exibar
New Member
Posts: 8
Location:
|
Post by exibar on Dec 15, 2018 3:39:45 GMT -5
hi all! Up until this point I've been an amateur at pipe restoring and fixing. I've always enjoyed it and consider it therapeutic actually. Well, I was at someone's house purchaing another item and I cam up on this room, and it was filled with pipe stuff, the walls were covered with little plastic boxes with stems, briar, stingers, rings, bowls, pipes, etc. You name it, it was there. Well, we got talking and long story made short and some exchange of cash, I now have the entire shop in totes in my garage ;-) So, it turns out the previous home owner passed away and was in the pip business during his retirement. This shop was not touched since 1984 the nearest I can tell, there are litterally thousands of stems, mostly brand new and uncut, still with flashing and all that on them. I just need some help as to how to get started, and maybe a bit of "what it's worth" opinions as well would be helpful for me :-) I'm still going through everything I brought home, but there are many brand new, but dirty and need cleaning, Yello-bole pipes and others. The Yello-bole's are easy for me to pick out ;-) anyway, most stems are new, and uncut and still have the mold flashing on them. Any thoughts as to how to begin with these? I'm sure I could figure something out, but I'd love to hear what y'all would do :-) thank you! I look forward to your opinions and thoughts! Mike B  photos in google photos album
  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Location:
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2018 4:05:48 GMT -5
There are many videos on YouTube you should watch, will help you immensely.
|
|
|
|
Post by antb on Dec 15, 2018 6:11:57 GMT -5
There is something very interesting about that old workshop. I hope more detais will be forthcoming.
|
|
|
|
Post by Legend Lover on Dec 15, 2018 6:17:31 GMT -5
Looks like you stumbled on a gold mine. People should be able to help you shortly.
|
|
|
|
Post by haebar on Dec 15, 2018 7:18:51 GMT -5
Great find! Congratulations!
|
|
|
|
Post by william on Dec 15, 2018 7:25:53 GMT -5
Very interesting. And welcome to the forum.
|
|
|
|
Post by pepesdad1 on Dec 15, 2018 8:43:07 GMT -5
Welcome from central north Florida...yeah, you did find a "gold mine"...probably the best kind in the pipe world. You may have some rare inexpensive pipes in there...maybe some crap, but you have the makings of a great restore hobby. Go through everything carefully and put stuff back where they came from so you know which stem belongs to which type of pipe...otherwise is will be a bigger mess than it already is.
TAKE YOUR TIME GOING THROUGH EVERYTHING!! I would love to be in your shoes with what little I know. I'd be moving my bed in there and never leave.
|
|
|
|
Post by papipeguy on Dec 15, 2018 8:44:18 GMT -5
Dang, like Alibaba's cave.
|
|
|
|
Post by Yohanan on Dec 15, 2018 8:47:47 GMT -5
Hello Mike B, and Welcome to the Forum!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Dramatwist on Dec 15, 2018 8:54:47 GMT -5
Warm welcome from the San Francisco Bay, Mike... have fun and be careful not to buff off the nomenclature on the pipes! We're happy you're here.
|
|
|
|
Post by mwps70 on Dec 15, 2018 9:29:53 GMT -5
Welcome from Illinois and wow what a find. I forsee years of pipe restoration enjoyment in your future.
|
|
|
|
Post by pepesdad1 on Dec 15, 2018 9:34:28 GMT -5
Not to mention the blocks of wood...probably old briar back then it was very common to find outstanding blocks to carve from....oohhh, what a find!!!!
|
|
exibar
New Member
Posts: 8
Location:
|
Post by exibar on Dec 15, 2018 10:37:37 GMT -5
hi all!
Thank you for the warm welcome!
I've restored maybe a dozen pipes in the past few years, and I've enjoyed the hobby I take great pride in what I've done and truly enjoy the art. When I stumbled into this "shop" that time forgot, I really could not leave without it all, especially as they had zero interest in the pipe stuff, they bought the house with all the contents from the family of the fellow that passed.
there truly is so much more than I'd think I could ever use, I've never seen so many stems and pieces before. I joked with my son that even if I don't touch the totes until I retire in ten years, it's something that you simply cannot pass up.
Most of it all is labeled, and organized in plastic bins with dividers. But there are some boxes filled with a couple thousand stems just like in bulk. I grabbed whatever paperwork there was to be found to help identify anything not labeled as well... I tried to gather everything up smartly instead of quickly. took me a couple hours to pack it all up :-) About 10 full totes worth and a couple outside boxes full of items.
