Crooked stinger/stem

MLBbreton · Dec 12, 2024

I have a a Medico pipe I was going to fix up. The problem is when the stem is screwed in it doesn't line up straight.
Any ideas?
I saw one tip to heat it up and then wrap cloth on it and twist it with pliers. Seems scary. I haven't seen any other tips and this is beyond my meager skills.
Thanks in advance for any help or comments.

AlphaWarrior · Dec 13, 2024

MLBbreton said:
I have a a Medico pipe I was going to fix up. The problem is when the stem is screwed in it doesn't line up straight.
Any ideas?
I saw one tip to heat it up and then wrap cloth on it and twist it with pliers. Seems scary. I haven't seen any other tips and this is beyond my meager skills.
Thanks in advance for any help or comments.

Do it, it is very satisfying and you can't mess it up because the glue sets when cold and loosens with heat.

Be very careful not to mar the stinger, the metal is very soft. Once the glue is warm enough, it doesn't take much force at all to turn it.

If I remember right, the last one I did I just heated it and threaded it in and spun it to the right position.

Timbo · Dec 13, 2024

This is the right advice, no pliers needed just some heat and thread the stem in and spin it till it is good then put aside for a long while.

MLBbreton · Dec 13, 2024

AlphaWarrior said:
Do it, it is very satisfying and you can't mess it up because the glue sets when cold and loosens with heat.

Be very careful not to mar the stinger, the metal is very soft. Once the glue is warm enough, it doesn't take much force at all to turn it.

If I remember right, the last one I did I just heated it and threaded it in and spun it to the right position.

Thank you so much. I was hesitant to try that. I'll give it a shot tonight. I'm refurbishing some pipes to give as Christmas presents. My friend was already eyeing this one and the Medico.
I'll finish this one tonight and start on the Medico. Just need to polish it up and box it for him. I was at a loss on how to fix that stinger.
Whoo hoo. Knowledge is a new tool in my box.
Thanks again. Have a great day.

mosin1932 · Dec 14, 2024

I have also done this trick a few times with good results, once unsuccessfully, but that pipe was so far gone I didn't have high hopes to begin with lol. @AlphaWarrior offers sage advice about how soft those metal screw tenons can be. I would first find out if the tenon was meant to be repeatedly user-adjusted by twisting the stem in the pipe (ex. Kaywoodie's "Synchrostem") and is now seized from dried gunk, or if the alignment is meant to be permeant and the tenon was glued or friction fit into the stem. Seized adjustable tenons usually only need a quick clockwise twist of the stem in the pipe to free it up to rotate and don't require much, if any, heat because all you're doing is breaking up some dried up tobacco juices.

For production pipes made after the 40s-50's it's most likely an adjustable screw tenon, and in my experience I've never had an adjustable stem so seized that it required heating above room temperature to get it to break free. If you want to be really careful you can smoke the pipe to warm it up before twisting it.

With a permanently attached tenon, you have to heat up the metal tenon enough to melt the adhesive they used to attach it inside the stem, or overcome the friction fit by melting the stem material around the tenon, without melting the stem itself. With this method you can't just heat up the tenon and twist the stem in the pipe until it's straight because you run the risk of the threads pulling the hot tenon out of the stem or at the very least warping the stem's shoulder.

It's probably a safe bet to say a medico screw tenon would be adjustable but anecdotally, I collect old American drugstore pipes and have around 20 Medicos, but I can't remember ever seeing one with a screw tenon. Looking at the ones that happen to be near me (5 pipes: 1 Crest, 2 V.F.Q., 2 Gold Crest) and they are all push tenons. It's probably just my bad memory because I haven't studied up on Medico's for a few years, but I would love to see a picture or two of the one you have!

MLBbreton · Dec 14, 2024

mosin1932 said:
I have also done this trick a few times with good results, once unsuccessfully, but that pipe was so far gone I didn't have high hopes to begin with lol. @AlphaWarrior offers sage advice about how soft those metal screw tenons can be. I would first find out if the tenon was meant to be repeatedly user-adjusted by twisting the stem in the pipe (ex. Kaywoodie's "Synchrostem") and is now seized from dried gunk, or if the alignment is meant to be permeant and the tenon was glued or friction fit into the stem. Seized adjustable tenons usually only need a quick clockwise twist of the stem in the pipe to free it up to rotate and don't require much, if any, heat because all you're doing is breaking up some dried up tobacco juices.

For production pipes made after the 40s-50's it's most likely an adjustable screw tenon, and in my experience I've never had an adjustable stem so seized that it required heating above room temperature to get it to break free. If you want to be really careful you can smoke the pipe to warm it up before twisting it.

With a permanently attached tenon, you have to heat up the metal tenon enough to melt the adhesive they used to attach it inside the stem, or overcome the friction fit by melting the stem material around the tenon, without melting the stem itself. With this method you can't just heat up the tenon and twist the stem in the pipe until it's straight because you run the risk of the threads pulling the hot tenon out of the stem or at the very least warping the stem's shoulder.

It's probably a safe bet to say a medico screw tenon would be adjustable but anecdotally, I collect old American drugstore pipes and have around 20 Medicos, but I can't remember ever seeing one with a screw tenon. Looking at the ones that happen to be near me (5 pipes: 1 Crest, 2 V.F.Q., 2 Gold Crest) and they are all push tenons. It's probably just my bad memory because I haven't studied up on Medico's for a few years, but I would love to see a picture or two of the one you have!

Thanks for the info. It's pouring and windy today so I'm only going to do necessary chores and those are done. All fed and eggs collected. I'm going to play with my old pipes after I do the housework. I'll do before and after of the pipe and post them. Thanks again for everyone's help. BoB rocks.