Cure for a too-tight stem?

[Benzadmiral]

I've brought this issue up before, and many of you have said not to sand a too-tight stem and let it work itself out as it's smoked. However, the horn stem on my Jeantet billiard, purchased last year, is really far too tight. I smoked the pipe this morning, let it cool for a half hour, and still had to wrap the stem in a dish towel and use a pair of pliers to get the thing to start turning for removal. I have very fine sandpaper for de-oxidizing vulcanite stems. If I go slowly and sand the tenon evenly -- by hand, not using any kind of power tool! -- is there any real harm to this?

Others have suggested applying beeswax to the tenon so that it can slip more easily. Where would I find this product? There are lip balms and the like from Burt's Bees at Walmart. Is that the sort of thing you mean?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Not an expert - but I would suggest that horn being organic, it may swell with moisture from the smoke. Might be worth assessing the fit when the pipe (both stummel and stem) is dry, not just cool. Have you put a good few smokes through it since you've had it?

 

[luvmysuper]

Burt's Bees has more than just Bees Wax:
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Amazon has various beeswax products for sale:

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[Benzadmiral]

Not an expert - but I would suggest that horn being organic, it may swell with moisture from the smoke. Might be worth assessing the fit when the pipe (both stummel and stem) is dry, not just cool. Have you put a good few smokes through it since you've had it?

I've smoked it about every other week or so for 6-7 months, yes. My impression is that the stem is tight even when I take the pipe up after it sits for a week or more. I run a pipe cleaner through a pipe when I finish a smoke, then when it's cool, I break it down and use another cleaner dipped in rum to sweeten it and clean as well. Then the pipe sits for 24 hours and sometimes longer, when I re-assemble it and repeat with another pipe. I'd hope that's dry enough!

 

[Kentos]

At what point in inserting the stem does it get tight? From the very start or towards the end? If you take a calculated approach as far as determining where on the tenon and how much you want to remove, I think you will have satisfactory results. I would start with the finest you have, and move down a grit when the fine doesn’t take off enough.

 

[luvmysuper]

I can tell you that I've had a few pipes with Vulcanite stems that were just too tight.
The issue wasn't really a size difference, but a roughness difference.
Roughness from dings and careless insertions which displaced material outside the original outside diameter of the tenon.
I used fine emery cloth and smoothed the tenon by hand, not to reduce the diameter overall as much as to remove the high spots that had been created by dings and wear.
I'm very conscious of the fact that anything I take away cannot be easily replaced, so much more so with horn, so I'm very careful and continuously test fit.

 

[Benzadmiral]

At what point in inserting the stem does it get tight? From the very start or towards the end? If you take a calculated approach as far as determining where on the tenon and how much you want to remove, I think you will have satisfactory results. I would start with the finest you have, and move down a grit when the fine doesn’t take off enough.

The tightness becomes obvious very soon after I start to insert it. To my eye, the tenon looks evenly cylindrical, not as though the open end is larger than the end that joins the stem proper. The pipe smokes wonderfully. I just don't think you should have to use pliers on a stem to get it out, even soon after a smoke.

 

[Columbo]

I've brought this issue up before, and many of you have said not to sand a too-tight stem and let it work itself out as it's smoked. However, the horn stem on my Jeantet billiard, purchased last year, is really far too tight. I smoked the pipe this morning, let it cool for a half hour, and still had to wrap the stem in a dish towel and use a pair of pliers to get the thing to start turning for removal. I have very fine sandpaper for de-oxidizing vulcanite stems. If I go slowly and sand the tenon evenly -- by hand, not using any kind of power tool! -- is there any real harm to this?

Others have suggested applying beeswax to the tenon so that it can slip more easily. Where would I find this product? There are lip balms and the like from Burt's Bees at Walmart. Is that the sort of thing you mean?

I've always taken the opposite approach. Pure beeswax for a loose stem. And a little pencil lead for a tight one.

But if you must, use the finest grit you can find: nothing under 3000. Micro-mesh 6000 or 8000 grit is reasonably light on most finishes. And do it wet, and with the gentlest of touches, a pass at a time.

Once you remove stock, you can't put it back. Past a point, it has to go to a tech for a stem refit.

Sometimes, just smoking the thing regularly for a week or two does the trick.

 

[KellyG]

If you are having to use pliers, I’m guessing at some future time you will break the tenon. As suggested, lightly sand the tenon, test by smoking, and find a proper fit. What’s the worst that might happen?

 

[Benzadmiral]

If you are having to use pliers, I’m guessing at some future time you will break the tenon. As suggested, lightly sand the tenon, test by smoking, and find a proper fit. What’s the worst that might happen?

That's exactly my worry -- or that I'll break the shank itself. I've been lightly sanding, both with wet and dry, not trying to get it done all at once. The tenon is much smoother. It seems to go in easier at first. The tightness still happens, but later in the insertion process. Perhaps a few more sessions will do it.

I cleaned the draft passage with a bristle brush just to play safe. Nothing came out but the usual dark oils.

 

[simon1]

That's exactly my worry -- or that I'll break the shank itself. I've been lightly sanding, both with wet and dry, not trying to get it done all at once. The tenon is much smoother. It seems to go in easier at first. The tightness still happens, but later in the insertion process. Perhaps a few more sessions will do it.

I cleaned the draft passage with a bristle brush just to play safe. Nothing came out but the usual dark oils.

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[Benzadmiral]

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Heh, heh, heh. . . .

Update, though: I'd had the pipe and stem, the latter partly inserted into the shank, in my kitchen closet. It's pretty cool in there. When I took the pipe out earlier this afternoon, ready to try another sanding session, the tenon entered easily into the shank, firmly but not tightly, and I was able to twist and remove it without great effort. So maybe the sanding worked, or the temperature drop, or both.

Unfortunately, cold weather will be over around here before long. I don't want to have to refrigerate this pipe for half an hour after smoking it!

 

[Benzadmiral]

Update, all: I did a little more sanding, very light, and now the stem inserts firmly and turns with a little effort, but certainly no need for pliers.

 

[Bill Wood]

To remove the stem put the pipe in the freezer. After that sand the tenon just a bit by bit until normal tightness is achieved.

 

[Hirsute]

I've brought this issue up before, and many of you have said not to sand a too-tight stem and let it work itself out as it's smoked. However, the horn stem on my Jeantet billiard, purchased last year, is really far too tight. I smoked the pipe this morning, let it cool for a half hour, and still had to wrap the stem in a dish towel and use a pair of pliers to get the thing to start turning for removal. I have very fine sandpaper for de-oxidizing vulcanite stems. If I go slowly and sand the tenon evenly -- by hand, not using any kind of power tool! -- is there any real harm to this?

Others have suggested applying beeswax to the tenon so that it can slip more easily. Where would I find this product? There are lip balms and the like from Burt's Bees at Walmart. Is that the sort of thing you mean?

Beeswax will tighten a stem, not make it looser. To make a stem slip more easily, coat the tenon with a little unscented hard soap. Just rub it on like a crayon and then take a soft cloth to it to remove most of it. If it's still too tight, you could definitely try sanding a little of the tenon down, but go slow and check it often.