Tightening a loose stem?

[AlanJohn]

Any tips out there on how to tighten up a loose stem?
The nearest I've got to doing it, is to wrap a small amount of celotape around it, but it you need to pull the stem out to run a pipecleaner through it, you have to put on more tape.

 

[Jar]

If the stem is loose just a little (here we have the question: what is "just a little" ? imo it is ca. 0.2-0.3 mm), please, rub the surface of the tenon with just a little of beeswax. During smoking the beeswax will be absorbed by briar (mortise) and the diameter of mortise will became a little smaller.

The other method is what I call the PIMO method after the nice company PIMO that offers tools for pipe making etc., and this simple tool for fixing loose stems is presented here:
Stem Tightener Kit
For Tightening Loose Stems.
http://www.pimopipecraft.com/tools.html
The simple nail or piece of iron, bronze etc wire of proper diameter (I would say: ca. 5 mm) filed or grinded in conical shape will do the job the same. In order to proceed this way the tenon should be treated with/exposed to heat (hot water or just small open fire - flame of simple butan cigarette lighter) and then the conical metal tool shoul be delicately inserted with feeling into the end of smoking channel/air hole at the end of the tenon. Simpler way is just to heat the tenon and press it with feeling against any hard surface. Before proceeding these ways it would be good to recognize the kind of material used for making our mothpiece and therefore tenon. The hard rubber - ebonite or vulcanite is OK, but there may be problems with other materials like: acrylic. I am not sure how abut the lucite. It would not be a miss to look here:
http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/157068-loose-stem.html

 

[tslots]

Usually, just smoking the pipe will help tighten things up. If the stem is too loose for this, I just use a bit of beeswax on the tenon.

If this + smoking still does not do the trick, you can try a couple coats of clear nail polish on the tenon. Remember to let the polish dry fully before reattaching the stem.

 

[AlanJohn]

Well thanks for all the advice. I shall follow it, and I'm sure cure the problem.

 

[loneredtree]

I have used the heat and press against a surface method. one note: if the tenon is expanded too much the shank can be over stressed and split. Be careful. It has not happened to me. The bee's wax treatment sounds like a method to be tried first. Good luck.

 

[AlanJohn]

I will cerainly try the beeswax method first. It is still firm at the moment, having wrapped some small piece of cellotape around it, and I swap between pipes, but when I get to need to take it out to clean it, I will try the wax.