Is there a cure for a loose stem?

[Jbird45]

I have a no name churchwarden that I bought a few months ago, and while the stem wasn't the tightest from the get go, it was enough to keep it from moving around. After a few months of use, the stem has gotten worse. It's will still sit tight in the mortice but is easy to remove and it has a tendency to spin if that makes sense.

I have never taken the pipe apart hot or even warm. I have always let it sit 24 hours before attempting to remove anything.

Do I have to chalk this one up to a learning experience not to buy pipes with a less than tight stem, or is there a way to remedy the situation?

Thanks for any and all advice gents.

 

[8 Track]

Clear nail polish but use it sparingly on limited areas of the tenon a tiny dab at a time until you achieve the desired tightness.

 

[Ponycarman]

Check this article out. It explains multiple methods of tightening a loose stem and some pros and cons of each method.

Tightening a Loose Stem

Blog by Steve Laug Over the years I have read quite a few posts on various forums about tightening loose stems on pipes. I have read everything from “smoke ‘em ‘til they are tight again” to heat an…

www.google.com

 

[Kentos]

My first choice is wetting the stummel down with water on a q-tip. Sometimes the stummel shrinks just a bit from drying. Wetting sometimes is enough to swell the mortise enough to tighten.

If they doesn’t work then beeswax, nail polish, etc. Never tried heating the tenon etc.

 

[steveclarkus]

I have had success carefully heating the tenon with a soft flame but this method only works with vulcanite. I would try wetting the stummel first. It is easy to melt the tenon off you are not careful. Vulcanite has memory and heat will let it return to its original shape. Works well to ease bite marks as well.

 

[Columbo]

I have a no name churchwarden that I bought a few months ago, and while the stem wasn't the tightest from the get go, it was enough to keep it from moving around. After a few months of use, the stem has gotten worse. It's will still sit tight in the mortice but is easy to remove and it has a tendency to spin if that makes sense.

I have never taken the pipe apart hot or even warm. I have always let it sit 24 hours before attempting to remove anything.

Do I have to chalk this one up to a learning experience not to buy pipes with a less than tight stem, or is there a way to remedy the situation?

Thanks for any and all advice gents.

A fairly common issue, especially for something like a Churchwarden, which can impose tremendous lateral loads on the shank … no matter how you handle it.

If you’ve been smoking it regularly and it’s not getting better, start with some natural fill such as beeswax. If that doesn’t tighten it up, and it is a valuable pipe to you, I would consider sending it out to a pipe tech. It is usually an easy $15-25 repair at that point.

Most importantly, you don’t want to go overboard on home remedies, and risk cracking the shank. That is either a major repair, or a ruined pipe.

 

[Jbird45]

Thanks for the advice gents!

I have some beeswax in my woodshop so I will give that a go first!

 

[Bill Wood]

Heating an awl is the method I’ve used. If the stem is not vulcanite I go with crazy glue.

 

[Alden Pipes]

Too loose is a better problem than too tight. Lots of ways to fix it, and one is sure to work. My preference is a drop of water right into the mortise of the pipe. Swirl it around a bit so it soaks the whole mortise (the hole the stems fits into).

Let it rest for a few minutes and dry out and then check the fit. It's amazing how often this is all it needs.
Next I'd try a bit of beeswax if it's still not tight.
From there, the clear nail polish is probably your best bet, but don't over do it. Put a thin band of if just inside the first half of the mortise, no need to coat the entire mortise. This will keep it from contacting the smoke.
Check the fit when that is totally dry.
If the first super thin coat doesn't do it (which it really should if it's just slightly too loose), then try one more super thin coat.

 

[Kentos]

Too loose is a better problem than too tight. Lots of ways to fix it, and one is sure to work. My preference is a drop of water right into the mortise of the pipe. Swirl it around a bit so it soaks the whole mortise (the hole the stems fits into).

Let it rest for a few minutes and dry out and then check the fit. It's amazing how often this is all it needs.
Next I'd try a bit of beeswax if it's still not tight.
From there, the clear nail polish is probably your best bet, but don't over do it. Put a thin band of if just inside the first half of the mortise, no need to coat the entire mortise. This will keep it from contacting the smoke.
Check the fit when that is totally dry.
If the first super thin coat doesn't do it (which it really should if it's just slightly too loose), then try one more super thin coat.

Ah, so you coat the mortise not the tenon? I have been doing it wrong all this time

 

[Alden Pipes]

Ah, so you coat the mortise not the tenon? I have been doing it wrong all this time

I would coat the mortise if I was going to use something like nail polish.
But now that you mention it, it may be easier to coat the tenon for someone without tools to fix it if something went wrong.
If I put a little too much inside the mortise I have all kinds of reamers and drill bits to adjust the fit, but if you didn't have that option you'd have a harder time taking it out of the mortise than taking it off the tenon.

I'd probably use heat to adjust the tenon size if I was doing the repair though. But that's a pretty tricky technique to get right.