First system pipe and some notes on a P-lip modification

[monbla256]

Monbla's happiness with the topic material is all I care about, after all.   I can't wait until he digresses himself by finding out new and creative ways to present the word "opinion."  

That said, I don't even think Erinmore Flake actually smells/tastes like Juicy Fruit, it's just a thing a few guys vehemently were stuck on when doing what pipe guys do:  debating the stupidest crap ever for the stupidest reasons--just because.  :lol:  

To be honest I can't peg exactly what the scent is.   It's not pineapple (as some suggest from the tin logo,  which rather than flavor suggestion is a strange mark of hospitality), it's not apricot (sorry, Puffer Mark, I'd rather not know than be wrong  :lol:  :lol:  :lol: ), and it's not that horrid ski-shining gum.  

What I do enjoy is Erinmore Flake once in a while.  

Canned peaches?    <img class="emojione" alt="?" title=":shrug:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/emojione/assets/png/1f937.png?v=2.2.7"/>

Monbla is a good motivation to use birth control.   Imagine that guy showing up to Thanksgiving every year.   :lol:

8)

Without me, you'd be hard pressed to express anything !!  You love it when I respond as it gives you something to exercise "... those leetle grey cells" as Poirot used to say !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

:roll:

:lol:

It's true. You really are a passive version of LL.

Carry on.

8)

 

[Brewdude]

Ah, get a room you two...

Back on topic, I've not had any undue concerns with my p-lips. Perhaps a slightly tighter draw. Never been minded to exchange them for fishtails. If there was a Pete estate that tickled my interest that had a p-lip I wouldn't hesitate to snag it.

JMHO



Cheers,

RR

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Ah, get a room you two...

Back on topic, I've not had any undue concerns with my p-lips. Perhaps a slightly tighter draw. Never been minded to exchange them for fishtails. If there was a Pete estate that tickled my interest that had a p-lip I wouldn't hesitate to snag it.

JMHO



Cheers,

RR

Come on Rande, not even one instance of "Damn, I wish I could fit a thin pipe cleaner into this tiny hole?" seriously?

 

[MisterE]

Monbla's happiness with the topic material is all I care about, after all.   I can't wait until he digresses himself by finding out new and creative ways to present the word "opinion."  

That said, I don't even think Erinmore Flake actually smells/tastes like Juicy Fruit, it's just a thing a few guys vehemently were stuck on when doing what pipe guys do:  debating the stupidest crap ever for the stupidest reasons--just because.  :lol:  

To be honest I can't peg exactly what the scent is.   It's not pineapple (as some suggest from the tin logo,  which rather than flavor suggestion is a strange mark of hospitality), it's not apricot (sorry, Puffer Mark, I'd rather not know than be wrong  :lol:  :lol:  :lol: ), and it's not that horrid ski-shining gum.  

What I do enjoy is Erinmore Flake once in a while.  

Canned peaches?    <img class="emojione" alt="?" title=":shrug:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/emojione/assets/png/1f937.png?v=2.2.7"/>

Monbla is a good motivation to use birth control.   Imagine that guy showing up to Thanksgiving every year.   :lol:

8)

It's the Erinmore Mixture that has the Wrigley's top note. The flake is more subdued. Oh, and I'm all about p-lip mods. File the heel of the stem down until the draught hole is flush with the file. Instant fishtail. Better contraption. Less tongue bite. More functional than cosmetic.

 

[Puffer Mark]

Hey brothers, thanks for all the feedback.

Monbla, my motivation for the mod was firstly, I find P-lips to be great clenchers; secondly, I don't know how readily available replacement stems are here in SA; thirdly, it was the but the work of a few minutes; and lastly, and most importantly, I am a cheap bastard.

Kyle, there is company here called Safari who basically have the market cornered on sun dried fruit. Of course all this is hugely subjective, but I do believe if I could post the scent of a freshly opened packet of their dried apricots on the board, it would be debate over. Case closed.

And that's dried apricots, Kyle, dried. (in the same tone as Full Metal Jacket's Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: FOUR INCHES FROM YOUR CHEST, PYLE, FOUR INCHES!!) :x

Groove on Bros,

M

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Hey brothers, thanks for all the feedback.

Kyle, there is company here called Safari who basically have the market cornered on sun dried fruit. Of course all this is hugely subjective, but I do believe if I could post the scent of a freshly opened packet of their dried apricots on the board, it would be debate over. Case closed.

