Mark
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First Name: Mark
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Post by Mark on Jul 18, 2018 11:57:58 GMT -5
Hey guys, I've got a nice Savanelli in which the mortise fits into the tenon a little too loosely. Is there any way to correct this? I didn't know if that was probably something that had been addressed here in the past or not. I'm new to the forum. It is the original stem but this is an estate pipe so, who knows.
Thanks.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 12:00:39 GMT -5
You might try a little bee's wax or chap stick on the tenon and put a couple bowls through it. The briar shank should swell and correct the issue.
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Post by mwps70 on Jul 18, 2018 12:20:22 GMT -5
I had this issue once and what did the trick for me was to heat some water in a pan to boiling. I used some tongs and dipped just the tenon into the boiling water for a few seconds and then inserted a pencil, pointed lead end, into the tenon and twisted gently to very slightly enlarge the tenon. Very gently is the key. I repeated the process until snug. Still fits perfectly to this day.
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Post by slowroll on Jul 18, 2018 12:22:03 GMT -5
If the above doesn't work, clean of the beeswax with alcohol, then put a coat of clear nail polish on the tenon, let it dry for a day. Should do it. If, not check back for the more drastic methods.
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Post by lestrout on Jul 18, 2018 12:50:29 GMT -5
Yo Mark - before you do anything that might carry a downside, try puffing a few bowls. Estate pipes that have been unused for a few years often loosen up, especially in low humidity areas. I had some nice old Loewe's and Comoy's that tightened up with a few bowls.
hp
les
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Post by william on Jul 18, 2018 14:12:37 GMT -5
Yo Mark - before you do anything that might carry a downside, try puffing a few bowls. Estate pipes that have been unused for a few years often loosen up, especially in low humidity areas. I had some nice old Loewe's and Comoy's that tightened up with a few bowls. hp les This is the advice I followed a few months ago when I had a loose stem. I let it sit in a desk drawer for a couple of months, and when I checked it again it was perfect. I removed the stem before stashing it away, but I do not know if this is best, or if it should be left on the pipe. But this worked for me. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 15:06:46 GMT -5
If the above doesn't work, clean of the beeswax with alcohol, then put a coat of clear nail polish on the tenon, let it dry for a day. Should do it. If, not check back for the more drastic methods. Bee’s wax is good for a temporary fix. But I agree with Steve and have done the method with clear nail polish. Thin coats at a time, let dry and check if the tenon is now tight enough to your liking. You can always build up another thin layer. NEVER USE NAIL POLISH REMOVER TO CLEAN THE NAIL POLISH OFF, you will destroy the tenon!!! A fine grit sandpaper will do the trick, rolling the tenonin circles with the sandpaper wrapped around, so the end result it’s even. Good luck👍 |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 15:26:02 GMT -5
This is just MHO but I'd trash can a pipe before I used nail polish on any tenon. Too many good pipes out there.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 15:27:13 GMT -5
If it's real sloppy to the point nail polish, wax and/or smoking don't help, you can wrap the tenon in Teflon Plumbers tape. This is a get you by measure and will need reapplication down the road.
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Post by Dramatwist on Jul 18, 2018 15:28:07 GMT -5
This is just MHO but I'd trash can a pipe before I used nail polish on any tenon. Too many good pipes out there. Agreed. Too much bother. When the nail polish comes out, you have OCD. IMHO. YMMV. |
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Post by Dramatwist on Jul 18, 2018 15:28:58 GMT -5
If it's real sloppy to the point nail polish, wax and/or smoking don't help, you can wrap the tenon in Teflon Plumbers tape. This is a get you by measure and will need reapplication down the road. ...pitch it, unless you spent 4 figures on it... again, IMHO. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 15:41:22 GMT -5
If it's real sloppy to the point nail polish, wax and/or smoking don't help, you can wrap the tenon in Teflon Plumbers tape. This is a get you by measure and will need reapplication down the road. ...pitch it, unless you spent 4 figures on it... again, IMHO. +1 |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 16:06:01 GMT -5
I have a Ben Wade Oom Paul pipe which I cherish. A few years ago when I restored this pipe the stem was very lose. I wanted it as original as possible and tried every trick in the book before using clear nail polish. Took only one thin very neatly done coat of clear nail polish. After 5 plus years no other issues and the stem is still tight, the nail polish is not noticeable. I was not about to chuck this pipe, sentimental reasons and it’s an excellent smoking pipe👍👍👍
PS
Once the nail polish cured there was no foul odor.
