A technical question

[Crafty]

Ok, time to ask for some help. I’ve been wanting to do a full bend pipe but drilling the draft hole has me stumped ?. Ideas? Help? I’ve done multiple 1/4 & 1/2 bent and those are to bad however.....thinking about a full bent just makes me want a bourbon ? to sip while trying to figure it out!

 

[Richard Burley]

If it were me, I'd just keep drinking bourbon until I figured things out, stagger over to the drill press or whatever, and plunge ahead. It's just a hole. Try not to drill through the sides or bottom of the bowl. If you miss, just plug the hole up with plastic wood or something and try again. You may want to read my book, Why I am Not a Pipemaker, by Wilbur Whippit, a nom de plume.

 

[MichaelM]

You probably already know this, but you have to drill the mortise and the airway on different angles:

The problem is that when the bend becomes extreme you wind up drilling into the mortise wall.  Some makers will cap this off with a shank extension so it is never seen, others just leave it since you only see it when the stem is off.
And bourbon helps
Mike.

 

[Crafty]

Mike, that’s was pretty much the same conclusion I was at. Was hoping someone else had a trick to share! BTW, Four Roses Single Barrel is excellent if you have never tried!

 

[huffelpuff]

For really extreme bends you can actually drill in from the back just like it’s a straight pipe, then come in from the mortise. You then make a plug for the bottom hole that can be removable or not as you see fit. The big issue is you can’t be off even a little bit on the drilling. I’ve only seen this done once and it was a very old very homemade rustic pipe that was never made to be sold. The guy that made it was not a pipe maker just desperate for a smoke lol. Not sure I would really recommend trying this but it has been done if you choose to try I would absolutely want to see how it turns out. I would also recommend you try this out using wood other than precious briar.

Jim