replacement stem?

[tattooed]

I broke a new pipe over the weekend. The stem snapped right at the end, the unfortunate thing is I only smoked it once and it was rather nice. I see only a couple places online that sell replacements but my real quandary is, the pipe was only $35 so lucite is the only material cheap enough that makes sense to buy.

Anyone have any experience putting a bend on lucite? Or should I just use it with its now slightly shorter stem?

 

[jwhite]

For Lucite you'll need a heat gun or clean flame like butane or alcohol. It goes from hard to mush within a fairly narrow temp range so careful and steady would be the word of the day.

 

[tattooed]

I've read online about covering the stem with table salt and baking it in the oven to get it limber enough to bend, ever tried that?

 

[Commander Quan]

Besides bending the stem do you have anyway to cut the tenon to the correct diameter?

 

[tattooed]

I was thinking of going with a military tenon, which is what the pipe had originally. I figured if it needed adjustments it should be easy enough to sand down. Maybe I just need to move on. Just hard to throw away a pipe that smoked well for that one time I got to use it.

 

[Schmitz Bitz]

If the break is clean, you might even be able to get away with a little Crazy Glue. It won't be as pretty (especially up close), but it will work. If you have any lucite or vulcanite dust, you can mix this with the glue to create an epoxy; it can be used like spackle to help hide evidence of the repair (and to fill small holes / bite-throughs).

That said, post some pics of the broken stem with some dimensions if you don't mind - I have a box of random stems salvaged from pipes that just were not worth the effort (burnt through, cracked, etc.). If I have something that will fit, it's yours.


If you want to try bending your own stem, it's actually not that difficult. Before you apply any heat, run a pipe-cleaner through it; that will ensure the airway doesn't collapse. I simply gently heat the area I want to form/reform with my heat-gun, keeping the gun moving so as not to create hot spots. It helps if you can secure it in a fly-tying vice, because you can heat all sides equally. Just take your time, don't try and force things and you should have no problems.

 

[tattooed]

I'll grab a pic tonight. Unfortunately though, I already went at it with a saw and file in an attempt to salvage it. I assume it will still be fine but its about an inch shorter now and not bit at the end.

Thanks again buddy, you've been quite helpful.

 

[Commander Quan]

If you slip a softy over the end it may be good enough to just leave it alone.

 

[Blade Boy]

How did you manage to break it in the first place, drop it?

 

[tattooed]

If you slip a softy over the end it may be good enough to just leave it alone.

I thought about that, it will probably be what I end up doing, seems like the easiest thing.

How did you manage to break it in the first place, drop it?

Negative. I had finished the first bowl and allowed it to cool and was about to run a pipe cleaner through it. I had Long tapered cleaners because they work well in the Falcon. I started one down the stem and it wouldn't go. The slot was wicked narrow. So I figured, hell it must just need some convincing and I convinced it to go which made a nasty large chip. Thats when I broke out the saw and file.

 

[Schmitz Bitz]

You can always re-form the button, all it takes is patience and elbow grease (well, that and a set of needle files). Steve Laug has an excellent photo-journal of just how to do this located here. If you have any questions, I can try and answer them - and if I can't, Steve lives down the street - and I'm sure he can!

 

[tattooed]

Thats pretty impressive.

 

[PugslyCat]

I see only a couple places online that sell replacements but my real quandary is, the pipe was only $35 so lucite is the only material cheap enough that makes sense to buy.

That really depends on how much you like the pipe. I've got a couple of pipes that I have spent almost as much on repairs and modifications on as what the pipe originally cost. Either they were good smokers worth saving or I saw the potential to make them good smokers with minor modification.

Depending on your exact location in Virginia it may be worth making the trek to Boswell's in Chambersburg, PA to have them look at it and make repairs. They may be able to handle it through the mail. Give them a call and find out.

You might want to consider contacting Davids Briar Shop in Des Moines. They are where I've taken my pipes for repairs. Their web site isn't much, but I believe they will do repairs through the mail.

 

[Welshcitydragon]

Check out youTube on Pipe repairs its quite easy really, We have gas in our house so I used the gas stove and warmed it up slowly then bent mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ira6eI_t72Q