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sablebrush52
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Post by sablebrush52 on Jul 18, 2018 19:13:48 GMT -5
Just warm the tenon with a BIC, rotating the tenon about 3-4" from the flame so that the heat from the BIC is spread all around the circumference of the tenon. Do this for 10-15 seconds. Warming the tenon will return it to its original dimensions. Allow the tenon to thoroughly cool down and then twist it into the mortise. 9 times out of 10, that will do it. You might have to repeat the procedure if the first time doesn't quite do it. Simple as that.
Here's Walt Cannoy's video on fixing a loose stem:
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Post by Legend Lover on Jul 19, 2018 3:22:11 GMT -5
There's a lot of advice here. I've used the heating a very gentle push of a nail (like the pencil but the taper was shallower).
Worked a treat for me.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 3:34:18 GMT -5
I’d bet 3 out of 10 pipe smokers damage their stem using the lighter method. I’ve used clear nail polish on a Pipes tenon and over 5 years later it’s still tight, why would I use a bic lighter for repair when I know the polish does the job perfectly 👌👍
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Post by dave g on Jul 19, 2018 5:21:08 GMT -5
Just warm the tenon with a BIC, rotating the tenon about 3-4" from the flame so that the heat from the BIC is spread all around the circumference of the tenon. Do this for 10-15 seconds. Warming the tenon will return it to its original dimensions. Allow the tenon to thoroughly cool down and then twist it into the mortise. 9 times out of 10, that will do it. You might have to repeat the procedure if the first time doesn't quite do it. Simple as that. Here's Walt Cannoy's video on fixing a loose stem: What Jesse said. I’ve used this trick a hundred times and it works well. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 5:32:59 GMT -5
The slower way is to spit into the mortice and reinsert the stem every day. The moisture will swell the wood back to size.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 8:16:14 GMT -5
Just warm the tenon with a BIC, rotating the tenon about 3-4" from the flame so that the heat from the BIC is spread all around the circumference of the tenon. Do this for 10-15 seconds. Warming the tenon will return it to its original dimensions. Allow the tenon to thoroughly cool down and then twist it into the mortise. 9 times out of 10, that will do it. You might have to repeat the procedure if the first time doesn't quite do it. Simple as that. Here's Walt Cannoy's video on fixing a loose stem: What Jesse said. I’ve used this trick a hundred times and it works well. If your handy and have the patience or ar familiar with restoration of pipes the lighter does work well. My older sibling has melted 2 tenons and destroyed a stem completely. If your not careful with the lighter and rotate the stem properly, like my older sibling did, it’s easy to melt or like this brainiac did, seal the hole of the tenon....simply brilliant 👌👍 |
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cgvt
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Post by cgvt on Jul 19, 2018 8:41:47 GMT -5
What Jesse said. I’ve used this trick a hundred times and it works well. If your handy and have the patience or ar familiar with restoration of pipes the lighter does work well. My older sibling has melted 2 tenons and destroyed a stem completely. If your not careful with the lighter and rotate the stem properly, like my older sibling did, it’s easy to melt or like this brainiac did, seal the hole of the tenon....simply brilliant 👌👍 He probably shouldn't be allowed near sharp objects. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 9:24:41 GMT -5
If your handy and have the patience or ar familiar with restoration of pipes the lighter does work well. My older sibling has melted 2 tenons and destroyed a stem completely. If your not careful with the lighter and rotate the stem properly, like my older sibling did, it’s easy to melt or like this brainiac did, seal the hole of the tenon....simply brilliant 👌👍 He probably shouldn't be allowed near sharp objects. Or the two AR-15’s & AK-47 either! |
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Post by slowroll on Jul 19, 2018 10:55:26 GMT -5
Safer to heat in boiling water or my method, which is to heat a little tray full of sand in the toaster oven at 250 F for 30 min or so and stand the stem in it straight up for a couple minutes, then gently push the hole over a tapered pin like a scribe, all or old ice pick to expand it. Can also use hot sand to gently and evenly heat a whole stem to bend or straighten it. No risk of damage.
