Before Using Your Pipes as Flower Pots or Throwing Them in a Landfill, do this...

[romaso]

I've used little riffler files for the same task. Kinda old school, but they're smaller so I can see in there better.
Just think what those medieval stone masons and wood carvers could have done with a Dremel!

 

[mso489]

Just a personal note on this thread: I generally expect straight and slightly bent pipes to pass pipe cleaners with no problem, just logically. With near or fully bent pipes, I admire those that pass a pipe cleaner, considering that the sign of astute drilling whether by an artisan or by a skilled factory worker. However, I have never worried about a bent pipe that didn't pass a pipe cleaner. They are easily cleared when the stem is removed from time to time, and I've never had a problem with a restricted draw. That a wire won't do a U-turn in an airway has never impressed me as a defect.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I prefer they pass a pipe cleaner for the same reason @georged mentioned, tobacco bits making their way into the draft hole. And I do get the occasional gurgle when smoking outside in the colder winter months.

Simply a matter of convenience though, which in a way I suppose is a part of the overall concept of “quality”. I prefer a soft closing cupboard for the same reason. Not because it is better at storing items (it’s main purpose) but because I can close it with a roundhouse kick on the rare occasion I need to.

But smoke is perfectly capable of going around a corner if need be, so I don’t view it as any indicator of how well a pipe smokes.

Good trick to know about though.

 

[georged]

Lately, I thought a great side business would be to restore and refit older pipes so that their draw, bit, and chamber would be more ultimately aligned to create a better and more perfect smoke. It would not change the pipe from the outside, but would improve the overall performance. Think of it as a tune up. The pipe mechanic could then add their own mark to the stem certifying the pipes new high performance status. This would provide overall value to the pipe and increase resale potential.

Yup, that sort of thing gets in your head, doesn't it? (Also known as "Perfectionists never stop perfectionating." lol )

There's a pipe modification "thing" (sort of a hobby within a hobby) that people refer to as hot rodding. Ronni B. started it almost 20 years ago.

I've messed with it a few times. Here's an example:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW9RXSa5AJvKCV7JqyryKRNU

And here are a couple appearance improvement projects where functional optimization was included:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW9Cck1UslaCawEQg21bD8zS

Correcting a Pipe's Manufacturing Errors 2

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What you describe---optimize the inside while leaving the outside alone---is fairly routine. Some people want strict, remove crud only clean-ups, while other say performace tweak/adjust whatever you encounter along the way as PART of the clean-up process.

 

[ssjones]

Lately, I thought a great side business would be to restore and refit older pipes so that their draw, bit, and chamber would be more ultimately aligned to create a better and more perfect smoke. It would not change the pipe from the outside, but would improve the overall performance. Think of it as a tune up. The pipe mechanic could then add their own mark to the stem certifying the pipes new high performance status. This would provide overall value to the pipe and increase resale potential.

One of the American carvers starting doing this 6-7 years ago, re-imagining a pipe and re-stamping it as such. I don't think it was very successful.

 

[telescopes]

Yup, that sort of thing gets in your head, doesn't it? (Also known as "Perfectionists never stop perfectionating." lol )

There's a pipe modification "thing" (sort of a hobby within a hobby) that people refer to as hot rodding. Ronni B. started it almost 20 years ago.

I've messed with it a few times. Here's an example:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW9RXSa5AJvKCV7JqyryKRNU

And here are a couple appearance improvement projects where functional optimization was included:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW9Cck1UslaCawEQg21bD8zS

Correcting a Pipe's Manufacturing Errors 2

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

www.youtube.com

What you describe---optimize the inside while leaving the outside alone---is fairly routine. Some people want strict, remove crud only clean-ups, while other say performace tweak/adjust whatever you encounter along the way as PART of the clean-up process.

That would be me. But I think it could also be a branding process worth marketing. Thanks for the links.

 

[georged]

Simply a matter of convenience though, which in a way I suppose is a part of the overall concept of “quality”. I prefer a soft closing cupboard for the same reason. Not because it is better at storing items (it’s main purpose) but because I can close it with a roundhouse kick on the rare occasion I need to.

Bingo.

Even with tools and hardware, the word "quality" contains an emotional component. (Which usually involves convenience).

In cases where something is the ONLY difference, it becomes a binary switch---acceptable vs. unacceptable---instead of something that's measured on a spectrum that ranges from acceptable to unacceptable.

