Repair- Destroyed Stem

[kaitlyn3837]

I have gotten pretty darn good at patching holes in stems. With that said, I am also a perfectionist. So this stem was quite the challenge. The patches were so large that it was impossible to blend them in. On small teeth bites/holes, you won't even be able to see that there ever was a hole. So I was a little disappointed because it's not perfect but it was as close as I could get with the size of those holes.

Anyways, this was for a customer at my shop. It was his grandfather's pipe. Reminds me of an Amphora but all I could make out was "lland" on the bottom of the shank. So maybe it was "Holland", which would probably be Amphora.

You can see that near the button there was a tooth hole and on the other side there was a pretty severe dip from his teeth too. I patched both of those perfectly. The holes in the center of the pipe... What the heck can I say about those?! When he gave me the pipe it had electrical tape around that section, but it seemed solid, so I didn't think it was broken in half. Upon removing the electrical tape, those two wonderful craters greeted me. How the heck does this happen?! I patched them pretty well but I'm still disappointed that you can see the edges of the patches.

Thanks for looking guys!

 

[Briar Spirit]

The ring there is pretty annoying for you I don't doubt mate but you did a grand job none the less, looks like either a reaction with superglue and moisture or your epoxy agents have separated, I'll wager your client will still be thrilled to bits with the repair.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Nice work Kaitlyn.

Regardless, your restoration job beats the hell out of having a hole in the stem or a stem wrapped with electric tape.

Either way, a clear win.. 8)

 

[kaitlyn3837]

Thanks guys! To be honest, this was the largest hole I have ever repaired. I will get better

 

[Stick]

Crikey Kaitlyn, you've worked some magic there! Great job, I'm sure the customer must have been delighted!

 

[Brewdude]

I'd say you worked some real magic there Kaitlyn, including and especially what kind of condition it was in previously. No doubt the owner will cherish this always, being as it was his Gramp's.

8) 


Cheers,

RR

 

[monbla256]

THAT us a FANTASTIC piece of work girl !!  Hope the customer realizes the magic you worked with that one !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Yikes, that was pretty messed up before you worked on it!

Great job restoring it. Looks like it was quite the chore.....

 

[Richard Burley]

...Upon removing the electrical tape, those two wonderful craters greeted me. How the heck does this happen?!...

If I had to guess? The guy's canine (tooth), and whatever dentition lies rearward. I've seen some guys over the years who shove the bit way back in their mouths, then never shift it from that position. Aids in clenching leverage, I suppose, but it's almost like eating the stem. Eww...  :tongue:

 

[monbla256]

BTW, can we see the whole pipe ? :twisted:

 

[kaitlyn3837]

I updated with pics of the whole pipe. Sorry they are sideways!

 

[Stick]

Kaitlin, when you fill the holes, how do you prevent excess from clogging the draught hole?

 

[alandadp]

Kaitlin, how could you? Grandpa drilled those holes so his grandson couldn't smoke it !!! :lol!:

Seriously though, Kaitlin, that it one superb repair job, if you'd only shown the 'before' shot I'd have thought you were mental to take it on.

Adam

 

[RobJ]

Excellent work Kaitlyn!

:cheers:

 

[kaitlyn3837]

Kaitlin, when you fill the holes, how do you prevent excess from clogging the draught hole?

If it's a bite hole near the button, I use a piece of cardboard with scotch tape on it and I fit it to the end, so that the patch won't go into the airway.

Since I had never done one in the middle of a pipe before I used scotch tape on a pipe cleaner to fill the airway, so the patch couldn't drip into it. It actually worked very well! Plus, most patches or so small that with the thickness of my patch material, it doesn't really have a chance to drip. It dries in about 5 minutes.

The large crater in the center took about 3 days and multiple layers of patching to properly close the hole. Patch, sand, patch, sand, the whole time slowly but surely closing up the gap.

 

[Stick]

Very clever Kaitlyn, thank you. I particularly liked the tape round the cleaner; rather ingenious!

 

[juanmedusa]

I would have been tickled with that repair. Btw, it's obvious what caused those weird holes! Tobacco Pipe Stem Beetles, of course.