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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 20, 2021 13:42:38 GMT -5
Just in time for IPSD, Briar Patcher Darin landed a parcel of goodies on my doorstep, with help from the PO. We had talked about me trying my hand at restoration of some pipes. So he said he'd send me something. He sent four pipes! And some SG Mayor's Chocolate Flake and Wessex Burley with some age on them. Good stuff, both. There's a Grabow prince that I'm anxious to shape up and all the pipes are in good, definitely restoration-worthy conditions. I'll be reading restoration blogs, cramming knowledge into my noggin, and assembling some supplies before I touch the things. I want to do it right! I will get some "before" pictures, as well. I have some sites bookmarked, but would appreciate recommendations for good resources on the 'net. Or real books, even. Darin, you made a fellow pipester very happy, so thank you very much! |
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Post by pepesdad1 on Feb 20, 2021 16:50:40 GMT -5
Always good to play with pipes...'specially when they turn out great!
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Post by Darin on Feb 20, 2021 17:17:32 GMT -5
Let the games begin!  Micro-mesh seems, to me, to be one of the best ways to go for stems. I tried the Magic Erasers with limited success. IIRC, none of those should need much reaming for the bowls. Lots of swabs and alcohol for the shanks. More experienced resto folks will hopefully chime in! |
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Post by Gandalf on Feb 20, 2021 17:28:31 GMT -5
Just in time for IPSD, Briar Patcher Darin landed a parcel of goodies on my doorstep, with help from the PO. We had talked about me trying my hand at restoration of some pipes. So he said he'd send me something. He sent four pipes! And some SG Mayor's Chocolate Flake and Wessex Burley with some age on them. Good stuff, both. There's a Grabow prince that I'm anxious to shape up and all the pipes are in good, definitely restoration-worthy conditions. I'll be reading restoration blogs, cramming knowledge into my noggin, and assembling some supplies before I touch the things. I want to do it right! I will get some "before" pictures, as well. I have some sites bookmarked, but would appreciate recommendations for good resources on the 'net. Or real books, even. Darin, you made a fellow pipester very happy, so thank you very much! I'll be looking forward to before and after photos! I just inherited 39 pipes. Most need a lot of work. My father-in-law quit smoking in the late 80's so these have been sitting for years. A lot of oxidized stems. All needed reamed. |
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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 20, 2021 18:26:26 GMT -5
You'll have to wait a bit for photos. These didn't appear to be too caked up. That's good, because I only have an old Butner. The stems look good with little chatter, but I'll need to sit down with good light and see what kind of crud I'm dealing with. One stem might be a hair overclocked. Rims look good, a bit of tar and one or two might have a wee bit of char under that. A couple have pretty gunky stingers. I've used the Magic Eraser on my vulcanite stems, but just for oxidation around the buttons. Micromesh pads and a jar of elbow grease are on the way. All in all good stock with which to work on a variety of minor issues--it should be fun and rewarding!
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Post by taiguy66 on Feb 20, 2021 18:51:29 GMT -5
Just in time for IPSD, Briar Patcher Darin landed a parcel of goodies on my doorstep, with help from the PO. We had talked about me trying my hand at restoration of some pipes. So he said he'd send me something. He sent four pipes! And some SG Mayor's Chocolate Flake and Wessex Burley with some age on them. Good stuff, both. There's a Grabow prince that I'm anxious to shape up and all the pipes are in good, definitely restoration-worthy conditions. I'll be reading restoration blogs, cramming knowledge into my noggin, and assembling some supplies before I touch the things. I want to do it right! I will get some "before" pictures, as well. I have some sites bookmarked, but would appreciate recommendations for good resources on the 'net. Or real books, even. Darin, you made a fellow pipester very happy, so thank you very much! Looking forward to your “before” and “after” photos Emily. 😁👍 |
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Post by trailboss on Feb 21, 2021 17:02:54 GMT -5
Darin is bum, a really shady character. My Senior reamer has served me well on estate pipes, and I never regret having bought it, but if you pick one up, be judicious in t's use. Varying sizes of dowel rods and sandpaper allow a person to remove carbon slowly. Over reaming and over buffing have ruined many a pipe...certainly not rocket science. A great resource. rebornpipes.com/pipe-refurbishing-links-for-quick-reference/ Not really...  You would be hard pressed to find a more generous soul, but then again you would be hard pressed to find a guy more AWOL at pipe club meetings. He prefers shelter and food over spending time with us rather than his bride...the cat has misplaced priorities.  Good luck on the restorations! |
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Post by Gandalf on Feb 21, 2021 19:03:45 GMT -5
Darin is bum, a really shady character. My Senior reamer has served me well on estate pipes, and I never regret having bought it, but if you pick one up, be judicious in t's use. Varying sizes of dowel rods and sandpaper allow a person to remove carbon slowly. Over reaming and over buffing have ruined many a pipe...certainly not rocket science. A great resource. rebornpipes.com/pipe-refurbishing-links-for-quick-reference/ Not really... You would be hard pressed to find a more generous soul, but then again you would be hard pressed to find a guy more AWOL at pipe club meetings. He prefers shelter and food over spending time with us rather than his bride...the cat has misplaced priorities. Good luck on the restorations! We seem to be blessed with numerous generous souls on this forum. Glad I picked this one to join. |
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Post by Darin on Feb 21, 2021 20:43:56 GMT -5
Hey ... I resemble that remark!
