Tag: DIY

Restorations, Uncategorized

A Change of Pace Today – Refinishing a Mid-Century Dun-Rite Walnut Pipe Rack

Happy Family Day to all of you Ontario pipers out there! Today I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to on the holiday weekend. As Monty Python would say, Today, instead of an estate pipe, I’m refurbishing an estate pipe rack! I found this little gem at a local thrift store for the grandiose sum of $4.99CAD, so of course it had to come … Continue reading A Change of Pace Today – Refinishing a Mid-Century Dun-Rite Walnut Pipe Rack

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Restorations, Uncategorized

Tidying Up an Elliot Nachwalter Briar Workshop Florida Freehand Horn

The history of Elliott Nachwalter’s career as a pipemaker and designer is in many ways the history of the American hand-made pipemaking tradition. In 1976 he formed The Briar Workshop with Jorg Jemelka in Vermont. Jemelka was fascinated with automated production, and the company acquired some turn of the century pipe-making equipment from Erlich’s of Boston, which Jemelka modified to be able to produce true … Continue reading Tidying Up an Elliot Nachwalter Briar Workshop Florida Freehand Horn

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Pipe Essays, Uncategorized

Shop-Made Tenon Drilling Jig

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

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Restorations, Uncategorized

Reviving a Seville Convertible Bent Billiard made for Racine & Laramie

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

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Restorations, Uncategorized

Refreshing a 1965 Dunhill Bruyere 660 F/T

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

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Restorations, Uncategorized

Stem Repairs and a General Freshening for a “Made by Millville” Full Bent

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

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Restorations, Uncategorized

Resurrecting a Giant Kilimanjaro “War Club” Billiard

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

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