And that's dried apricots, Kyle, dried. (in the same tone as Full Metal Jacket's Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: FOUR INCHES FROM YOUR CHEST, PYLE, FOUR INCHES!!) :x

Heh.   So you're saying it's natural chewing gum, these dried SA fruits... got ya.  Maybe they just export them in secret and we're both right.  :shock: :shock: :shock:   :lol:

------

Meanwhile, as a Pete fan, I like both the fishtail and P-lip bits/buttons.  Both have their merits.  The P-lip, though, sometimes is drilled in such a fashion where pipe cleaners are pretty much out of the question.   One pre-Republic model 80 I have is savagely opposed to pipe cleaners.   If it didn't smoke so well, I'd have sent it off to live with a collector.  

Also, I have a 1970s model 80S that a clever owner before me ground down a P-lip to roughly the same configuration as a fishtail.  Granted, the more-or-less delta type drilling is not there, it's just a hole in a funky button, it smokes fine.   Probably not a recommended hack/modification, but...

... 8)

 

[Puffer Mark]

That's interesting, Kyle. It seems MisterE has done something similar. Would love to see a pic, if you can find the time.

I don't smoke my pre-rep much because of my issue with the P-lip, and that's a bit of a shame, really. Funny enough, it takes a cleaner OK-ish. I find it helps to put a slight (1-2mm or so) kink in the end of a tapered cleaner, just to get it started in there.

Incidentally, this little 'ramp removal' thing of mine also seems to ease up the cleaner issue considerably.

While I remain hesitant to tinker with a pre-rep, I might consider my mod on the stem, as it doesn't have so much of an aesthetic impact. If it turns it into a better smoker, I recon it's worth the trade-off anyway. I mean, we buy 'em to smoke 'em, right?

I also think a little round and tapered micro file, as apposed to a drill bit, might make for a better finish, if I can find such a thing.

I'll just see how it goes with the 309 in the meantime.

Stay well, bro,

Mark.

 

[SpeedyPete]

Mark, I've ordered 10 tins of Erinmore Flake on your behalf, seeing that you like it so much. The order is for 30 tins in total as I also want some and I know Charl also likes it.

 

[Brewdude]

Ah, get a room you two...

Back on topic, I've not had any undue concerns with my p-lips. Perhaps a slightly tighter draw. Never been minded to exchange them for fishtails. If there was a Pete estate that tickled my interest that had a p-lip I wouldn't hesitate to snag it.

JMHO



Cheers,

RR

Come on Rande, not even one instance of  "Damn, I wish I could fit a thin pipe cleaner into this tiny hole?"  seriously?

Actually Chris, my 999 Flame Grain takes a cleaner just fine. And that's without removing the stem. Just have to twist it a bit to get it started. And that's the Pete I smoke the most.


Cheers,

RR

 

[SpeedyPete]

Ah, get a room you two...

Back on topic, I've not had any undue concerns with my p-lips. Perhaps a slightly tighter draw. Never been minded to exchange them for fishtails. If there was a Pete estate that tickled my interest that had a p-lip I wouldn't hesitate to snag it.

JMHO



Cheers,

RR

Come on Rande, not even one instance of  "Damn, I wish I could fit a thin pipe cleaner into this tiny hole?"  seriously?

Actually Chris, my 999 Flame Grain takes a cleaner just fine. And that's without removing the stem. Just have to twist it a bit to get it started. And that's the Pete I smoke the most.


Cheers,

RR

Me, I don't like twisting and turning to get it in the hole. I prefer it to just slip in smoothly

 

[Kyle Weiss]

That's interesting, Kyle. It seems MisterE has done something similar. Would love to see a pic, if you can find the time.

I don't smoke my pre-rep much because of my issue with the P-lip, and that's a bit of a shame, really. Funny enough, it takes a cleaner OK-ish. I find it helps to put a slight (1-2mm or so) kink in the end of a tapered cleaner, just to get it started in there.

Incidentally, this little 'ramp removal' thing of mine also seems to ease up the cleaner issue considerably.

While I remain hesitant to tinker with a pre-rep, I might consider my mod on the stem, as it doesn't have so much of an aesthetic impact. If it turns it into a better smoker, I recon it's worth the trade-off anyway. I mean, we buy 'em to smoke 'em, right?

I also think a little round and tapered micro file, as apposed to a drill bit, might make for a better finish, if I can find such a thing.

I'll just see how it goes with the 309 in the meantime.

