Here’s a bonus Monday post to show what I got up to this weekend. Enjoy! — CharlesIf you work on estate pipes long enough, sooner or later you will inevitably be faced with what has to be the most common pipe repair – replacing a broken tenon. The first several times I dealt with a tenon replacement, I relied on pre-made tenons purchased from a … Continue reading Shop-Made Tenon Drilling Jig
Today I’m working on the second pipe I found on my birthday pipe hunt. This one is a classic Bent Billiard by Seville. Here’s what it looked like when I brought it to the worktable. . As you can see from the pics, the pipe needed a bit of spit and polish. The finish (a splotchy mosaic of black, dark brown and red dyes) was … Continue reading Reviving a Seville Convertible Bent Billiard made for Racine & Laramie
I was contacted by a pipe friend a little while ago to see if I would be interested in sprucing up an estate pipe he had recently won on eBay. Of course I said yes! The buyer was quite excited about this project – not only is it his first Dunhill, but it’s also a birth-year pipe for him! As the pipe was coming to … Continue reading Refreshing a 1965 Dunhill Bruyere 660 F/T
My wife took me out for a birthday lunch a week before Christmas. We had a lovely meal and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering a local antique mall looking for pipes. I came home with a few briar goodies to add to the refurb box, one of which I could not wait to start working on. The pipe was rather less than elegant … Continue reading Stem Repairs and a General Freshening for a “Made by Millville” Full Bent
I received this extra large Billiard stummel in a box of pipes sent to me for repair by a pipe friend. I’ve called it a War Club in the post title as it is almost ridiculously oversized. The stemless stummel measures nearly 4 inches long from bowl to shank face, the shank is a whopping 3/4″ inch in diameter, and the bowl itself measures 2-1/4″ … Continue reading Resurrecting a Giant Kilimanjaro “War Club” Billiard
I’ve had the parts of this pipe in a ziplock bag in my refurb box for some time, and decided to pull it out for a look a few days ago. Despite a layer of dust and a crust of lava on the rim, this Peter Stokkebye Volcano had the undeniable appeal of a most capable Danish pipe-maker. I liked the overall lines of the … Continue reading Stem Repairs and a New Tenon for a Peter Stokkebye 911 Volcano
Welcome to 2019, everyone! I hope it is a peaceful and prosperous year for all. I’ve been putting off and putting off this particular job, but finally pulled myself together and sat down to get it done! On the worktable today is a Peterson K&P Irish Made X105 Army mount Billiard. It came from a pipe friend sans stem, with the request that I see … Continue reading New Year, New Challenge! Fitting a New Army Mount Stem to a Peterson K&P Irish Made X105
