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Tobacco Pipe Refurbishing

Peterson – Donegal Rocky 999

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I’m down to the last few from the lot I picked up, I was drawn to this lot because of the Donegal’s its one of my favorite lines from Peterson, this is the first 999 I’ve gotten my hands on and I can see why its so popular with Peterson collectors, the shape alone is appealing but the comfort in hand is what sold me. I have parted with many from this lot but the Donegal’s are at home here.

The Restoration

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 She was in good, lightly smoked condition, the biggest issue was a crack in the bead but thankfully the piece was still in place. The stem was oxidized and the P logo was half buffed flush with the stem surface, light chatter and a little rim build-up. The silver band would need a bit of shining up as well.

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The chamber had seen very little use, it would not need reaming, a quick  scrub with EverClear  and Q-Tips would do the trick. The original bowl coating was still in great shape, it looked almost new.

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Like the pipes chamber the draught, mortise and stems airway needed very little cleaning. Using EverClear, Q-Tips and stiff/soft pipe cleaners I cleaned the internals until my finial pipe cleaner came out as it went in.

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I now gave the rim, stummel and silver band a wipe down with Method Wood For Good Polish to remove the old oils, dirt and tarnish.

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With the stummel clean I could now address the crack in the bead. I cleaned the area to be repaired with EverClear and a Q-Tip and let dry. I first applied Gorilla Glue to the crack with a toothpick, using an old charge card wedged in the recess I slowly moved the cracked portion back into place.I held the piece in place until the glue set. Once set I left the repair  to dry for an hour or so.

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After dry time I could now remove any excess glue, using folded 400, 1000 and 1500 sandpaper I carefully sanded away the excess, cleaning the area with alcohol to remove the fine sanding dust. I now re-stained the recessed portion of the bead with Fiebing’s black  leather dye, removing the excess stain with an alcohol dampened Q-Tip.

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The stummels finish was worn and the repaired area was lighter from the work done. I mixed Fiebing’s dark brown and red leather dye together with a little EverClear to lighten the stain bit and applied a few coats to the stummel with a brush, hitting it with a Bic lighter to set the stain. I used an alcohol dampened rag to remove the excess.

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Now to shine the band up. I taped off the shank with painters tape to keep the compound from overlapping and darkening the shank. I buffed the band with brown tripoli back to a shine. The stummel was now ready for the wheel.

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With the summel complete and waiting to be buffed I could now concentrate on the stem oxidation, I applied non-bleach Soft Scrub to the stem and left aside so the Soft Scrub could penetrate the oxidation. Once the Soft Scrub turns from white to a brownish color its time to scrub vigorously with a rag until all oxidation has been removed, adding more Soft Scrub as needed. ( Holding the stem under natural light will help to see if all oxidation has been removed )

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The stem could now be sanded and polished. I tapped off the bit end of the stem with painters tape so my more abrasive sanding would remain in one area. To remove the light chatter I sanded with 800 and 1000 grit sandpaper wet and micro-mesh pads 1500-2400 wet then 3200-4000 dry. I removed the tape and sanded the whole stem with the remaining micro-mesh pads 6000-12000 dry.

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Before attempting to reapply the P logo I buffed the stem with blue compound to remove the fine sanding blemishes.

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I used an alcohol dampened Q-Tip to remove the oils and compound from the P logo area. The bottom of the logo was still recessed but the top portion was buffed flush, the remaining top of the P was more of a faint outline. Using white enamel nail polish and paintbrushes for nail art ( gotta love having women in the house ) I attempted to reapplied the P logo numerous times to no success, my hands and eyes are not what they used to be, so my wife stepped in and reapplied the P, its damn close in my opinion , she left it aside to dry before I put it on the wheel.

Complete

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I taped off the silver band and buffed the stummel with a few coats carnauba and a micro-fiber hand buff, buffing the stem with blue compound and carnauba.

Happy  Collecting, Restoring and Puffing

Tim.

Tobacco Pipe Refurbishing

Quick Clean Up of 2 Petersons

2 Comments

Peterson.

Donegal Rocky XL90 & Standard XL305

 

Its always nice to add a couple more Petes to the collection and in decent condition to boot. I enjoy a challenge as much as the next guy but its also nice to do a leisurely standard cleaning.

The Clean Up.

 

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 For the price they were both in great lightly smoked condition. A little oxidation , chatter and the silver band on the Donegal was tarnished.

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I started with my PipNet reamer and reamed back the cake to a suitable thickness. The Donegal chamber was perfect, still had the bowl coating. The 315 was a little different the bowl coating was still there but there was an indentation on the side of the chamber that was caused by careless reaming in the past. I sanded the area to smooth out the damage as much as possible, in the long run it will not affect the smoke .

