just a different feel to it. Hard to explain in a post but I can assure you that you'll quickly pick up on the difference. I know some people will go to the bare wood but you run the risk of damaging the wood and, possibly, weakening it. And a little bit of cake will help insulate the bowl so that you don't get a really hot hand when you light the pipe.