Swivel Stem: Advice on tightening it down wanted!

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Hello! I got my hands on a quite old pipe. It's pretty clean overall but is going to need some polishing and probably another bowl of salt before it's ready to be put into use. Is an old William Demuth Milano, Hessian Guard. I think that it is quite old, forty years or more! There is only one problem: the stem fits the tendon quite loosely and rotates almost freely. It does not pull out under it's own weight or with gentle shaking. It comes apart quite easily if two hands are used though. The shank is metal. How do I repair this/tighten the hold? Or do I? I have thought about heating the metal so that it would expand and about soaking the tendon so that it would expand. I don't think either approach would be much more than a temporary fix and I'm not sure that either approach would be a particularly good ida. I'm anxious to try this bad-boy out though and would love to have apiece of Pipe History to call my own!








 
Just smoking the pipe regularly might tighten up the fit a little. *shrug* The briar should swell up just enough to keep it in place that way, but only take it apart to clean when it's cool, or not at all, for a while. I have a pipe that's a bit loose and over time, it form-fit to the stem just fine.

8)
 
Some WDC pipes have a cork lining in the mortise which will wear or even break out. If there is no cork lining you can paint the inside of the mortise with some clear nail polish or even some polyurethane varnish. Give it a light coat,let dry overnight and check fit. Might need a couple of coats. You only need to coat about 3/8" inside the mortise.

If it does have the cork and it is in good condition I'd think you could still use the nail polish etc., I've never done that though, so can't say what the results might be.
 
You can try rubbing some candle wax on the tennon, then push it in and smoke the pipe. The heat will melt the wax and draw it into the briar, which tightens it up a smidge.

This has worked for me on a very slightly loose stem.

Just remember to use an unscented candle.

Good luck, and enjoy, i find the joy of renewing an estate pipe to be just as enjoyable as smoking it. I even prefer to buy pipes that require work, just for that satisfaction of refurbishing something and making it usable.
 
Candle wax for the WIN!! Kept the stem nice and tight. I threw in a very loose, half bowl of Half and Half and holly molly! That thing was HOT!!! And it gurgled. a lot. It wasn't the H&H as that is kind of on the dry side. I think that there might have been some residual H2O in there from rinsing out the bowl or something, even though I had it drying for over 8 hours. It tasted kind of strange too. Any way, the stem stayed tight and I got a start on the new layer of cake. I had to drag a little to hard I think. Perhaps I'll ream the draw-hole out with one of those stiff-bristled pipe cleaners...
 
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