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Next I cleaned the internals with EverClear stiff/soft pipe cleaners and Q-Tips. Very clean internals on both pipes, if you were to judge the pipes by there mortise alone you’d think they were un-smoked.

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With the internals clean I now gave the stummals a wipe down with Method Wood For Good Polish and found a new use for the polish in the process it also cleans the tarnish from  silver bands. I’m amazed by this stuff more and more each time I use it.

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Before removing the oxidation I tried a little heat to remove some of the chatter. ( holding the stem above the flame of a Bic Lighter moving the flame at all times so not to burn the stem)  Both stems responded pretty well, the XL90 responded the best leaving only minimal marks, the 305’s upper side was left with very little chatter after the heat , the under side  didn’t respond as well and would still need sanding,

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With the bulk of the chatter removed I moved onto the oxidation, I applied a generous amount  of non-bleach Soft Scrub and left it aside to allow the Soft Scrub to brake up the oxidation, once the Soft Scrub turns from white to a brownish color its time to scrub vigorously with a rag adding more Soft Scrub as needed. ( Holding the stem under natural light will help to see if all oxidation has been removed)

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I now ran the stems thought the various grits of micro-mesh. The XL90 didn’t need much attention but the 305 needed a bit more work, I taped off the bit end with blue painters tape so my more abrasive sanding would remain in one area. I sanded with 400,800 and 1000 grit sandpaper wet to remove the rest of the chatter I then ran it though the micro-mesh pads.

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During my process of removing the oxidation I also inadvertently removed the P from the XL90 stem , I taped off the P originally but the tape was no match for the Soft Scrub. My white Rub’n Buff dried up so gold would have to do, using a toothpick I applied the Rub’n Buff and allowed it to dry, I then lightly polished with 8000 and 12000 micro-mesh pads.

Complete.

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I finished up on the wheel with a few coats of carnauba and micro-fiber hand buffing. Buffing the stem with blue compound and carnauba.

Thanks For Taking A look.

Tim.

Tobacco Pipe Refurbishing

My Daughters Pick, A Leather Covered LONGCHAMP OVAL BOWL

2 Comments
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Photo and Information Courtesy of Pipedia.
In 1948 Jean Cassegrain inherited a small shop near the French Theater on the Boulevard Poissonnière in Paris, called “Au Sultan”. Articles for smokers and fountain pens were offered there.
Now, the absolute bulk of the pipes Cassegrain found in the inventory was from war-time production and due to the sharp restrictions on pipe production the French government had enforced in 1940, these pipes were of very poor quality and showed large fills. Strictly speaking, they were not marketable now that the French pipe industry produced pipes of pre-war standards again. In this situation Cassegrain had the probably most enlightened moment in his life: he took some of these pipes to a leather worker who clad bowls and shanks in leather. Only the rims of the bowls and the shanks’ faces remained blank.
I like to get more bang for my buck, so I like to go after pipes listed in lots, keeping what I want and donating or selling off what doesn’t catch my eye. As the small flat rate box fills with extra pipes, I’ll take the box to my wife and daughter to see if anything catches their fancy. Usually it’s let em go to someone else but for some reason the leather-covered LONGCHAMP pipes my daughter found unique. She’s ten now and has taken an interest in some of my refurbishing projects. I have a few in my rotation that she wouldn’t let go, a red Color Duke by Dr.Grabow, a cheerywood Ropp and a BamBoo Briar.

 

Back Out Of The Box

 

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The pipe was in good shape, leather wrap was a little dry & dirty, worn button, deep tooth impressions, oxidation, rim darkening and brittle cake.

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A conventional reamer would not work with a ovel bowl, instead I started with 220 grit sandpaper and finished with 400 grit sandpaper.

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The internals were caked in old tars,oils and tobacco. I ran it though a retort using EverClear and cotton balls. I then did a thorough cleaning of the chamber, mortise and stem with EverClear, Q-tips and stiff /soft pipe cleaners. Cleaning until the last pipe cleaner came out as it went in.

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There were a few dings in the rim, using a household iron on medium/ high heat and a damp rag I would steam out the imperfections. Covering the rim with the damp rag and applying it to the hot iron working in intervals until the imperfections were almost gone.

 

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What was left of the imperfections and darkening, I removed with worn micro-mesh pads.

 

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The leather covering was dry and grimy. I busted out my wife’s leather cleaning products. I started with saddle soap to clean away the grease and grime, being careful not to get it into the chamber or mortise. I then switched to Doc Martin’s leather conditioner and finally ended with mink oil. The leather was now soft and supple.

