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Restoring a pipe?

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Junker

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So I happened to come across an old (not sure how old) GMB(?) pipe. I was hoping to restore it but not sure where to start. Based on a once-Over it needs the following;

1) new stem/bit - the old one is old, and has chattering
2) clean the shank thoroughly
3) clean the bowl interior thoroughly
4) clean the dirt/grit out of the exterior (see the photo)
5) polish and treat the exterior

polishing is pretty straightforward, but cleaning the dirt out of the grooves is not. And I don't know if it's possible to get new stems? Any help here would be fantastic and hugely appreciated. Also, can anyone identify what kind of pipe this is?
 

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Jitterbugdude

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For cleaning the bowl you can fill it with salt and Everclear. Have the stem off and the stummel plugged. Let it set for a day or two and empty. You could also use a retort which would work much better than the salt method. The stem can be polished with something like Obsidian Oil or put it on a buffer. You can also polish it with a micro-fiber pad. Many options are out there. If you want a new stem you can buy replacements. Measure the tenon diameter so you have an idea of the size. Chances are you will have to do some work on the new tenon to get it to fit correctly. PIMO sells a nice tenon tool for such a purpose. You can bend your new stem easily too.
 

CowboyTed

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You might be surprised to learn how well stems clean up with a bit of sandpaper. I've restored lots of them, even with serious chatter, simply by sanding the chatter and oxidation away. Start with 220 grit sandpaper and work the chatter with light pressure. If you can get it mostly smoothed out, then switch to a finer sandpaper and work the whole stem to remove the oxidized layer on the surface. After that, use even finer sandpaper and polish. You have little to lose trying this, since you were planning to throw out the old stem anyway.
 

Junker

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Cleaning the stem inside as well? I noticed when I pulled out the stem/bit itself instead of a filter there was a long 4-blade stick(?) instead of a filter. Covered in tar of course but strange. Thanks for the suggestion of everclear, I tried doing a search, but I couldn't find (well I don't think) the right product.
 

Silverone858

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Youtube is your friend, and I had great luck cleaning the oxidation off the stem with a Mr clean magic eraser. A couple threads down from this one is my pipe restoration thread. I just clean em and tweak em a little and get em back in the game!
Oh check out reborn pipes as well great info!
 

CowboyTed

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Cleaning the stem inside as well? I noticed when I pulled out the stem/bit itself instead of a filter there was a long 4-blade stick(?) instead of a filter. Covered in tar of course but strange. Thanks for the suggestion of everclear, I tried doing a search, but I couldn't find (well I don't think) the right product.

When I restore pipes I usually start by soaking the stem in a solution of water and bleach, roughly 75:25. After an hour in the bleach, I scrub the inside of the stem with a bristle-type pipe cleaner, then soak some more, and scrub again later.

Often, when you have a pipe with a metal "stinger" installed, it will be stuck in place, and difficult to remove. In that case you might need to try several different cleaners to dissolve the tar so you can pull the stinger out and clean inside the stem. I've used various chemicals in my attempts to free old stingers: WD-40, lacquer thinner, oven cleaner, methanol, ethanol, acetone, xylol and MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) are the ones I've used in the past. I tend to try each one with just a few drops on a pipe cleaner at first, until I find one that seems to be capable of dissolving the tar buildup. I then use it to soak the stinger and the tenon, in a container with just enough of the liquid to reach the tenon. That avoids the possibility that the chemical might cause discoloration on the exterior surfaces of the stem. I use a simple glass graduated cylinder so I can see the liquid level. I put the stem in stinger downward, then use a syringe to add the solvent until the tenon is covered.

Oddly enough, bleach doesn't seem to discolor stems much. on the few stems that are affected at all, the discoloration is very shallow, and easily removed with very fine sandpaper and a quick polish.

Every smoker seems to have different thoughts on whether to leave stingers in place. Their purpose is to provide a surface where moisture can condense inside the pipe, so that the smoke is less moist by the time it reaches your mouth. I find that stingers tend to have tiny passages where the moisture condenses, partially blocking the passage of smoke, which causes the pipe to gurgle. The tiny passages where the gurgling occurs reduce the airflow and often result in constant relights. I prefer to smoke without the stingers.

On the other hand, I love all my pipes that use Dr Grabow style 6mm filters. The filters remove moisture well and never gurgle, and yet a pipe cleaner passes right through them easily. I've started modifying many of my estate pipes to accept Grabow filters, and I drill all my homemade pipes to use them.
 

CowboyTed

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Eeeeeeek!!! Keep away from my kaywoodies!!!

OK! You'll be happy to learn that I've never experienced any odd odors or flavors from any of the pipes I've used these solvents on (even MY Kaywoodies). Most of those solvents are very volatile, so they flash off very quickly. Give them some time to dry, then a scrub with bleach water, then soapy water, and there is unlikely to be any residue left. Keep in mind that the only part of the stem that gets soaked in the nasty chemicals is the tenon and the stinger. The stinger is metal, and most stems don't seem to absorb these chemicals, so getting rid of the residues is easy.

Here is an example of a typical situation for soaking a stuck stinger. In this case, the tenon is also metal, and those are the ones where stuck stingers are most common.

20170608_125738.jpg
 

Silverone858

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I like that beaker! I gotta get one!
It's cool man I keep trying new things too, I'm still new to all of this.
I prefer to retort. My nastiest kaywoodie took 3 times retort for bristol brush pipe cleaners to come clean, I must have used 30 hahaha.
Geoff
BTW sorry junker to sidetrack your thread.
 
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