I notice you added that bit AFTER I hit the like button. 😆
Thank you for those other kind words though and I do wish I didn't work every weekend sometimes.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 21, 2021 21:53:48 GMT -5
Thanks, Charlie, for the advice and link. I was already digging deep into rebornpipes. A Senior reamer probably isn't needed--yet. I am contemplating buffing wheels for my drill or Dremel. Highly unlikely I'll over buff with my little hands.
And I'll vouch for Darin, ha ha. He's one of the good guys, for certain.
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Post by trailboss on Feb 21, 2021 22:07:24 GMT -5
A buffing wheel can really be handy, and with able hands produce magic that otherwise would be seemingly impossible.
A pipe that is worthless, is a worthy candidate to practice upon.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 21, 2021 22:21:21 GMT -5
We'll see how this goes by hand, then maybe in the future I'll pick up a beater pipe on the Bay and practice with wheels.
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Post by kxg on Feb 21, 2021 23:34:04 GMT -5
Check out High Grade Pipe Repair & Restoration on YouTube. It is George Dibos' channel. He is primarily a repair guy and is arguably the best around, but he has quite a few videos that are more about restoration. Here is one on home built tools:
Good luck with your restorations!
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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 22, 2021 6:45:58 GMT -5
Super. Thanks for the recommendation. It didn't occur to me to look on YouTube.
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Post by Legend Lover on Feb 22, 2021 7:42:27 GMT -5
What a guy, Darin is. I hope you can get a couple of photos of your work so we can see. I hope it brings you smoking pleasure for years to come. |
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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 24, 2021 16:59:50 GMT -5
My package of supplies just arrived. I'll post some "before" pictures ASAP and I'll get cracking on them over the weekend.
edit: I checked out some of the videos Kelly recommended. Thanks. I have heard of George Dibos somewhere, though i can't remember where. Informative videos, for sure.
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Post by taiguy66 on Feb 24, 2021 19:22:45 GMT -5
Nice! Can’t wait to see your handiwork Emily!😁👍
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Post by fadingdaylight on Feb 25, 2021 13:40:21 GMT -5
I'm a few days late, but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread now. Looking forward to seeing your progress!
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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 27, 2021 13:32:39 GMT -5
I took some before pics. I used my phone instead of getting out the big rig, but here they are.   |
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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 27, 2021 13:35:41 GMT -5
Top to bottom Brewster, Comoy's, Kaywoodie, Dr Grabow. The Kaywoodie at the very bottom just snuck in there because I was about to load it up.
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Post by Gypo on Feb 27, 2021 13:52:25 GMT -5
I like the Comoy's and Kaywoodie
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Post by terrapinflyer on May 19, 2021 15:53:50 GMT -5
So, I am done with three of these, sort of. The Comoy's with clear acrylic stem is still waiting. I've yet to get final pics of them, as I will try to get a better luster on them after waxing.
First, I removed what little cake there was with a Butner reamer and dull pipe knife, then a quick pass with sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I stopped short of bare briar.
I stripped the finish on all with acetone. Had to remove my nail polish first, so I didn't get to step 2 right away.
On to removing gunk: I somehow failed to get a pic of the many, many, Q-tips and cleaners I soiled. The shanks of three of them were difficult, as they had screw fitments. Two have stingers, which were cleaned and left intact. I have two pipes with them already and they don't bother me. Odd, because I normally like an open draw. While I did this the stems, I did cotton and alcohol treatment to stummels. The next morning they had drawn out some filth:
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Post by terrapinflyer on May 19, 2021 15:56:37 GMT -5
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Post by trailboss on May 19, 2021 16:09:22 GMT -5
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Post by terrapinflyer on May 19, 2021 16:11:31 GMT -5
Then I spent some time working on the stummels with a range of micromesh pads up to 12000 grit. They had very minor dings and dents than smoothed out nicely. Tar staining on the rims came out great. The bulldog has nice grain now.   |
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Post by terrapinflyer on May 19, 2021 16:14:13 GMT -5
And I'm going to enjoy the Grabow prince.  |
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Post by terrapinflyer on May 19, 2021 16:19:31 GMT -5
Unfortunately, the pics of the stem work don't really show very well. I left them out. I'm used to using a full manual DSLR, and the newfangled cell phone camera doesn't do what I want sometimes.
Anyway, I'll get three of them better polished and properly photographed soon. That's what I have for the moment. It's been fun.
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Post by terrapinflyer on May 19, 2021 16:21:21 GMT -5
Thanks! I have some and will need to replace a couple I tossed after the abuse. Cheap enough. |
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Post by fadingdaylight on May 19, 2021 16:34:39 GMT -5
Nice work Emily, they look great!
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Post by terrapinflyer on May 19, 2021 18:32:50 GMT -5
Thanks, Jason. My fears were unfounded. It's good playing with a few that didn't entail any major. I'd feel confident I could handle the basics and tackle a problem in the future. I enjoyed doing it and it was probably therapeutic for the noggin, too.
Edit: Working with carnauba wax is a PITA. I will see what my options are.
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