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The oxidized stem, I applied a generous amount of non-bleach Soft Scrub to the stem with a children’s toothbrush and left it aside to penetrate the oxidation. Once the Soft Scrub turns from white to a brownish color its time to scrub vigorously with a rag until the oxidation is removed, finishing up with a damp Magic Eraser to remove the leftover oxidation.

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It was now time to address the tooth impressions, I first roughed up the area of repair with 400 grit sandpaper so my fill would have a good hold and then cleaning with EverClear to remove my sanding dust.

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To fill the deep impressions and rebuild the worn button I mixed thick black CA glue and activated charcoal power into a paste and applied it to the impressions/button using a toothpick. I then hit it with accelerator to set the repair, leaving it aside to cure overnight.

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Now that the repair had time to cure overnight, I could shape the new button. Using a flat needle file I removed the excess until I had an uniformed shape.

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Once the new button was at a suitable thickness I moved to 400 grit sandpaper to remove the file marks.

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Before hitting the micro-mesh, I re-touched the logo. I tried multiple applications Rub & Buff, White Out Pen and finally white nail polish, which was the winner.

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I then sanded the whole stem with 1000 grit sandpaper wet, then ran it though the various grits of micro-mesh pads, 1500-2400 wet and 3200-12000 dry. Stummel and stem complete she was now ready for the final buffing.

Complete.

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Finished up the rim on the wheel with white diamond, a few coats of carnauba and a microfiber hand buffing. I lightly buffed the leather covering with a clean buffing wheel. Buffing the stem with blue compound.

Thanks For Taking A Look.

 

Tobacco Pipe Refurbishing

Ben wade selected grain #188

4 Comments

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A few years ago I purchased a collection of pipes from a friend who’s father had passed. I had talked with him about cleaning up old pipes and he thought I would appreciate the collection. Back then I was more or less just getting my feet wet with the whole refurbishing thing and luckily I had put a few away for a later time. Recently I stumbled across the box I had stowed away. One of the few that caught my eye was a Ben Wade selected grain No. 188 London Made, it’s acorn shape and birds eye made it an easy pick. Most of the pipes in the collection were from the 70’s and 80’s era ,I believe this Wade falls somewhere in and about this area.

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 Overall she was in good condition. The chamber was pre-reamed ,its been packed away for so long I can’t remember if it was myself or the previous owner ,a scorched area on the rim ,light chatter/oxidation and would need a good buffing.

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The pipe had been reamed but left rough, I lightly sanded the chamber with 400 grit paper wrapped around a finger until smooth.

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Next I worked the scorched area on the rim, I applied Method wood for good polish to the rim and left it to soak for a few minutes. I worked the area with Q-tips scrubbing vigorously until the darkened area had faded. I finished up with a worn 3600 mesh pad. There was still a little discoloration left but the final buff would take care of this.

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I cleaned the internals with EverClear,Q-tips and soft pipe cleaners, working until till the pipe cleaners came out as they went in.

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I cleaned the internals and externals of the stem using EverClear,pipe cleaners and cotton balls. Working carefully around the stem logo, so not to accidentally remove it.

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There was light oxidation on the stem, I applied non-bleach Soft Scrub with a children’s toothbrush and let it sit for 10min. After sitting I scrubbed the stem vigorously with cotton balls and a rag until the oxidation was removed.

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With the oxidation removed I moved on to the chatter, most of the impressions were shallow. I wet sanded the bit area with 1000 grit paper and removed all but one of the tooth impressions.

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With the bit area already roughed up from my sanding it was ready for filler ,I mixed thick black CA glue and activated charcoal powder together with a toothpick to form a paste .

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I applied a small dot of the mixture to the impression and sprayed it with accelerator, I then immediately pushed the mixture into the indentation before it set to make sure it filled the impression completely. I left it overnight to cure.

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With the stem set aside I addressed the rim , my previous work removing  the scorched area left a small part of the rim lighter then the rest. I used touch up markers on the lightened area and left it to dry. After drying I wiped the excess with an EverClear damp rag.

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The next morning after the stem fill had time to set up I began working the area of the repair. I wrapped 1000 grit paper around a flat needle file and sanded the area flush.

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I tapped off the bit with painters tape so my sanding would remain in the area of the damage, the rest of the stem looked good and would not need as much work. I sanded the bit area with 1500-2400 wet and 3200-6000 dry.

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I removed the painters tape for last two micro mesh pads and sanded the entire stem with 8000 and 12000.

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Before buffing the stem I wanted to touch up the stem logo. I uesd a whiteout pen to bringing back the Ben Wade, applying it over the name and using micro mesh to remove the excess.

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I finished with white diamond, a few coats of carnauba and a micro fiber hand buffing.