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Ok so I finally nailed the perfect fit. Tight stem to shank, not a photon of light passing through. Pin gauges on the lathe got my rough shaped pipe to a point I've never been before! Yay right? Not so much.

I started finish sanding the pipe (never removing the stem from the stummel). By the time I get to 400, there is the smallest of gaps appearing.
WTF? Did wet sanding cause the wood to expand unevenly?
I"ve read here that some folks soak the shank face with super glue and then shave off the thinest layer to reface and "stabilize" the wood. Is that a step I should be doing?

I'm losing my mind.

It's possible that in your quest for a light-tight join you pressed/twisted the stem on with enough force to bend the tenon. Friction then held it there.

For a while, anyway.

I see it all the time. The thinner the tenon the more easily it will bend, too. Double-true for Delrin.

EDIT: -- I didn't mean "bend the tenon" in a permanent way like a piece of metal, I meant that some combination of tenon-to-stem-face angle and/or mortise-to-shank-face angle is off slightly, but the materials themselves are flexible enough that a small gap can be forced closed temporarily with heavy pressure.

Check a truly high-end pipe sometime. The stem fit feels almost hydraulic, and "light tightness" is achieved without extra pressure.

Wet sanding may have caused it. It is best to seal the end of the shank and mortise and do not wet sand it. Wood changes shape with moisture.

If you are at 400 grit now, you could just re-face, seal then re-do 400 then sand up.

This happens to me sometimes as well. I've had a perfectly flush fit and came back the next day and found the briar had shrunk. I now tend to wait a little while for the briar to acclimate after its fitted to minimize the briar shrinkage. And wet sanding definitely makes a difference as well.

What George says about the tenon bending is also a strong possibility. Make sure your tenon is cool and shiny before fitting. I also apply a little bit of carnauba before fitting to make sure it slides in easily.

its possible that todays wet sanding still finds the briar a little wet. Maybe the morning will show a different result....

I'll wait and see but then I guess I soak it in super glue and reface.

So is this best done by facing flush, super gluing, facing again and moving on?
Or do I glue the face of the shank I as it is and then face it after drying?


thanks guys
Ryan

In future, don't wet sand

I wouldn't be using super glue!!! I woudn't buy a pipe that has been soaked in it!!! Wood is still moving after it is cut. Do all the suggestions, but give the pipe a couple of days to adjust. What's the hurry??? Good luck!!!

If the pipe was wet the next day... you're either soaking it and/or your work area is really humid. Wet sanding is fine, but it presents its own challenges that must be overcome. Be very careful how much moisture gets to the stem/shank junction.

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thanks all
looks like the tenon is ok. It must have been a moisture issue as things cleaned up pretty nicely after I let it dry out for a day or two.
I'll polish it up and post it in the gallery next week.

Personally, I agree with Chris. I keep away from water with both stummel and stem.

Charl wrote:Personally, I agree with Chris. I keep away from water with both stummel and stem.

I still wet sand stems but I leave 5-10mm of the stem dry and then finish this by another method, no danger of any trouble then but I still get the benefits of wet sanding for the rest of the stem.