Ser Jacopo Insanus Pipes?

jeffro · Apr 2, 2018

Does anybody own an Ser Jacopo Insanus series pipe? I am very intrigued on how these pipes are drilled out.

Some sort of very flexible drill bit? If there is such a thing.

What is the magic the carvers at Ser Jacapo are performing to make these pieces of pipe art.

Ser-_Jacopo-_Insanus-7-_Stand-up-_Tabaccheria-_Toto13-5.jpg

frozenchurchwarden · Apr 2, 2018

It’s just a curving drill bit.

Brebbia uses the same technique on their Calabash pipes: http://www.pipedivan.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2689

Civil War · Apr 2, 2018

They are neat looking pipes

pipestud · Apr 2, 2018

I've sold a bunch of those over the last few years and what amazes me is that they all pass the pipe cleaner test!

cosmicfolklore · Apr 2, 2018

I got to meet Maurizio Fraternale of Ser Jacapo pipes a couple of weeks ago at a Briary event, and asked him about his curved drill bits. I have some flexible bits used in lapidary, and Skip and I have talked about this before. Maurizio said that it is the same concept, a small shallow bit on a flexible cable, and then that is set into a more stable curved tube. I have a Hilson Gooseneck pipe that uses the same curved draft.

sumusfumus · Apr 2, 2018

Please....explain drilling a curved hole and how it's done. Is it done in very small increments, being guided by a flexible cable, and some kind of "guide?"....
My woodworking and metalworking abilities only allow me to deep-drill straight holes, and then, hopefully without too much wandering. I just can't envision this set-up, and the rejection rates that might be involved when drilling three intersecting smoke-holes..... Unless it's done very easily, with the help of some specialized-for-the-task, equipment?
Diagrams, or drawings might help my simple mind grasp this concept.
Frank

NYC

cosmicfolklore · Apr 2, 2018

I just did. I can't make a diagram on my phone very well. (I'm really surprised there are no pictures in a Google Search). But imagine a flexible cable in a bendable, but rigid tube. The cutter bit is like a regular drill bit, but has to be a tad larger than the shaft. The bend is set in the tube, and then the flexible shaft spins the cutter bit inside the tube. The person has to follow the curve of the tub carefully as the bit progresses into the wood.
Skip has a local guy make his flexible bits. I have some for lapidary, but they use diamond grit to cut, and aren't very long. Mostly they are used for cutting curved holes in marble for people making lamps or electronic doohickeys set in marble.

cosmicfolklore · Apr 2, 2018

Ahhh, the term is tunneling, according to a Google search, so take that for what it's worth.

Here is a mediocre picture.

cosmicfolklore · Apr 2, 2018

As far as how to guide the drill bit into the wood... I imagine it would take a little practice, of which I have had none.

jvnshr · Apr 2, 2018

cosmicfolklore · Apr 2, 2018

Wow, that's a bit more aggressive than I would be with a piece of briar, but yeh, ha ha!!

mso489 · Apr 2, 2018

For no rational reason, this will make my Ser Jacopo even more fun to smoke. It's unique in being a somewhat squarish Dublin bowl with a square shank and stem that is "sinuous," i.e. somewhat s-shaped. It's much more ordinary than these pipes, to say the least, but still has the SJ flair. I bought it on an SJ sale at SPC about four years ago, and I couldn't get an estate SJ for the price today.

jeffro · Apr 2, 2018

Guys, thankyou for your information about this subject, My curiosity is satisfied. Now I want one of these pipes even more now

kyriefurro · Apr 2, 2018

Is this the pipe for people who can't decide between VA's, Arro's, and English? 8O

jpmcwjr · Apr 2, 2018

Looks that way!
Interesting to me is that gas and oil drillers can curve their drill pipe tremendously, ending up parallel to the surface, many thousands of feet below. How? I surely do not know.

cosmicfolklore · Apr 2, 2018

nteresting to me is that gas and oil drillers can curve their drill pipe tremendously, ending up parallel to the surface, many thousands of feet below. How?

I just posted pictures, descriptions, etc... With drilling for oil it's much easier, because the drill bit can be driven remotely. They can actually drill around ledges and stuff. Same type pf drill bit... just LARGER with a different type of cutter... but, basically the same thing.

sumusfumus · Apr 2, 2018

Thanks for all the details, videos, diagrams, and explanations. Know I know how its done. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Frank

NYC

brian64 · Apr 3, 2018

Is this the pipe for people who can't decide between VA's, Arro's, and English?

I think that one was designed exclusively for smoking Triple Play.

Chasing Embers · Apr 3, 2018

Then you've got beasts like this Preben Holm made decades ago.

mso489 · Apr 3, 2018

The double- and triple-barreled pipes are real eye-catchers. I don't think I'd smoke those more than once a year, for sport. You could load them with different blends in each bowl, to get a blend of blends. That would make an interesting "What Are You Smoking" post.

Ser Jacopo Insanus Pipes?

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