Meerschaum Pipe Stuck/Broken Stem Problem: Any Advice On How To Fix Is Welcome.

[peteguy]

Great contributions jhowell. Looks like its well on its way to seeing baccy again someday.

 

[perseus]

Thanks - apologies for lack of update, numerous things towards the end of last year seemed to stack up (caught covid, hard scheduled surgery, plus more) so this slipped down the to-do list. I can't believe it's been 4 months!

 

[perseus]

At this point, you need to thoroughly clean the stem. tenon, and mortise adaptor. Polish the tenon and the interior of the mortise adaptor with something like a ScotchBrite (tm) pad. Then use an ordinary pencil to "color" the entirety of the tenon (it's graphite) - gently test-fit as you go. When the fit is right, the mortise adaptor needs to be installed back in the strummel - hopefully, there will be enough friction to keep it in when the stem is removed - if not, you might try some Teflon (tm) tape or an adhesive (I would suggest water soluble so the adaptor could removed in the future by soaking the strummel) You're on the home stretch...

Thanks again for your help. The graphite from the pencil is a great idea, something I would never havethought of.

Anyway, I've followed these steps but it hasn't quite worked.

For whatever reason, the tenon and mortise adaptor is not fitting flush - unless I'm forgetting what the pipe is actually meant to look like. I'm fairly certain the stem is meant to fit flat to the meerschaum but there's a small gap and I don't want to force it anymore than I have.



There's also absolutely no grip between the mortise and the strummel (#4). I've tried using teflon tape but I'm not quite sure how it is meant to bind the adaptor to the pipe. Do you have any advice on this? I'm wrapping it around the mortise but it's just making a mess and still coming out when I try to remove the mouhtpiece from the pipe.

If not I will go the route of some sort of adhesive - which is not what I wanted to do but a water soluble one sounds like top notch advice. I think that would be my preferred option to be honest anyway.

Thanks again your advice.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Is it possible a decorative metal ring is missing that fits in the gap and bridges the transition between the shank face and stem face? They seem to be two different widths.

 

[perseus]

Is it possible a decorative metal ring is missing that fits in the gap and bridges the transition between the shank face and stem face? They seem to be two different widths.

Good idea, but no, definitely not unfortunately. I bought it as new old stock and I'm certain that the mouthpiece twisted in flush to the pipe.

I think the different widths you mention isn't the issue. It seems to be that the tenon isn't pushing all the way in to the mortise adaptor. I've tried pressing fairly hard and there's no movement whatsoever.

The only thing I can think of - and this seems implausible tbh, I don't know how it's constructed - but the only thing I can think of that might have happened is the tenon has somehow come out of the mouthpiece ever so slightly. I'll try to get a picture.

 

[perseus]

I'll try to describe what I think might have happened.

The tenon is underlined in red, the main body of the mouthpiece is green. The light blue arrow I've drawn is to a little gap which is what I'm thinking might have happened. There's a very slight lip on the left hand side of the tenon (the red line stops at the lip). The gap between that lip and the rest of the mouthpiece (green) is similar to the gap between the mouthpiece and the pipe when I try to put it together. Therefore the only thing I can think of is the tenon is a separate piece to the mouthpiece, and I've pulled it out when trying to remove the tenon and mortise when they were stuck together.

If anyone wants to tell me this is impossible/ridiculous, I'll take it. But at present it's the only thing I can think of.

This might be a job for a professional if that's the case. I've tried pressing down quite hard on to the tenon and there's no give/movement back in to the mouthpiece whatsoever. I'm wary of using too much force and breaking it entirely.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

That makes sense.

 

[ukbob]

Try Cambridge Pipe Repairs .

 

[jhowell]

Thanks again for your help. The graphite from the pencil is a great idea, something I would never havethought of.

Anyway, I've followed these steps but it hasn't quite worked.

For whatever reason, the tenon and mortise adaptor is not fitting flush - unless I'm forgetting what the pipe is actually meant to look like. I'm fairly certain the stem is meant to fit flat to the meerschaum but there's a small gap and I don't want to force it anymore than I have.

View attachment 201158View attachment 201159

There's also absolutely no grip between the mortise and the strummel (#4). I've tried using teflon tape but I'm not quite sure how it is meant to bind the adaptor to the pipe. Do you have any advice on this? I'm wrapping it around the mortise but it's just making a mess and still coming out when I try to remove the mouhtpiece from the pipe.

If not I will go the route of some sort of adhesive - which is not what I wanted to do but a water soluble one sounds like top notch advice. I think that would be my preferred option to be honest anyway.

Thanks again your advice.

It doesn't look like that stem originally went with that strummel. I'd try to find a metal ring to fill the gap. As far as the loose fit, get some clear acrylic nail polish and brush a thin coat on the tenon of the stem. Test fit and add as many light coats (allowing time to dry in between) as necessary to achieve the desired fit.