Pipe Repair Question

[ProZachJ]

I purchased this Stefano Santamoregio while on vacation in Maryland last year, great pipe. However the facet (mortice?) for the mouth piece (middle piece in the picture) has become loose and will no longer hold the weight of the pipe in my mouth. Anyone have advice on how to reattach it? my best idea is to use some adhesive between it and the white ring that goes around the shank but I'm hesitant on an appropriate adhesive.

 

[GreenDragon]

A non-glue option would to increase the inside diameter of the shank by wrapping it with some fine cotton sewing thread or even a thin piece of paper.

 

[johnny108]

Maybe a thin piece of aluminum foil?

 

[Havok]

High temp 2 part epoxy. Make sure it’s suitable for plastics. The same will have been used on most any pipe you’ve smoked that has any decorative elements added to it (not just a plain briar stummel with a fitted stem), or any pipe with delrin tenon on the stem.

The middle piece is a shank extension. The mortise is the hole on that piece that the tenon on your stem goes into.

I’m surprised by the finish of the shank. Is it broken off inside the extension, or does it leave gaps inside between the briar and the plastic? (Or maybe just image quality?)

 

[Blackfly]

High temp 2 part epoxy. Make sure it’s suitable for plastics. The same will have been used on most any pipe you’ve smoked that has any decorative elements added to it (not just a plain briar stummel with a fitted stem), or any pipe with delrin tenon on the stem.

The middle piece is a shank extension. The mortise is the hole on that piece that the tenon on your stem goes into.

I’m surprised by the finish of the shank. Is it broken off inside the extension, or does it leave gaps inside between the briar and the plastic? (Or maybe just image quality?)

Makes me think it was an attempted repair to deal with a broken shank.

 

[ProZachJ]

High temp 2 part epoxy. Make sure it’s suitable for plastics. The same will have been used on most any pipe you’ve smoked that has any decorative elements added to it (not just a plain briar stummel with a fitted stem), or any pipe with delrin tenon on the stem.

The middle piece is a shank extension. The mortise is the hole on that piece that the tenon on your stem goes into.

I’m surprised by the finish of the shank. Is it broken off inside the extension, or does it leave gaps inside between the briar and the plastic? (Or maybe just image quality?)

The shank is broken a bit. It may have occurred during a drop of the pipe, I'm not exactly sure. When the stem is inserted there is a small gap on the bottom where some wood is apparently missing. Still smokes fine though.

 

[Havok]

Liquid will condense from the smoke and enter that crack and deteriorate the epoxy again, eventually.

BSI or JB Weld are common brands used by pipe makers. Don’t try to wipe away any that oozes out during assembly. Instead, wait until that has partially cured and is gummy (like jello, or a gummy bear) and then peel it off. Should come off clean. I use an exacto knife to gently test the firmness of the bit that has oozed out and to remove that excess.

 

[Blackfly]

There's really not a lot of meat left on that briar tenon. I think a proper repair would be to cut the remaining tenon off and rebuild it. Maybe a delrin tenon system used in meers could be found to fit. It's a nice pipe and I think it's worth having a professional repair done. I doubt it would be prohibitively expensive; I've had pipes restemmed for $25 cad per pipe.

 

[DaleB]

For a fix-it-yourself, I'd agree that epoxy or gel CA glue would be a viable route. I also like @Blackfly's suggestion to get it drilled out and a Delrin insert done -- I'd want it done with a dark color, personally. There's probably still going to be glue involved, though...

Me, I'd probably use a little CA glue to secure the shank extension to the shank.

 

[Havok]

Both ends are threaded on the push/pulls, so glue wouldn’t be necessary. I’m not sure I follow on how Blackfly is recommending though.

Would you: 1.) ditch the shank extension, reface the shank, drill/tap the shank, then remove the current tenon from the stem, face/drill/tap the stem? Or, 2.) use this to reconnect the shank and the shank extension, essentially having 2 tenons?

Either of those options is going to change the way the pipe smokes, so if that was important -I wouldn’t go the route of using the push/pulls.

Option 1 would dramatically change the look of the pipe (it would look horrible actually), so if the aesthetics were important -this would be a bad choice as well.

Or I could be missing something.

 

[Havok]

*both options require a recess, also, to conceal the shoulders of the mating tenons.

 

[DaleB]

A person could, in theory, use a piloted bit to drill a new mortise in the existing shank. Into that you could fit a tube made of Delrin, brass, or aluminum that would replace the broken piece of shank. You'd probably need a small lathe to make the part, but you could match the diameter of the existing draw hole and shank so that it wouldn't materially affect the draw or airflow.

I agree, I don't see a good way to use a threaded mortise/tenon like what is shown above.

 

[deluxestogie]

Amateur Bob (that's me) would simply apply a viscous superglue to the shank portion, and stick the dark red doohickey back in place. I believe that joint is far enough from the bowl that excess heat would not be a problem.

Bob

EDIT: It just dawned on me that "CA", my middle initials, can also stand for cyanoacrylate (super glue).

 

[Blackfly]

View attachment 54260

Both ends are threaded on the push/pulls, so glue wouldn’t be necessary. I’m not sure I follow on how Blackfly is recommending though.

Would you: 1.) ditch the shank extension, reface the shank, drill/tap the shank, then remove the current tenon from the stem, face/drill/tap the stem? Or, 2.) use this to reconnect the shank and the shank extension, essentially having 2 tenons?

Either of those options is going to change the way the pipe smokes, so if that was important -I wouldn’t go the route of using the push/pulls.

Option 1 would dramatically change the look of the pipe (it would look horrible actually), so if the aesthetics were important -this would be a bad choice as well.

Or I could be missing something.

Reface the shank, use a delrin fitting and use a new stem, turned to whatever profile you want. The shank extension is just plastic anyway, you could match the profile of the shank extension and original stem in a new acrylic stem. Or have a floating tenon put into the shank to match the internal diameter of the shank extension. Either would be a minor task for a professional with the appropriate tools. Or, you could keep gluing it every time it breaks. I'd personally spend the $30-$40 and avoid the annoyance of jury rigged repair, and the professional would probably have a better solution than any of the above 3.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

I would first reach out to the manufacturer to see what they say and on the off chance they offer to repair/replace it. If it was originally stuck to the white piece then I would glue it there, otherwise I would glue it right to the wood. Clean, scuff then clean both surfaces again before attaching. Gorilla Glue Epoxy is available clear and cures in an hour. Doesn't get rock hard like JB and I find that useful on objects that expand/contract. The minor flexibility better endures impact shock IMHO. It sticks extremely well! Remember, clean first, then scuff/sand and then clean again. Use denatured alcohol and give the wood time enough to dry completely.

 

[deluxestogie]

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