Turning a gurgler into a great smoking pipe...

[Briar Boy]

I have been drilling out my pipes airways out to 5/32" and funneling the tenon tips and have noticed a marked improvement in smoking quality, many of my pipes would gurgle and they aren't cheap pipes, pipes that I was ready to get rid of due to the fact, after drilling the airways out to 5/32" the gurgle has stopped, two things to consider when contemplating enlarging the airway though are the position of the point of entry of the draught hole into the bowl, if it is quite low, even with the bottom of the bowl of even lower with a slight "trough" I would not do it because it will make the trough deeper, also if the angle of the drill is too steep and hits the side of the mortise and would cause damage there, hopefully my desciption is understandable, a pipe with a slightly high draught hole is a prime candidate for this because it will lower the draught hole slightly giving a more seamless transition from bowl to airway. It will also make the draw more open and effortless so if you like the feel of a restrictive draw that's something else to think about. Final disclaimer, if you decide to do this, don't blame me if you ruin your pipe.

 

[Ocelot55]

A lot if not most artisan carvers have caught onto the fact that drilling larger airways and chamfering the tenon makes a better smoking pipe. I know I do that to all of the pipes I make.

 

[riff raff]

I've fixed a few personal pipes in that manner. My advice is measure twice, cut once. This how-to was helpful:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/74716036/Opening_Pipe_Draw.pdf
My greatest success came with a beautiful Ashton Pebble Grain that just smoke lousy. It was a 50th birthday present, so I'm glad to now enjoy smoking as well as looking at it.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I have discovered with the random pipes I have three main reasons why a pipe will generally gurgle or be susceptible to moisture:

* Off drilling--the stem's tenon and the hole at the mortise don't line up

* Off drilling--for whatever reason, the maker drilled the pipe in two attempts to get to the chamber, so there's a weird offset or angle in the shank

* Stem/Tenon edges--there's a sharp edge at the draft hole at the tenon

Chamfering, or "trumpeting" as I call it, means flaring out the tenon like a funnel (I have a special knife that gets it almost like a trumpet's bell) reduces a turbulence edge that drops out moisture as it eddies inside otherwise. Smoothing down or re-truing the draft holes where they meet also helps, as does getting rid of any other internal fabrication flaws that cause the direct line of smoke to encounter a bumpy ride to the mouth. All can cause moisture issues if not fixed.

In certain pipes, the mortise is slightly or significantly deeper than the tenon--a chamfer/trumpeting of the stem's tenon, I have learned, creates a way to "shoot" the smoke from the shank's draft hole into the tenon, and reduces a lot of condensation issues.

I underlined "pipe" earlier, because sometimes gurgling can be caused from various forms of moisture from the smoker, be it drool or having a beverage while smoking. Tilting the head down while reading or at the laptop, this happens to me sometimes. I fix this by clenching or smoking the pipe with a bit more of the button in the mouth, so the mouth-moisture has a place to go besides the airway of the pipe.

8)

 

[user 2031]

I have discovered with the random pipes I have three main reasons why a pipe will generally gurgle or be susceptible to moisture:

* Off drilling--the stem's tenon and the hole at the mortise don't line up

* Off drilling--for whatever reason, the maker drilled the pipe in two attempts to get to the chamber, so there's a weird offset or angle in the shank

* Stem/Tenon edges--there's a sharp edge at the draft hole at the tenon

Chamfering, or "trumpeting" as I call it, means flaring out the tenon like a funnel (I have a special knife that gets it almost like a trumpet's bell) reduces a turbulence edge that drops out moisture as it eddies inside otherwise. Smoothing down or re-truing the draft holes where they meet also helps, as does getting rid of any other internal fabrication flaws that cause the direct line of smoke to encounter a bumpy ride to the mouth. All can cause moisture issues if not fixed.

In certain pipes, the mortise is slightly or significantly deeper than the tenon--a chamfer/trumpeting of the stem's tenon, I have learned, creates a way to "shoot" the smoke from the shank's draft hole into the tenon, and reduces a lot of condensation issues.

I underlined "pipe" earlier, because sometimes gurgling can be caused from various forms of moisture from the smoker, be it drool or having a beverage while smoking. Tilting the head down while reading or at the laptop, this happens to me sometimes. I fix this by clenching or smoking the pipe with a bit more of the button in the mouth, so the mouth-moisture has a place to go besides the airway of the pipe.

8)

I've read your modification in several different threads, but without pictures I guess I'll have to remain lost as to what you are talking about since I'm having difficulty understanding the terminology and all. :lol:

Do a presentation, Kyle! :lol:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

This is mainly for pipes already made rather than ones starting out...kind of tough to take pictures of anything but the stem tenon with the camera gear I have (which is...not very good... :lol: )

Maybe some day.

8)

 

[user 2031]

http://vimeo.com/27060669 :lol:

 

[Richard Burley]

Hey, Mr. Weiss--when you say you flare the tenon opening to a trumpet shape, do you mean that literally? I have always flared it using a wood screw countersink bit or tool, whatever it's called. Takes about two seconds and makes a V. Is that good enough, or does your flaring actually have an inside curvature, like an actual trumpet bell? That seems like it would take a rather special tool or technique to get it symetrical. Youth wants to know.

(OMG, that last phrase is from the friggin' '50s!)

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Hey, Mr. Weiss--when you say you flare the tenon opening to a trumpet shape, do you mean that literally? I have always flared it using a wood screw countersink bit or tool, whatever it's called. Takes about two seconds and makes a V. Is that good enough, or does your flaring actually have an inside curvature, like an actual trumpet bell? That seems like it would take a rather special tool or technique to get it symetrical. Youth wants to know.

(OMG, that last phrase is from the friggin' '50s!)

Affirmative. I have a cool little pocket knife...

...that I originally got because I like the opening mechanism design, but I found the blade shape works ace for "trumpeting" the tenons of pipes. Carefully turning the tip of the blade and working the edges of the tenon, taking off layers of material slowly manages to follow the same curve of the top of the blade, which is how the "trumpet" shape takes place. Kind of a happy accident, more than anything, desperate and not having a countersink or "chamfer" bit in my tool collection. It's tough to describe, and it's finesse and the shape of the blade doing the work 50/50, but it really works. I've had to be careful in how I place the blade, however, because with vulcanite being so brittle, I snapped a chunk out of a tenon and was pretty pissed. Provided things go well, though, I funnel little pieces of decreasing-grit sandpaper and polish up the newly-trumpeted stem by twisting them inside until they're pretty darned smooth...

...necessity and mother of invention, etc...

8)