IPSD Adventure Story/Received a pipe, needs some work.

If you don't want to read the story and just help with the pipe skip to the smiley face.

Went out about Mid-MO this weekend: celebrating IPSD. I would like to say I stopped by an amazing B&M purchased a few oz. of bulk, found a couple aged tins and tried to talk my SO into letting me get a(nother) pipe but alas that's just not true.

The only reputable pipe smoking establishment is 200 miles away. Just for Him please sweet pipe smoking jesus please open another branch in Jefferson City or Rolla and I swear I will run it and keep it open single handed almost

I digress.

My day consisted of driving between the two closest Lowes' looking for the perfect washer for my wife. She doesn't mind the smell of my pipe tobacco and I often smoke in the car. Going to be a wonderful day of smoking. Sweet.

I grabbed a couple cobs and a basket briar, a small pouch of my "Best of the Rest" Va's/Va-Per's but will once in a puff grace you with a dose of Lat, and few Deluxe Navy Rolls to dry and smoke around lunch.

The day went as expected, sniffing for bargains at Lowes'. A stop by walmart A for item B, stopping by walmart B for item A, oh and a lovely lunch next to a creek where my Dunhill rolls smoked nicely.

The day wasn't a horrible day by any means, I had a wonderful time watching my SO bitch barter with Lowes' employees, took out my S&W Lemon-Squeezer to get some information on it guy was incorrect about everything so i had a good laugh. But i just hadn't felt like I had really truly celebrated IPSD. I could purchase nothing beyond Carter Hall, which i have jarred already and am not even ashamed of. I had no venue in which I could venture and smoke, pick up the same pipe I had been eyeing for weeks and decide today was the day. Just my two cobs, briar, some ready mix, and those sweet rolls. It just didn't feel like I was properly celebrating the day of piping, until we stopped by the thrift store unexpectedly.

I had been keeping an eye out for a curio cabinet to use for my tobacco, now I don't know if its just mid'Missouri but trying to buy a nice cabinet is like buy diamonds. So I'm keeping my VHS rack for now. So I wandered on through the dusty aisles until I stumbled upon a plain Dr. Grabow, old unloved. So I grabbed it, no price, that's fine nothing a journey to the front wouldn't solve.

Price: Free, she probably thought I was just going to smoke weed out of it and lose it. But who cares about her! It was IPSD and I got a free pipe, I must of had the favor of the pipe gods and could finally celebrate.

:)

I received this pipe for free after inquiring about it in a local thrift shop. It had a crack in the stem which left the tenon stuck in the shank. No problem it was just a Dr. Grabow, (nice looking enough too full album) and they sell their replacement stems online.

Easy enough to fix, or so I thought.

On closer inspection there seems to be some kind gunk holding the tenon in place. Its stuck and now I'm stuck.

If i pry on the cheap-o aluminum its gonna bend or shave. Any stuff I use to release the adhesive will ruin the stain on the shank. I could freeze the tenon and just the tenon, breaking the seal as it shrinks. I have access to liquid argon. What would super-freezing temperatures do to the briar?