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So, I posted a partially rusticated billiard a few weeks back and mentioned that I was sending it to a friend for his birthday. Well, in his excitement to show it off and break it in, he fumbled it and dropped it right on the stem and of course the tenon snapped off before he could even pack it and light it for the first time. I have never done any repairs before so I have a question about fitting a new stem to an already finished pipe. Should I just tape off the shank and carefully sand and file it to match and then just polish and wax the whole thing again or am I totally off base? Also, if taping is the right thing to do, what type of tape should I use? Thanks everyone.

I would appreciate an answer here also. I need to do a replacement stem, and have never tried that before. I was also thinking tape of some kind ...

When I have done this, I cut it as close as possible on the lathe, then put a piece of very thin cellophane tape on the shank as insurance, and carefully sand the stem down to the shank. It's inevitable that you're going to have to do some restaining and touchups, but the tape will help minimize the amount you have to do.

Being slow and deliberate and following Kurt's approach is the way to go.

I've used a single layer of common masking tape. As soon as the files/sandpaper start to wear through the tape I replace it. Go slow and carefully. bob gilbert

Just to follow up, I had good results using some packing tape (thin cellophane I guess?). It proved very durable and came off easy. Masking tape for me at least was a little thick. Sanding down to the tape left still a good bit to go, so I switched to the packing tape. Still took some delicate work after that, with no tape, but not much and I managed it okay.