Stay well, bro,

Mark.

I swear the P-Lips are drilled twice, once for the main draft airway and the second from the P-lip button (near the apex of the ellipse)...and it's that second angled opening that completes the airway that determines if it will take a cleaner. I'm not sure what Peterson-standard is regarding this, but it seems that if the angle up from the line of the main draft is around 30° 45°, it will pass a cleaner, but has a bit more of the stream aimed at the tongue. If the idea of the smoke going to the soft palate or roof of the mouth, that angle would have to be increased vertically... so there's probably a "sweet spot" that Peterson would like all P-lips to be, but they have varied over the years and likely between whoever is at the lathe/drill that day. Irish sobriety notwithstanding. :lol: Heh.

That said, needle-tipped files or even a careful, properly-sized drill might redirect both the smoke and a pipe cleaner more easily. I'm not sure exactly what your "ramp method" all entails (tit-for-tat: pictures of my ground-off P-lip for your method? ) The grinding off the bit/button to make a P-lip into a fishtail seems a bit extreme, but...it's just a pipe stem. Anything historic or collectable might be better left without the serious modifications.

This has been far too on-topic, please, discuss SpeedyPete's getting-it-in-the-hole methods a little further. His being timid of a little twisting and turning when needed either suggest he's a master in his own method or he's lacking some adventure.

8)

 

[SpeedyPete]

Kyle, my dearest friend, I love to slip and slide (inside):twisted:

Maybe you did not notice my age :?:

Being married to a wife, much younger than myself, means that I need all the assistance I can get. Twisting and turning is not part of it.

 

[leacha]

I just had a new stem made for my 309.

 

[SpeedyPete]

I just had a new stem made for my 309.

Very good looking pipe, in fact, it's a BEAUTIFUL pipe :cheers:

 

[Puffer Mark]

Exquisite pipe, Andrew. Mine's a bit more beat up. Whoever did that stem for you did a very good approximation of the original.

Kyle,

I did my best to describe the process in my initial post. Basically insert a small drill bit into the vertical smoke hole and while twisting with downward and rearward pressure (Steady, Speedypete) and twisting by hand remove some material to make the angle more obtuse. Naturally one has to be very careful not to let the tip of the bit go through the top of the stem 5) , hence sustained downward/rearward pressure.

As the angle becomes more obtuse (or flattened) one can start using an in-out motion (Easy, Pete). Then its just a matter of finding your own 'sweet spot' (No, Pete) as it were. I know they are not precisely 90 degrees to start with, but for illustration's sake, essentially you go from here l to here / to as close to here -- as you want to.

Hope this helps.

Incidentally I picked up a small round, tapered file yesterday, and used it to smooth the whole thing out a bit more last night. I am rather proud of the outcome, given that I am seriously mechanically challenged.

Smoked some MB roll cake in it last night, and yeah, that's my sweet spot. (Now, now, Pete. . . .). It also takes a cleaner no problem at all, and again, the beauty of the thing is that it makes hardly any change to the look of the stem. The only external difference is that the smoke hole is now more oval as apposed to round.

I will try to post at least some links to a couple of pics on the week-end. I think my mind is pretty much made up that I am going to do the same to my pre-rep, especially now that I have the file which gives much more control.

Your thoughts?

Mark

 

[Kyle Weiss]

My word-to-picture conversion software is a a bit lacking, but I kind of get the gist of your approach to the P-Lip.

This is different than trying not to picture SpeedyPete's approach. :lol!: (...down, boy...)

They're your pipes. If some gentle and minor adjustments are necessary to make them ideal, go for it...you obviously found a method and approach that works. (...right, Pete?) I've often thought about working out a bit of the kinks (...no, Pete...) in my old pre-Republic model 80, and this might spur me in the right spot (...:sigh:...Pete...) to go ahead with my ideas.

8)

 

[SpeedyPete]

.......... hole is now more oval as apposed to round.

Your thoughts?

Mark

...never seen a round one in all my life :shock:

 

[AJ]

I don't know, I find marriage to be quite successful in that regard.

That's the funniest comment I've seen on this board in a long time. The sad thing is that it's true.

AJ

 

[Puffer Mark]

A few pics of my P-lip mod for Kyle (hope this works, so far I've been pathetic at it):

View from above showing the oval smoke hole. (Pete. . . .)



And one with a cocktail stick stuck into the stem to show the 'flattened' exit angle.



Yipee, it seems I can finally post pics!