I doubt if anything was touched since circa 1984 time frame, that was the last set of paperwork I found in that room.
so a question, as silly as it may sound to me :-) should I assume that if I were to sell some of the complete pipes, like those brand new Yello-Bole's. I should clean them up right? they are just dusty, etc really as they do appear brand new so they shouldn't take much just a bit of TLC really. It's not like finding an antique and by cleaning it you bring the value down right?
thanks all!
Mike B
|
|
|
|
Post by puffy on Dec 15, 2018 10:43:14 GMT -5
Fantastic
|
|
|
|
Post by kxg on Dec 15, 2018 10:49:16 GMT -5
Welcome! Look up “High Grade Pipe Repair and Restoration” on YouTube; a wealth of information from one of the best.
|
|
|
|
Post by pepesdad1 on Dec 15, 2018 10:51:33 GMT -5
There are others who may have a different suggestion...but I would leave everything alone..sell "as is"...let the new owners determine what they want to do with this treasure trove....are you gonna make a million...no, but you will make some cash off the supplies.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ronv69 on Dec 15, 2018 11:08:27 GMT -5
Welcome to the Patch from Humble Texas. I hope that you stick around, but you might want to consider checking out www.pipemakersforum.com |
|
|
|
Post by Ronv69 on Dec 15, 2018 11:11:09 GMT -5
I inherited a similar hoard of reloading equipment when I already had everything I needed. There is such a thing as too much stuff. Store most of it out of the way and try to just pick our what you really need to use now.
|
|
|
|
Post by LSUTigersFan on Dec 15, 2018 11:19:56 GMT -5
Welcome! Look up “High Grade Pipe Repair and Restoration” on YouTube; a wealth of information from one of the best. Well, thanks for the rabbit hole to make my Saturday completely unproductive...  |
|
|
|
Post by trailboss on Dec 15, 2018 12:50:31 GMT -5
There are others who may have a different suggestion...but I would leave everything alone..sell "as is"...let the new owners determine what they want to do with this treasure trove....are you gonna make a million...no, but you will make some cash off the supplies. That’s what I would do, but then again I don’t really enjoy restoring pipes, and have no desire to ever do stemwork. What I find weird is... some cat dies in the home, these people buy the home and leave his stuff sitting around since 1984? Someone stumbled onto the king of procrastinators, or just one lazy family. |
|
|
|
Post by kxg on Dec 15, 2018 13:36:27 GMT -5
Welcome! Look up “High Grade Pipe Repair and Restoration” on YouTube; a wealth of information from one of the best. Well, thanks for the rabbit hole to make my Saturday completely unproductive... No worries, glad to be of service! |
|
sablebrush52
Full Member
Posts: 903
Favorite Pipe: Barling
Favorite Tobacco: whatever is in it
Location:
|
Post by sablebrush52 on Dec 15, 2018 16:35:32 GMT -5
Wow! What an amazing find! Youtube is certainly a source of information, though much of it is complete garbage. But George Dibos has been posting a series of videos on pipe restoration that are solid gold. George has been one of the very top restorers in the field, doing work for a very demanding clientele. He's wanted to share what he's learned over the years so that it doesn't die with him. His videos are a tremendous resource.
You might also check out the pipemakers forum, since there are more threads on materials and how to work them than on a general interest forum.
As for cleaning up those Yello-Boles, sure, why not. It's not like you're stripping the patina off of a 19th century British Arts and Crafts hand hammered copper desk set. Clean them up, noninvasively (as in refinishing them), make them pretty, photograph them pretty, and make some money.
