salvageable? hmmm

[bregolad]

this is a savenelli with some sort of peterson-esque moisture sump. as you can see from my crude drawing, the sump is an extension of the mortise, and the draft hole connects to the mortise from the side (making for nasty smoking) and to the bowl about 1/4" from the bottom (making for nasty smoking.) i cut off part of the tenon to allow the smoke to pass, which improved the smoking qualities a bit, but now, whenever i knock out the ash, the moisture from the sump ends up coming out the stem and onto my hand. should i scrap this pipe? should i modify it?
thanks

[Sasquatch]

Quit knocking out the ash!

Is that a 614?

[bregolad]

i believe so. it was a 6mm balsa system pipe, which is what makes the mortise such a fatty

[Frank]

Since I have a number of Wellingtons (Peterson knockoffs), I'm familiar with that "military mount" arrangement.

Firstly, it probably wasn't necessary to cut the tenon shorter, since those types of stem usually have a stepped tenon. If you have a lathe, you could have turned the step down a bit thinner, or carefully done the same with a file and/or sandpaper to allow for a better draw between the "step" and draught hole. Reaming/enlarging the shank draught hole also helps a lot.

As for the bottom of the tobacco chamber being somewhat below the level of the draught hole, it's possible that "pipe mud" might work to build it up, but someone else will have to list the recipe for that.

Finally, if the sump is full of moisture, remove the stem and shake out the excess moisture or wipe it out with a piece of paper towel.

PS: For around $1 you can get a "pipe nail" - a tamper & dottle remover in one.