smokingIsh
BoM July '09
That looks great! Hope it smokes as good as you got it to look.
Pipe Restoration - Do's and Don'ts.........
- Thread starter Grrrrr609
- Start date
Thanks again, brother. Can't wait to try it out. Will definitely report back.
Hello fellow pipers!
Great thread! I particularly enjoyed how to repair a bite through hole in the stem.
I have refurbished a few pipes, but nothing to the extent of a full restoration. I will be keeping my eye on this thread.
Great thread! I particularly enjoyed how to repair a bite through hole in the stem.
I have refurbished a few pipes, but nothing to the extent of a full restoration. I will be keeping my eye on this thread.
Have a quick restoration question and I thought it's appropriate to add to this thread - I was watching a restore video and the guy used beeswax to lubricate the tenon so that it would slide into the shank with greater ease and less friction. Haven't seen other people recommend it so I was wondering if anyone here had an opinion about it.
cgraunke
BoM March '14
I know @Grrrrr609 mentioned it here to tighten up a tennon...
http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?p=1461969
Here's another:
http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?p=1194540
Looks like the wax absorbs in to the briar when it gets warm, then causes the briar to expand...
http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?p=1461969
Here's another:
http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?p=1194540
Looks like the wax absorbs in to the briar when it gets warm, then causes the briar to expand...
Thanks! That actually makes more sense than using it as a lubricant but there are still some details about detailing that I am learning. So many threads about restoration - really appreciate the link, thanks!
And with Winter coming up, it will give me something to do when I can't get outside. Which reminds me, I need to hit garage and estate sales this weekend!
Oh and if it's really bad loose u can use a dab of superglue on the tenon. (Just make sure it dries completely before inserting it into the mortise) I've read that fingernail polish works also. But I don't own any and I'm not gonna try explaining to my wife that I need her nail polish lol
:rofl:
True story - about 7 years ago I was teaching a class called "Shooting Portraits on a Budget" and part of it was that I built three sets, each of which cost me less than $40, buying much of it at Walmart.
On one set I used a cheap plastic shower curtain ($3). Another set I used a cheap blue bedsheet ($4). I found those and tossed them into my cart. Next, I wanted to show an old-school method for creating a soft-focus on your subject - stretching black nylons over the end of your lens. I went into the "lingerie" section and just grabbed the first package of the cheapest black pantyhose that they had ($4). Then I wanted to show another method of soft focusing by smearing a very thin layer of Vaseline around the edges of the lens while leaving the center clean. Well, the problem with Vaseline is that it is a petroleum product and I had no intention of putting that stuff anywhere near an expensive lens or camera body. But then I had an awesome thought - use KY jelly because it's water-based and easily cleaned up. So into my cart went a tube of it.
I go to check out and the cashier is just staring at me and, as I look down, I realize what this must look like - a bed sheet, a plastic sheet, a pair of nylons (which, coincidentally, I swear, were "Queen size" and would fit me), and a tube of KY jelly.
Yeah, I just kept my head down, paid for it and got the hell out of there. I'm reasonably certain that, all these years later, my picture is still in their security office!
javajunkie
BoM July '12
rob, isn't there a game like that? what three item purchase will look worst at wally world? i think you just won, brother! o)
on topic: always practice first, and always think shit through beforehand. kinda an augmented "measure twice cut once":
paykoc meer i JUST picked up, and chipped the lucite bit. wanted to open it up a little. the draft hole through the stummel into the bowl was fine, but the airway was a little whistle-y, so took a hand drill to it. remembered to start in a torque setting, them move to a speed setting, o. the connector end. forgot to switch back from the speed setting when i went from the other direction. dammit.
plus side: $40 meer, so no big, and i usually use my home made bits even on lucite, for comfort. and maybe i can patent it as the "j-lip"? worked for peterson...
on topic: always practice first, and always think shit through beforehand. kinda an augmented "measure twice cut once":
paykoc meer i JUST picked up, and chipped the lucite bit. wanted to open it up a little. the draft hole through the stummel into the bowl was fine, but the airway was a little whistle-y, so took a hand drill to it. remembered to start in a torque setting, them move to a speed setting, o. the connector end. forgot to switch back from the speed setting when i went from the other direction. dammit.
plus side: $40 meer, so no big, and i usually use my home made bits even on lucite, for comfort. and maybe i can patent it as the "j-lip"? worked for peterson...
