Is This Normal or Not?

balkisobrains · Jan 8, 2018

I didn't want to thread-jack the guys recent Tinsky thread with my question, but it reminded me that I had picked up a new one that I wanted to ask about, because I'm not sure about what is going on in the bowl.
The wood around the draught hole is farther back than the walls above it. There is almost like a "shelf" of wood going across, above the draught hole. There seem to be grooves in a pinwheel pattern from this "shelf", going down to the middle of the bottom of the chamber. But the walls on the opposite side go down to the middle of the bottom of the chamber smoothly. There was a coating, but I wiped that out. Even with the coating, you could see some of what was underneath, mostly the "shelf", and some of the pinwheel pattern.
These pics are bad, but you should be able to see what I am talking about.

Is this a dud, or is it supposed to be like that? I looked around online and found a few Tinskys with pics of the chambers, and did not really see what I have going on here.

mcitinner1 · Jan 8, 2018

I don't understand. What are you concerned about, and why remove the coating? The craftsmanship looks very good to me, for what you're showing. Can we see the pipe?

mso489 · Jan 8, 2018

The airway can hit the bottom of the bowl a little differently from pipe to pipe, but this looks fine, a little lower than some, but nothing that would keep me from buying a pipe. Unless there is something I am missing, I say this one is okay.

georged · Jan 8, 2018

It was drilled low, then the chamber deepened with an end mill to fully "meet" the airway.
Is that normal? No, but it's an easy fix for an error that COULD have been a problem if left unaddressed.

aquadoc · Jan 8, 2018

I see the trianguar cuts in the side wall above the draught hole. That is the concern?

woodsroad · Jan 8, 2018

I see the problem there.....

No, it doesn't seem normal. To me.

georged · Jan 8, 2018

smokeyweb · Jan 8, 2018

Hahahaha. Good one, woodsroad! To the O.P. Quit fiddling with it and just smoke the dang thing! It's nothing that a couple bowls of carter hall can't fix!

smokeyweb · Jan 8, 2018

Or you could always just take a little bit of sand paper and smooth out that area above the draft hole. It certainly wouldn't be a deal breaker for me!

georged · Jan 8, 2018

I'm inclined to smoke it as is to see what happens.

I bet you like sky diving and Rally driving at night, too.
You realize the additional wood exposed by those chatter marks could cause a megaton-class explosion, right? In fact, it's far more likely than not.
Pipe smokers... fearless alpha males every one of us! 8)
.

hawky454 · Jan 8, 2018

Hahaha! That gave me a good laugh, Woodsroad!
I guess the amount of concern I would have about this situation would depend on how much money was spent on the pipe. If it was a $20 Stanwell I wouldn’t give it a second thought (although, I seriously doubt you would see that from Stanwell). If it was a $6,000 chonowitsch pipe, I might give it a second thought.

zack24 · Jan 8, 2018

Smoke it....or get a rounded dowel with some 320 grit sandpaper and sand it to remove the chatter...and then smoke it. I'm sure the end mill radius matched the profile of the chamber bit, but when you take it and drill maybe 1/8" deeper...you get a ridge...and then the buyer removes a perfectly good bowl coating and reveal the details in all their glory....He probably would have preferred to use the chamber bit to drill it just a bit deeper- probably didn't have a big enough drill chuck on a hand drill to chuck up the chamber bit, so had to switch over to the end mill...The joys of pipemaking!...

pipebuddy · Jan 8, 2018

What brand is that pipe?

zack24 · Jan 8, 2018

Smoke it....or get a rounded dowel with some 320 grit sandpaper and sand it to remove the chatter...and then smoke it. I'm sure the end mill radius matched the profile of the chamber bit, but when you take it and drill maybe 1/8" deeper...you get a ridge...and then the buyer removes a perfectly good bowl coating and reveal the details in all their glory....He probably would have preferred to use the chamber bit to drill it just a bit deeper- probably didn't have a big enough drill chuck on a hand drill to chuck up the chamber bit, so had to switch over to the end mill...The joys of pipemaking!...

panamacharlie · Jan 9, 2018

I used to make pipes, and I would not have accepted something like this. That said, I don't think it will affect the pipe's smokability, but it might make it more difficult to get a proper cake.

jpmcwjr · Jan 9, 2018

You'll be fine, dollars to donuts.

headhunter · Jan 9, 2018

I don’t think Mark would send out a pipe with serious internal flaws. Smoke it and if you have any problems, I’ll bet Mark would replace it. He is a stand up guy.

crashthegrey · Jan 11, 2018

It really shouldn't effect the smoke, but yeah, it probably should have been sanded smooth before being sent out. Things slip sometimes. Before sanding it, I would have recommended contacting Mark, but now that you have fiddled, just be happy that you have a nice pipe.

cigrmaster · Jan 11, 2018

Being that the only tools I own are a screwdriver, hammer and a vice grip, I would have contacted the seller and asked them to take it back. I should not be expected to fix something that is clearly an issue. If the pipe smokes wet, I would return it.

crashthegrey · Jan 11, 2018

It's a cosmetic issue and nothing more. It won't smoke wet or anything else. Do I think it should have been mailed out like that? No. But it will not cause any problems.

Is This Normal or Not?

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