Hello, everyone! We have more or less successfully survived our move – sifting, packing and unpacking 25 years worth of stuff does not come without at least a few headaches – and I’m happy to report that I’ve got my new office set up and hope to get back to posting restorations again soon. Setting up the worktable and ancillary equipment will take some doing … Continue reading Back in the Saddle – Sort of.
Welcome to Part II of Things I’ve Learned about Restoration over Three Years of DadsPipes Blogs! I ended Part I of this series on the topic of Sanding and Polishing using both MicroMesh pads and buffing wheels. That got me thinking about all the things I’ve learned about using a buffer, so that’s where we’re going to start today. Buffer Techniques Buffers are a great … Continue reading Things I’ve Learned About Restoration over Three Years of DadsPipes Blogs, Part II
Hi folks. I had a chance recently to read back through the last three years of DadsPipes blog posts, an experience I found both interesting and informative. Apart from becoming more comfortable writing the blogs themselves and some technical improvements in my photography skills, I have noticed several changes in my restoration process and techniques that I’d like to share with you, along with some … Continue reading Things I’ve Learned About Restoration over Three Years of DadsPipes Blogs, Part I
I’m sitting on the back patio this morning, enjoying the first nice weather we’ve had for a while – a probably all too short break in an otherwise hot, sticky summer here in Southwestern Ontario. It’s a welcome change, and I’m making the most of it with a good cup of coffee and one of the few pipes that hasn’t been carefully packed away ahead … Continue reading A Pipe, Good Coffee and the Love of a Dog
Here’s another short tutorial-style post for a bit of quick Summer reading. This time I’m working on a broken Dunhill Shell 3105 Straight Dublin with a broken shank. Instead of a full restoration, this post will focus on splinting the break and making the pipe structurally sound again. Here is the picture I received from the pipe’s owner when he initially contacted me. Ouch! That’s … Continue reading Splinting a Broken Shank on a Dunhill Shell 3105 Straight Dublin
Today’s post is a bit different than usual; instead of a complete restoration, I’m going to focus on a repair that is surely one of the most common when presented with a damaged meerschaum pipe – replacing a Push-Pull fitting, the small plastic/Delrin parts used to create a strong mortise and tenon joint between stem and shank. Before getting into the repair itself, let’s talk about … Continue reading Replacing the Mortise & Tenon on a Sultan Carved Meerschaum
This is the second of two dilapidated Blatter pipes gifted to me by a pipe friend before Christmas. I wrote about the first restoration here. This pipe is somewhat larger in size and, as you will see, the restoration turned out to be similarly larger in scope. Unlike the first Blatter pipe, this one arrived with its original stem, a nicely cut swirled acrylic job … Continue reading Salvaging a Burnt and Cracked Blatter Select Freehand
