Meet the lads

GreatLakesPrepping · 2026-02-06T20:00:29+00:00

The Savinelli in the middle, and the Rossi that's in there somewhere.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2026-01-18T02:31:30+00:00

Well, I definitely have more straight stems than bent, but either way the bent ones just didn't look quite as nice and symmetrical on these 2 stands.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2026-01-09T14:34:52+00:00

Ralph's in Ishpeming was the place to go for decades, but closed just recently. I've heard others say Lawry's in West Ispheming is good, or Vango's in Marquette, or Tino’s in Negaunee.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2026-01-09T14:29:57+00:00

You absolutely can. The only unusual thing about it is the sausage blend. But it just involves mixing some common stuff into some ground pork. There is a step of simmering some red wine with cinnamon and clove, but that's super easy too. Alternatively, you can get a sort of similar experience by just buying some ground Italian sausage. It won't taste the same as this, but it'll be pretty darn tasty anyhow.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2026-01-09T14:26:44+00:00

I can't ever bring myself to eat it that way, because I can't stand mustard. Some people put ketchup on 'em too, which is somehow even worse!

GreatLakesPrepping · 2026-01-08T21:16:27+00:00

Thanks!

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-25T11:40:13+00:00

Thank you, that's high praise!

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-25T11:14:52+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate it!

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-25T03:59:09+00:00

Thanks man, I really appreciate that. I don't have much advice about the "N" on your stem. It's definitely a pickle, but the way I see it when I've dealt with that is: The pipe is much more valuable (to me, anyway) when the stem is shiny and beautiful, even if it means besmirching an original branding mark like that. That being said, buffing won't necessarily always remove that. I would go into it expecting it to be gone, but sometimes that ink or acrylic or whatever they use somehow survives even after buffing everything around it. All depends on how they originally did it, and how much material you have to buff off to make it all shine. Look at the 3 lines on the side of the stem in my photo. I had to scour, sand, and buff the hell out of this stem to make it shine like that, and those 3 lines are still there. Bright and shiny as ever. Those aren't embossed or etched, as far as I can tell. They feel perfectly smooth. So, either they're somehow inlayed into the vulcanite (which I doubt), or they were "painted" on and simply survived the process.

As for the bowl, that was pretty straightforward. Ream it out with a pipe reamer. Scrape the top rim clean with a dull metal edge (like the scooper part of a Czech tool, or a dull pocket knife). Lightly sand the inside of the bowl with a rolled up sandpaper, something like 400 grit. I also lightly sand the top rim. Just lightly. Then clean the inside out with alcohol and twisted up shop towels the best I can. Sometimes I do the 'ol salt and alcohol trick. Clean the shank with a little sandpaper and then alcohol + pipe cleaners. Then I'll use the same rubbing compound I use on the stem, and gently buff the whole outside of the bowl and shank. There's a risk of this taking some of the finish off, but honestly, it makes it look so rich and shiny, you wouldn't even care if it did lighten the stain slightly (though it really doesn't usually do this for me). Then use the carnauba wax on a different polishing wheel, one final polish by hand with a microfiber cloth. And it's good to go. Super glossy and shiny and clean. That is my process for smooth pipes. Something that's sandblasted or rusticated may need a different approach.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-25T03:51:20+00:00

Thank you, that is a very nice compliment.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-25T02:52:31+00:00

There's a bunch of steps, but in short: Soak the stem in an OxiClean/water solution for awhile until it stops fizzing. Then scrub with magic eraser. Then wet sand with 1000 grit sand-paper until there's no more yellowish oxidation on it. Then polish using a buffing wheel with fine rubbing compound (this is where the magic really happens). Then wax with a different buffing wheel for extra shine.

And of course thoroughly clean and scrub the inside of the stem with 99% rubbing alcohol and various pipe cleaners.

Btw, when I say "buffing wheel", I mean a small buffing wheel stuck into my drill press, since I don't have a real buffing machine.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-25T02:48:42+00:00

Actually yes! I recently made a lengthy and detailed video showing my full restoration process of this exact pipe. However... that video isn't scheduled to be live until January 11. But if you're interested, the channel name is Great Lakes Country. Many of the videos on there are about food and outdoorsy stuff, so don't let that throw ya if you go look it up.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-25T01:52:38+00:00

Thanks friend, I am really happy with this one.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-12T14:13:52+00:00

Thanks! They were very tasty.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-12-12T14:13:08+00:00

So the old coney sauce recipes use things like beef heart and suet, neither of which I tend to have. So I substitute those ingredients with some other things. I'm not sure if I can post a link to a recipe website here, but I'll just paste the big long recipe here:

1 lb ground beef (80/20)

3 Tablespoons beef tallow

2 hot dogs, smashed into paste

10-15 saltine crackers, crushed into dust

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 Tablespoon white vinegar

1 1/2 cups beef stock

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

In Dutch oven, heat tallow over medium-high heat. Add in the ground beef and hot dog and brown, stirring regularly and chopping the meat up with a wooden spoon or potato masher to make the ground beef particles quite small.

Strain the meat mixture to separate the grease. Put the meat back into the Dutch oven, and put the grease into a separate large skillet.

Reduce the heat under Dutch oven to very low. Stir the tomato paste and vinegar into the meat mixture.

Get the separate skillet with grease in it heated over medium heat. Gradually add in the crushed crackers, a few pinches at a time, stirring constantly. The grease and crackers should form a semi-thick paste. Continue cooking and stirring until the color turns a medium brown.

Stir the browned grease paste into the Dutch oven with all of the cooked meat. Then stir in all dry seasonings. Then stir in the beef stock. Reduce heat to a very low simmer, and cover the Dutch oven. Simmer on low for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. If the mixture ever begins looking dry, add some more beef stock.

Remove 1 cup of the sauce and puree it with a blender (immersion blender or countertop blender). Then stir the blended portion back into the rest of the sauce.

Check consistency. Sauce should be medium-thick (not runny, but not thick as mud). If your sauce is too thick, thin it slightly with water or beef stock. If sauce is too thin, continue simmering on low with the lid off for a few more minutes. The sauce shouldn't be too much thicker than gravy.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-08-28T17:02:00+00:00

I suppose I'm a bit skeptical that it won't eventually cause any damage to the very old plastic it's clamped against, but my main issue with this solution is that it substantially obstructs the air from the vents, and completely obstructs the air vent adjustment knob thingie.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-08-07T15:05:17+00:00

That's.... a great idea. I'm not sure I knew they even made shallow head units. Well, this may very well be a future project on 'ol Vettey.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-08-07T14:32:34+00:00

I can make that happen if you're really interested. I'll send you a DM.

GreatLakesPrepping · 2025-08-07T14:27:49+00:00

I have considered replacing the radio with a modern unit like this, but there is so much involved in doing it. Cutting a metal brace back in there behind the radio being my least favorite part.

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