Widening a bowl?

mephistopheles · Dec 2, 2014

Hello all,
During Thanksgiving I talked to my cousin about pipe smoking and over the weekend he ended up buying a Ukrainian made pipe at a shop in his city. He called me and asked if anything could be done about the narrow bowl.
The question is this, is it possible to widen the bowl of a pipe if there is enough wood to do so? If so, how will this effect the pipe and how can it be done safely?
Thanks in advance for your replies.

tbradsim1 · Dec 2, 2014

I had it done by Norwoods, I had a big Moretti Canadian and had a lot of meat to do it, they did a faboulas job and it did not cost much. I was very satisfied.

mso489 · Dec 2, 2014

Yeah, I'd go with a pro pipe repair like Norwoods, who could do it right and spot any problems at the outset

in terms of the soundness of the briar (or other material). Also, they'd get the shaping of the bottom of the

bowl right, which is essential. Anyone could enlarge a bowl with a drill and/or a pocket knife, and with a

basket pipe that wasn't necessarily a keeper, it might work. But for a pipe you like, hire a pro.

dvorak · Dec 2, 2014

If I recall correctly, a lot of pipes have a protective coating on the inside in order to prevent the wood from burning. You might want to take that into account if you do-it-yourself.

rcstan · Dec 2, 2014

A spoon bit on a lathe will do the job profesionally.
Of course, you can skillfully use a VERY SHARP adjustable reamer and some fine sandpaper on wooden dowel sticks but it might come out choppy and out-of-round if you've never attempted this sort of thing before.

kf4bsb · Dec 2, 2014

I have done this before exactly as rcstan stated. A spoon bit on a lathe will take care of it with no issues. The key is to go slow and pay attention. The first one I ever did was a little nerve racking but now, given the right pipe, I would have no hesitations.

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