Spent $22 today, please tell me what I got.

T.G · 05-30-2010, 11:16 AM

Those are cleaning up nicely.

As Dan said, you might need to ream them, wich will require a special reamer (you can pick them up on fleabay), they will almost certainly need to treated with salt and everclear. As for the stems, I've heard nothing but good things about the Walker Briar Works stem restoration kit for cleaning up the oxidation and gunk on the stems. Although depending on the value of the pipes to you, it might not be worthwhile to buy the kit (about $20-25 iirc). I've heard of many homegrown stem restoration methods, ranging from toothpaste to soaking in oxy-clean but I have never tried any of them.

I know of some BOTLs who have fixed loose stems by heating them up and gently expanding out the tenon with a small rod from the inside (like the "back" of a drill bit, the part you put into the chuck) - and then gently sanding down any high spots with 500grit. Also seen them built back up with JB weld and sanded down to fit. I don't know if these are the accepted best methods though, just mentioning them as a possibility.

05-30-2010, 11:16 AM	#10
T.G Grrrrrr Join Date: Mar 2009 First Name: The Other Adam Posts: 15,559 Trading: (37)	Re: Spent $22 today, please tell me what I got. Those are cleaning up nicely. As Dan said, you might need to ream them, wich will require a special reamer (you can pick them up on fleabay), they will almost certainly need to treated with salt and everclear. As for the stems, I've heard nothing but good things about the Walker Briar Works stem restoration kit for cleaning up the oxidation and gunk on the stems. Although depending on the value of the pipes to you, it might not be worthwhile to buy the kit (about $20-25 iirc). I've heard of many homegrown stem restoration methods, ranging from toothpaste to soaking in oxy-clean but I have never tried any of them. I know of some BOTLs who have fixed loose stems by heating them up and gently expanding out the tenon with a small rod from the inside (like the "back" of a drill bit, the part you put into the chuck) - and then gently sanding down any high spots with 500grit. Also seen them built back up with JB weld and sanded down to fit. I don't know if these are the accepted best methods though, just mentioning them as a possibility.