Stem frozen in place -- a first for me, any advice?

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ruta2

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I have a Peterson pipe with a stem that simply won't budge. It was absolutely fine the last time I cleaned it about a month or so ago. The pipe receives a simple wipe-down with NO CHEMICALS or substances that might cause the materials that come in contact with each other to swell, soften, etc. It may be worth mentioning that the tenon and mortise were clean. I may also be worth mentioning that the model is the Peterson XL14 ("Deerhunter") which has a thin brass "beauty ring" between stem and shank, although I don't think the ring is the problem.

Any comments and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
ruta2
 
What usually works is to put the pipe in the freezer for a couple of hours & then try it.
 
This is probably undue paranoia on my part, but a just-smoked pipe is saturated with a good amount of water--freezing expands and makes ice crystals, which if it isn't good for foodstuffs by breaking it apart and breaking it down, I can't see it being super good for pipes. It may make the wood more porous.

If you do this, I'd suggest to let it rest few days to dry out. More would be better.

Again, just a thought. I might also think too much.

Who knows, after a good rest, try taking it apart again. *shrug*
 
Hello All,

The "freezer technique" did the trick! Now that the pipe and stem are separated, I've noticed a bit of build-up (looks like varnish or some other "goo") on the flat surface of the brass ring where the stem is seated. This may have been the cause of the problem -- it's certainly something I'll keep an eye on.

Thanks to all of you for you help.

Cheers,
ruta2
 
Glad it worked... the 15 minute thing sounds a bit less :shock: :shock: :shock: than hours... I'll keep that one in mind. Ah, physics, you old dog you. Still gonna let the pipe rest a few days just so I can keep up my paranoia. 8)
 
Additional comment: The stem is still an overly tight fit. Not sure what to do about this...
 
I had some extra graphite lubricant powder (an overly haughty name for a little knife-shaved pencil graphite :lol: ) that I normally use for other projects that did wonders on one of my tight pipe stems. I use it on my cobs, too, which seem to get REALLY stem-stuck. Not sure if that's a common solution, but it worked well enough for me.
 
Kyle Weiss":yggtlo2h said:
Glad it worked... the 15 minute thing sounds a bit less :shock: :shock: :shock: than hours... I'll keep that one in mind. Ah, physics, you old dog you. Still gonna let the pipe rest a few days just so I can keep up my paranoia. 8)
Click to expand...
Putting anything in the refrigerator or freezer can cause condensation, which to me can't be good for a pipe. Thus, I always just did 10-15 minutes instead because it worked and seemed less risky.
 
joshoowah":pnklvgye said:
Kyle Weiss":pnklvgye said:
Glad it worked... the 15 minute thing sounds a bit less :shock: :shock: :shock: than hours... I'll keep that one in mind. Ah, physics, you old dog you. Still gonna let the pipe rest a few days just so I can keep up my paranoia. 8)
Click to expand...
Putting anything in the refrigerator or freezer can cause condensation, which to me can't be good for a pipe. Thus, I always just did 10-15 minutes instead because it worked and seemed less risky.
Click to expand...
I like it. 8) Anything is better than gorilla-twisting the stem off and blowing out a shank or stem!
 
I had a really tight fit on the stem with my Maestro. So much so, that when removing it I could actually feel the acrylic material bending out of shape!

Not wanting to break it one of these times, upon the sage advice of Blackhorse I put the pipe in the freezer for about ten minutes before removing the stem. That worked like a charm.

Then, carefully using 400 grit emery paper I twist sanded the bit until it fit in the shank without a lot of effort. I was very careful about making sure that I wasn't removing too much material.

Now I have no fear of breaking it upon removal. Did that once to a pipe and getting it professionally replaced cost almost as much as the pipe itself!

:!:


Cheers,

RR
 
The exact same thing happened to my Peterson Malahide, and it has a silver band. The stem would not move, which made me try to twist until my hand went numb... It eventually gave in, but thanks for the freezer tip for the future!

:D
 
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