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sablebrush52
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Post by sablebrush52 on Jul 19, 2018 13:13:19 GMT -5
Safer to heat in boiling water or my method, which is to heat a little tray full of sand in the toaster oven at 250 F for 30 min or so and stand the stem in it straight up for a couple minutes, then gently push the hole over a tapered pin like a scribe, all or old ice pick to expand it. Can also use hot sand to gently and evenly heat a whole stem to bend or straighten it. No risk of damage. Except that you're flaring and distorting the tenon and it's not necessary to do that. I've used Walt's method a number of times with no issues. You just have to watch what you're doing. |
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joeman
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Post by joeman on Jul 19, 2018 13:41:47 GMT -5
Lots of suggestions here...and each one of these solutions has worked for the guy who shared it. While the pencil / nail / pick idea technically "works" (because it will make a tight fit), I would not personally use it, for the reason Sable just pointed out. The entire tenon is meant to make a compression fit against the mortise. Using a nail / pencil / pick to expand the tenon is only going to expand the end of the tenon...so it's just a a smaller part of the tenon which makes the seal / compression fit....  ...so if you're heating and inserting something...a tapered object is not something I'd use. The method I've used countless times is heat. The video Sable shared is good. A very carefully finessed flame will warm it, and the rubber will return to it's original dimensions. And I agree...it's 9 out of 10 times. The 10th time...when it's still just a snik too loose, my own process is to insert something of an exacting size to press the entire tenon outward just a hair, while it's still hot. That's typically a drill bit which is the tiniest bit larger than the diameter of the hole. Since I have a large set of bits with "all of the sizes"  ...I always have the size I need. And I share this with caution...because if you force the bit in...you can split the tenon. If you use the wrong size...you can split the tenon. Practice on a junk bit and pipe when learning this stuff. I've used heat (for me it's the low setting on my Milwaukee heat gun) very successfully many times, and have also used the drill bit method many times when heat alone didn't get it done. I don't split tenons with these methods. Again, I'm not meaning to say the pencil / nail trick doesn't work. I just prefer the entire tenon to make the compression fit. |
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Post by slowroll on Jul 19, 2018 13:43:02 GMT -5
Quite often the problem is that the mortice and/or tenon are worn. In this case the tenon will not "return" to it's original shape because it has worn or the mortice has worn or expanded for any number of reasons. One can try just heating it and see what happens and if it doesn't work, it then needs to be expanded.
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joeman
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Post by joeman on Jul 19, 2018 13:48:09 GMT -5
I agree Steve, good clarification. Wear will mean it needs to be expanded. While most just need heat, the worn ones make up that 10% I mentioned.
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Mark
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Post by Mark on Jul 19, 2018 14:30:24 GMT -5
It does seem to snug up a bit when I smoke it. I think maybe a q-tip dipped in some water (or scotch) rubbed around the mortise, maybe on a daily basis for a while, might do the trick.
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joeman
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Post by joeman on Jul 20, 2018 10:39:04 GMT -5
That's good to hear! It's always better when the solution is the simplest one.
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...I always have the size I need. And I share this with caution...because if you force the bit in...you can split the tenon. If you use the wrong size...you can split the tenon. Practice on a junk bit and pipe when learning this stuff. 