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Post by insignia100 on Apr 16, 2021 20:29:36 GMT -5
Just purchased a pretty disgusting pipe off eBay with about 1/4" of cake build up. When you all restore old estate pipes, do you remove all the cake down to the bare wood? Or do you leave the previous smoker's cake? My gut is telling me to remove it all and start fresh.
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Post by trailboss on Apr 16, 2021 21:02:25 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2021 21:55:34 GMT -5
Just purchased a pretty disgusting pipe off eBay with about 1/4" of cake build up. When you all restore old estate pipes, do you remove all the cake down to the bare wood? Or do you leave the previous smoker's cake? My gut is telling me to remove it all and start fresh. Yes, until the interior of the bowl is as smooth as reasonably possible. You've got to know what's under the cake. I do not go for bare briar - that would mean you're taking off briar. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 19, 2021 4:03:21 GMT -5
Just purchased a pretty disgusting pipe off eBay with about 1/4" of cake build up. When you all restore old estate pipes, do you remove all the cake down to the bare wood? Or do you leave the previous smoker's cake? My gut is telling me to remove it all and start fresh. Yes, until the interior of the bowl is as smooth as reasonably possible. You've got to know what's under the cake. I do not go for bare briar - that would mean you're taking off briar. I would do this too. |
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Post by peteguy on Apr 22, 2021 17:58:10 GMT -5
Going to down bare briar on an estate pipe can open up more trouble. I have reamed hundreds of these ebay pipes and have learned to just take it down to where you leave just a sliver of cake. It takes practice but I would error on a tad thicker than thinner. Briar is wood and it does react to heat/flame. Some minor fissures, spider webs, etc., will become visible, even on an expensive pipe, and then you will need to put a coating on it or go slow until cake is back.
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Post by trailboss on Apr 22, 2021 18:08:19 GMT -5
Going to down bare briar on an estate pipe can open up more trouble. I have reamed hundreds of these ebay pipes and have learned to just take it down to where you leave just a sliver of cake. It takes practice but I would error on a tad thicker than thinner. Briar is wood and it does react to heat/flame. Some minor fissures, spider webs, etc., will become visible, even on an expensive pipe, and then you will need to put a coating on it or go slow until cake is back. That is what i should have said. I was thinking of a heavily caked briar. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2021 9:24:40 GMT -5
Going to down bare briar on an estate pipe can open up more trouble. I have reamed hundreds of these ebay pipes and have learned to just take it down to where you leave just a sliver of cake. It takes practice but I would error on a tad thicker than thinner. Briar is wood and it does react to heat/flame. Some minor fissures, spider webs, etc., will become visible, even on an expensive pipe, and then you will need to put a coating on it or go slow until cake is back. Same here - hundreds of ebay pipes. I think we're in complete agreement. I can 'feel' when I'm where I need to be, based mostly on the sound the reamer makes against the side of the bowl - when it stops feeling 'crunchy' and gets more 'squeaky', I stop immediately. The result is generally smooth but still black. I also visually check for spider-webbing as I'm reaming, and work those areas as it generally is just cracks in the cake, as opposed to briar damage. Once you're at that point you can see any damage and repair using whatever your preferred technique is. One of the reasons I don't restore pipes for others, is that I don't want to deal with heavily damaged briar. When I start reaming out cake and see the walls of the pipe get 'too thin' from years of abuse, I generally put the pipe over in the 'to do later' pile, which means nothing's ever going to get done. I know how to repair such pipes, but I see no use in it unless it's a historically significant pipe. |
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Post by craig61a on Apr 28, 2021 3:08:04 GMT -5
I have reamed some pipes where the chamber was 75-80 obstructed. I removed the lions share of the cake, and then sanded till there was just a little cake remaining.
I’m of the opinion that doing that allows for inspection of the chamber wall, which is important, since any flaws or damage can be assessed.
Based on what I find I can determine how to proceed.
Many times I find that pipes that are loaded with cake are in pretty good condition...
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Post by peteguy on Apr 28, 2021 15:19:14 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2021 8:36:54 GMT -5
Yeah, that's why you do it - good example. Probably no big deal, but it's still nice to know how the pipe's been smoked.
I began restoring an 1800's cherrywood yesterday, and it looked like a previous owner had been roasting meat in it. It's a huge pipe that's more like a cauldron than a pipe. When I get my image-hosting going I'll post some pics.
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Post by daveinlax on Apr 29, 2021 11:02:39 GMT -5
I would never recommend sanding a pipe down this far. I wouldn't want to expose those cracks to another break in without at least lightly coating the bowl first. Unless the pipe is a must have I would avoid pipes with a charred rim that's so bad that you need to sand off inner rim. It's almost impossible to get it even and will ruin the lines. I would rather look at a dark rim than a rounded rim.  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2021 11:22:05 GMT -5
I would never recommend sanding a pipe down this far. I wouldn't want to expose those cracks to another break in without at least lightly coating the bowl first. Unless the pipe is a must have I would avoid pipes with a charred rim that's so bad that you need to sand off inner rim. It's almost impossible to get it even and will ruin the lines. I would rather look at a dark rim than a rounded rim. Hey Dave. I think that sanding may be mis-leading because the image is so huge. That's interesting though, that you wouldn't want to expose the cracks - I always want to see damage like this. Agreed on rim-sanding. Most of the pipe restorers on ebay should have the handle 'NoSharpCorners'. I know most Peterson models pretty well, so when I see one that should have a flat rim and instead is rounded on the inner, outer or both sides, it's kind of sickening. I'd rather have some chews on the rim than have it inaccurately rounded. I finally contacted an ebay restorer the other day and told him I would have bought several of his pipes if he had stopped sanding a little earlier in the process. Some will even tell you what the stamping 'used' to be before they started work.  |
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Post by peteguy on Apr 29, 2021 13:54:56 GMT -5
I guess it depends. I was speaking earlier about reselling pipes. If it were my own, I wouldn't care either way. If I took it to far (the pic is to far imo) then I would know to go easy until a cake is built back up. If I were selling the pipe I would not want to "cover them up" with a coating, I would rather leave a bit more cake and let the cake do its job. If you don't cover them up then the new owner thinks they are getting a bad pipe when in reality most pipes get these.
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