Missouri Meerschaum Dagner Poker Mod

[Emperor Zurg]

Bought a couple of MM Dagner pokers to mod.

I like Missouri Meerschaum cobs but the quality is not exactly high precision. On these, the shanks weren't pushed in all the way, one pipe was bored too deep with lots of empty space under the shank, the bits were loose and would fall out and the silver bands would fall off. On the upside, the cob itself is very nice on both of them - solid and thick with no flaws and a generous woody ring, the acrylic bits are good and sturdy and I liked the nickel band as well. So that's what I bought them for: the cob and the acrylic bit - and I got a nickel band to boot.

Here's a stock image of a Dagner poker



So here's my MM cob fixture all trammed in concentric with the Bridgeport spindle



First step was to hack off the old shank and bore the remainder of it out of the cob. Forgot to take a pic of that.
Here one sits, ready for the next step: bottom removal



Bottom removal complete - original hardwood plug is history



I turned a couple new shanks out of oak. Hopefully oak makes a good pipe making material, we shall see. (Probably not if you suffer from an oak allergy but I don't so I'll carry on.) The bands press on tightly now but I put a daub of JB weld on the inside just to make sure. These have just been stained and varnished. They don't smoke well at this point - the draw is a bit too open but on the plus side, they don't gather moisture in the heel either.



Have to let the varnish dry before I can work on them any more. Updates tomorrow or whenever I get a chance to fool with them again...

[BryGuySC]

"the draw is a bit too open"

[Emperor Zurg]

Ok, I had a little time to monkey with this again...

Next step: bore the heel to 3/4 and press/glue a piece of dowel in place





Then a little stem drillery



Now, after the glue dries a bit, the next step is to poke in a spherical heel





After that, we're done with the stub of the dowel so we knock it off with a parting tool...





...and belt sand it down to match the cob.


At this point it may look done except for a bit of stain but not so! Stay tuned, there's MOAR!!

[Emperor Zurg]

Next step: Accessories!

Today the plan was to walk on over to the the swiss-type and turn out a couple of these...

Unfortunately, I don't have a swiss-type so I turned the knob on the manual lathe and pressed a piece of stainless TIG rod into it.

You may say: "those look like some kind of funky tamper/pick thingies" ...and you would be partly right. A classy hunter can't just be poking the Penzance around in his custom cob pipe with a dirty piece of stick he found on the ground, can he? So yes, they are stainless tamper/picks but they're more than that. Tune in next time to see the finished product!

[Emperor Zurg]

Finally! They're done!


Back in the mill they went to get a little counter-bore in the bottom and a very short 8-32 socket head cap screw inset into the wood with a little more JB weld. JB weld may not be a legitimate pipe-making adhesive but it does hold very well and in the end, these are still just cob pipes. Here's one of them shown with the little screws and the installation fixture still in place. This assembly was clamped in a vise overnight to make sure the screw stayed where I wanted it while the epoxy cured.



Now for a few finishing touches: Black stain (sharpie marker) for the counter-bore and a little polyurethane for the rest of the work area. Have you figured out what the stud is for yet?



I was opening up the passage in the bit anyway, so I went and ran a 3/32 reamer thru the mouth piece so that the pick/tamper could be stowed in the stem while you're transporting the pipe in your coat pocket.



So here you have it. When you're turkey hunting especially, it's hard to find a good place to prop your pipe where it won't constantly tip over. The tamper screws to the bottom of the pipe so that, while not in use for tamping or picking, it makes for a peg that you can poke into the ground. So now, I'm just waiting for the next hunting season... Hope to have it nice and broke in by then.

[Branzig]

Freaking genius....

Not only hunting....working in the yard, golfing, bank fishing, beach bumming...

Over engineering at it's best bud.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[SoCal gunner]

I don't even smoke a pipe, but I'm over here checking it out - that's badass!

[Emperor Zurg]

I don't even smoke a pipe, but I'm over here checking it out - that's badass!

I'm sure @Branzig would agree; it's never too late to start.
Hear you're building a 'step in cellar' too...

[Ljutic]

I've always wondered why MM wouldn't take the extra time to bore the extra shank out of the bowl before shipping. I understand they burn off with time and use, but I'd pay an extra buck or two per pipe if they took care of that in the manufacturing process.