tenon repair

Public Service Announcement Monday 7/10/2023 is your last chance to order a Pete Geek Pocket Jar! See end of blog for details   This morning I'm pleased to introduce a name many will already know, Fletch Hiner, CPG, who has already graced the blog with a banner for Post #343 on the 9B. If you frequent Scott Thile's remarkable Pipedia.org very often, you're bound to run into something contributed by Fletch.  Fletch told me, "I have more than a few entries on the Kaywoodie, KB&B, WDC, and Knickerbocker pages as well as Quinton Well's Pipedia page. Long before my interest in Petes I was an avid early American pipe collector. I have an extensive collection of KB&B’s and Kaywoodie’s, specifically Thorn, Wellington’s and Chesterfields, which latter are what ultimately drew me to Peterson. Once Laudisi took over current production and things started improving at Peterson, I became a fan as I think many did.  Much like Andy Camire and Brad Pohlmann my background is in industrial fabrication (tool & die, R&D component fab, machining, welding, etc.). So pipe repair and and restoration has always been second nature to me. I’m also lucky enough to live within spitting distance of George Dibos and Quinton Wells who are a wealth of pipe making and repair knowledge and always willing to help a guy out." I picked up this little 406 Roger’s Era Shamrock Prince for a song on eBay, knowing that it would need at minimum a new tenon. I had originally intended to cut a new acrylic stem for it and pitch the tired, old and already once-repaired vulcanite original. Once I had the pipe in my hands, I decided I would simply replace the tenon as opposed to cutting a new one. At some point the previous owner had the broken tenon repaired by inserting a threaded aluminum link into both stem and mortise, like an older meerschaum bone tenon. The repair had returned to the pipe to smoking service, as I assume was the owners only concern, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of fit and finish. I started with some simple measurements to assess whether the tenon could be replaced without destroying the pipe. I found that initial repair had utilized 5/16X18 threads. Knowing that Peterson utilized 8mm (5/16”) tenons on most of the Rogers’s Era Shamrocks I surmised that the aluminum tenon had been glued or otherwise fixed into the pipe’s shank with out the need to “cut” threads. I assumed these could be removed without much damage to the shank and the original tenon size could be recreated. I removed the aluminum tenon from the shank of the pipe by freezing the stummel in my deep freeze for about 30 minutes then afterwards I gently clamped the exposed tenon in a small vise with aluminum soft jaws and slowly unthreaded it from the pipe. With the repair tenon removed, I could set about removing the threads from the shank and truing the…