|
|
|
|
Post by Legend Lover on Dec 15, 2018 16:39:30 GMT -5
Wow! What an amazing find! Youtube is certainly a source of information, though much of it is complete garbage. But George Dibos has been posting a series of videos on pipe restoration that are solid gold. George has been one of the very top restorers in the field, doing work for a very demanding clientele. He's wanted to share what he's learned over the years so that it doesn't die with him. His videos are a tremendous resource. You might also check out the pipemakers forum, since there are more threads on materials and how to work them than on a general interest forum. As for cleaning up those Yello-Boles, sure, why not. It's not like you're stripping the patina off of a 19th century British Arts and Crafts hand hammered copper desk set. Clean them up, noninvasively (as in refinishing them), make them pretty, photograph them pretty, and make some money. I'd second the recommendation of georged. Here's his YouTube channel... www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQlM1pWKqd5prZTdEDANZg |
|
exibar
New Member
Posts: 8
Location:
|
Post by exibar on Dec 15, 2018 16:51:55 GMT -5
There are others who may have a different suggestion...but I would leave everything alone..sell "as is"...let the new owners determine what they want to do with this treasure trove....are you gonna make a million...no, but you will make some cash off the supplies. That’s what I would do, but then again I don’t really enjoy restoring pipes, and have no desire to ever do stemwork. What I find weird is... some cat dies in the home, these people buy the home and leave his stuff sitting around since 1984? Someone stumbled onto the king of procrastinators, or just one lazy family. they just bought the home a month or so ago and haven't moved in yet. the family of the person that died only recently put the house up on the market, he passed away in 2015. I can only think that perhaps a relative was living there for a liittle while. but yah, I dont' see any evidence that the pipe stuff was touched since 1984. Maybe the old fellow lost interest in pipe making or something? I can't understand why / how it's sat for so long really. But the whole house was like a time capsule TBH. Mike B |
|
exibar
New Member
Posts: 8
Location:
|
Post by exibar on Dec 15, 2018 16:55:40 GMT -5
Wow! What an amazing find! Youtube is certainly a source of information, though much of it is complete garbage. But George Dibos has been posting a series of videos on pipe restoration that are solid gold. George has been one of the very top restorers in the field, doing work for a very demanding clientele. He's wanted to share what he's learned over the years so that it doesn't die with him. His videos are a tremendous resource. You might also check out the pipemakers forum, since there are more threads on materials and how to work them than on a general interest forum. As for cleaning up those Yello-Boles, sure, why not. It's not like you're stripping the patina off of a 19th century British Arts and Crafts hand hammered copper desk set. Clean them up, noninvasively (as in refinishing them), make them pretty, photograph them pretty, and make some money. that's what I was thinking about doing. Hold onto some for personal use, and sell others. I already have some folks that want pipes within my extended friends circle :-) the new pipes, just clean them up but carefully so as not to remove anything other than the dust / dirt / grime from them sitting there. the other bowls, stems, briar will be made into pipes. this is the find of a lifetime, and as corny as it sounds, I'd like to keep the original fellow's memory alive and make him happy that someone will put time and effort into the stuff and not just break it all up for a fast dollar. :-) Mike B |
|
exibar
New Member
Posts: 8
Location:
|
Post by exibar on Dec 15, 2018 16:56:46 GMT -5
Welcome! Look up “High Grade Pipe Repair and Restoration” on YouTube; a wealth of information from one of the best. I'm actually already a fan of his videos! Glad that I found the right guy to watch!! :-) |
|
|
|
Post by kxg on Dec 15, 2018 16:59:13 GMT -5
Wow! What an amazing find! Youtube is certainly a source of information, though much of it is complete garbage. But George Dibos has been posting a series of videos on pipe restoration that are solid gold. George has been one of the very top restorers in the field, doing work for a very demanding clientele. He's wanted to share what he's learned over the years so that it doesn't die with him. His videos are a tremendous resource. You might also check out the pipemakers forum, since there are more threads on materials and how to work them than on a general interest forum. As for cleaning up those Yello-Boles, sure, why not. It's not like you're stripping the patina off of a 19th century British Arts and Crafts hand hammered copper desk set. Clean them up, noninvasively (as in refinishing them), make them pretty, photograph them pretty, and make some money. Yep, that is the YouTube site I recommended, George's. I would use caution with other videos; anyone can put up a YouTube video. |
|
exibar
New Member
Posts: 8
Location:
|
Post by exibar on Dec 15, 2018 16:59:52 GMT -5
any information about a Tenon making tool? I'm also a machinist, or well I also do hobby machining for the past 30 years... I was thinking about making one of those tools, anyone know of any plans for making one or any videos of folks making one? I didn't see one of these tools mixed in with the pipe stuff. However, it looks like it could have been a "machining tool" and would have most likely been sold along with the fellow's Lathe that he had as lathe tooling....
Mike B
|
|
|
|
Post by trailboss on Dec 15, 2018 17:30:05 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by slowroll on Dec 15, 2018 19:30:03 GMT -5
If you want to be able to fit stems to any pipe, you Really need a small lathe. The tenon tool used in a drill press is a colossal PITA and you are likely to screw up More tenons than not. Besides, the stem OD always needs to be turned to match the shanks. A triangular machinist's scraper is great for removing the flashing.
|
|
