My Nording Churchwardens finally arrived the other day.
I bought them because the specs listed quite large bowls, something you don't see a lot of on less expensive pipes (usually a big bore commands at least $200 for some reason).
Of course, what do I find but the bore listed is only the diameter of the very top of the bowl and it tapers very quickly. Needless to say they weren't the pipes I had in mind when I purchased them.
So facing the decision to either send them back or make lemonade, I decided working with what I had was the better option since if these pipes weren't big enough chances are no pipe would be (at least not at a reasonable price).
Fortunately I bought a carving bit just for this type of thing a few weeks ago, the results are seen below.
The bore on the pipe above is now approximately 25.4mm (1") at the brim and 22mm (7/8") wide at 16mm (5/8") down the wall.
Along with the funky bore you can see a pit at the very bottom. I never smoke a bowl with tobacco that low, but it's still less than ideal. There's a fair number of pits on the outside of the bowl as well, but I'm not too fussy about what's on the outside.
It also had a drill mark on the mortise, making it a bit loose and wiggly, so I countersunk the first quarter inch or so to get the tenon to seat farther in. Of course it was too snug after, and thankfully Nording drills those shanks deep because I got it wrong sanding it a few times but finally got a good fit with the tenon snug with the end of the mortise.
The airway is actually still fine like this since Nording does a good job widening the airway to make it curve up to meet the stem.
The bore diameter on this pipe is now 27.5mm (1-3/32") at the brim and 22mm (7/8") at about 15mm (19/32") down the wall.
On this one I had more to work with at the top of the pipe but the skinny waste in the middle made me keep it reasonable going down.
The Tenon was good out of the box.
I'm also giving the bowls a coating of Walnut oil, so it may be a few days yet before I smoke them. The instructions for the oil say it has a six month time to curing totally, so it's probably best to make sure they stay super clean and get a good amount of time between bowls for this year.
I bought them because the specs listed quite large bowls, something you don't see a lot of on less expensive pipes (usually a big bore commands at least $200 for some reason).
Of course, what do I find but the bore listed is only the diameter of the very top of the bowl and it tapers very quickly. Needless to say they weren't the pipes I had in mind when I purchased them.
So facing the decision to either send them back or make lemonade, I decided working with what I had was the better option since if these pipes weren't big enough chances are no pipe would be (at least not at a reasonable price).
Fortunately I bought a carving bit just for this type of thing a few weeks ago, the results are seen below.
The bore on the pipe above is now approximately 25.4mm (1") at the brim and 22mm (7/8") wide at 16mm (5/8") down the wall.
Along with the funky bore you can see a pit at the very bottom. I never smoke a bowl with tobacco that low, but it's still less than ideal. There's a fair number of pits on the outside of the bowl as well, but I'm not too fussy about what's on the outside.
It also had a drill mark on the mortise, making it a bit loose and wiggly, so I countersunk the first quarter inch or so to get the tenon to seat farther in. Of course it was too snug after, and thankfully Nording drills those shanks deep because I got it wrong sanding it a few times but finally got a good fit with the tenon snug with the end of the mortise.
The airway is actually still fine like this since Nording does a good job widening the airway to make it curve up to meet the stem.
The bore diameter on this pipe is now 27.5mm (1-3/32") at the brim and 22mm (7/8") at about 15mm (19/32") down the wall.
On this one I had more to work with at the top of the pipe but the skinny waste in the middle made me keep it reasonable going down.
The Tenon was good out of the box.
I'm also giving the bowls a coating of Walnut oil, so it may be a few days yet before I smoke them. The instructions for the oil say it has a six month time to curing totally, so it's probably best to make sure they stay super clean and get a good amount of time between bowls for this year.