Sean, send or post a pic of the stem and the tenon and mortise. I'm getting ready to place an order for for push pull tenon and gonna restem one of my meers.rob, isn't there a game like that? what three item purchase will look worst at wally world? i think you just won, brother! o)
on topic: always practice first, and always think shit through beforehand. kinda an augmented "measure twice cut once":
paykoc meer i JUST picked up, and chipped the lucite bit. wanted to open it up a little. the draft hole through the stummel into the bowl was fine, but the airway was a little whistle-y, so took a hand drill to it. remembered to start in a torque setting, them move to a speed setting, o. the connector end. forgot to switch back from the speed setting when i went from the other direction. dammit.
plus side: $40 meer, so no big, and i usually use my home made bits even on lucite, for comfort. and maybe i can patent it as the "j-lip"? worked for peterson...
javajunkie
BoM July '12
appreciate, but this little guy isn't worth the effort. plus side, draw is WONDERFUL now, so for a short smoke bowl, or a taster, it will work perfectly.
javajunkie
BoM July '12
more of a maintanence thing, but how about a "do"?
y'know how meerschaum pipes aren't technically supposed to be help by bare hands (if you're picky)? and how beeswax on a meer is supposed to both protect and aid in coloration? why not both? take a soft cloth (Tshirt scrap works fine), and melt beeswax onto it. hold the meer with said cloth while smoking. as it is smoked, the heat will loosen some of the wax onto the pipe. use the unwaxed ends of the cloth to buff when done!
right now this is just a promising theory, but if i get some results, i will post pix...
apologies, but i don't have a starter photo. this is maybe five smokes in? and already seeing a little blush of color picked up.
y'know how meerschaum pipes aren't technically supposed to be help by bare hands (if you're picky)? and how beeswax on a meer is supposed to both protect and aid in coloration? why not both? take a soft cloth (Tshirt scrap works fine), and melt beeswax onto it. hold the meer with said cloth while smoking. as it is smoked, the heat will loosen some of the wax onto the pipe. use the unwaxed ends of the cloth to buff when done!
right now this is just a promising theory, but if i get some results, i will post pix...
apologies, but i don't have a starter photo. this is maybe five smokes in? and already seeing a little blush of color picked up.
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Here's another "do".
I went to Lowe's and, for about $10, bought a cotton buffing wheel set. Came with three different sized (5", 3", and 2" I think), three different polishers (rouge, white diamond, and something else), and the spindle for the drill chuck.
I've heard good things about the white diamond paste for polishing the bowls and, specifically, getting rid of the char from the top of the bowl. I'll try it on a cheap FleaBay pipe I just got.
Anyway, on another pipe, I put a thin film of Carnuba wax on the stem (after cleaning/sanitizing it and working my way up the different micromesh polishing pads) and then used one of the buffing wheels on it. That thing just shines! This is the first stem I've used both the micromesh cloths and the cotton buffing wheel.
It is a bit clunky holding the drill in one hand and the stem in the other, but for $10 what a huge difference in the results. Right now I am doing the salt treatment on the bowl. IN a few hours I'll clean it out, polish up the bowl and then post pics.
But wanted to let you guys know how useful that buffing kit is.
I went to Lowe's and, for about $10, bought a cotton buffing wheel set. Came with three different sized (5", 3", and 2" I think), three different polishers (rouge, white diamond, and something else), and the spindle for the drill chuck.
I've heard good things about the white diamond paste for polishing the bowls and, specifically, getting rid of the char from the top of the bowl. I'll try it on a cheap FleaBay pipe I just got.
Anyway, on another pipe, I put a thin film of Carnuba wax on the stem (after cleaning/sanitizing it and working my way up the different micromesh polishing pads) and then used one of the buffing wheels on it. That thing just shines! This is the first stem I've used both the micromesh cloths and the cotton buffing wheel.
It is a bit clunky holding the drill in one hand and the stem in the other, but for $10 what a huge difference in the results. Right now I am doing the salt treatment on the bowl. IN a few hours I'll clean it out, polish up the bowl and then post pics.
But wanted to let you guys know how useful that buffing kit is.