Humans never fail to human, in other words, even if it's just preferring the wrench with the shiniest finish when they're identical in every objectively measureable way, or a pipe whose drafthole is centered at the bottom of the mortise.

 

[anotherbob]

I have sex with them after promising them money, then toss them them in the Hudson River when I’m done with them.

oh man we could do a whole thread about what forum you meant to post this comment too. .
"hey wrong forum dude, though I didn't know fish took IOUs." (that's an example for anyone confused about it.

 

[AroEnglish]

Because geometry tolerates no argument, sometimes the bottom-dead-center of a pipe's tobacco chamber and the bullseye-dead-center of its mortise floor cannot be connected with a straight line.

It isn't a brand-dependent thing, or even (necessarily) a "quality thing". It's simply three dimensional reality.

It was the case with this early production "Ashton 120". Nice looker, wonderful smoker.

The airway entered the mortise "high", however, which made running a pipecleaner through the pipe without taking it apart impossible.

Easy-peasy solution:

The yellow line is the border of a ramp that was cut into the bottom of the mortise with the tool shown. A standard-issue conical Dremel burr cutter that had its sharp outer edge ground smooth on a belt sander while spinning.

NOT removing the side edge pretty much guarantees you'll have an ugly time of it, gouging the mortise walls while trying to control the cutter (which will keep grabbing the walls in a feedback loop of briar mayhem).

NO side edge will make it stupid easy. No grabbing, just insert, push downward a bit, blip the throttle, check the cut, repeat as needed until the ramp is what that particular pipe's geometry calls for.

I've done it to hundreds of pipes for many years and never had a problem of any kind.

Should the factories do this? Of course. Do they? No. Why? Who knows... (Most of the better artisan makers DO cut a cleaner ramp when necessary, though)

Anyway, it only---literally---takes two or three minutes, and is something anyone can do who has normal coordination & eyesight.

The world's flowerpot manufacturers and landfill operators might hate you, but the PipeGods will smile.



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Do you have a pic of the burr cutter without the side edge ground? I can’t picture what you’re describing and how it would cause issue.

 

[georged]

Do you have a pic of the burr cutter without the side edge ground? I can’t picture what you’re describing and how it would cause issue.

 

[Jbrewer2002]

Because geometry tolerates no argument, sometimes the bottom-dead-center of a pipe's tobacco chamber and the bullseye-dead-center of its mortise floor cannot be connected with a straight line.

It isn't a brand-dependent thing, or even (necessarily) a "quality thing". It's simply three dimensional reality.

It was the case with this early production "Ashton 120". Nice looker, wonderful smoker.

The airway entered the mortise "high", however, which made running a pipecleaner through the pipe without taking it apart impossible.

Easy-peasy solution:

The yellow line is the border of a ramp that was cut into the bottom of the mortise with the tool shown. A standard-issue conical Dremel burr cutter that had its sharp outer edge ground smooth on a belt sander while spinning.

NOT removing the side edge pretty much guarantees you'll have an ugly time of it, gouging the mortise walls while trying to control the cutter (which will keep grabbing the walls in a feedback loop of briar mayhem).

NO side edge will make it stupid easy. No grabbing, just insert, push downward a bit, blip the throttle, check the cut, repeat as needed until the ramp is what that particular pipe's geometry calls for.

I've done it to hundreds of pipes for many years and never had a problem of any kind.

Should the factories do this? Of course. Do they? No. Why? Who knows... (Most of the better artisan makers DO cut a cleaner ramp when necessary, though)

Anyway, it only---literally---takes two or three minutes, and is something anyone can do who has normal coordination & eyesight.

The world's flowerpot manufacturers and landfill operators might hate you, but the PipeGods will smile.



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I have done this to one of my pipes. Works well but the sharp end of the pipe cleaner sometimes still catches on the ramp.

 

[georged]

I have done this to one of my pipes. Works well but the sharp end of the pipe cleaner sometimes still catches on the ramp.

Exact angle, wood hardness, cleaner fluff density, wire stiffness, wire sharpness, stem bend radius (if curved), the amount of offset between the stem and shank airways, and the distance between the end of the stem airway and the ramp all factor into it.

If the cleaner does hang up, pulling it back a quarter inch and spinning a half turn (180 degrees) works 95% of the time.

 

[AroEnglish]

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Thanks! Looks like a few of these could get the job done without needing the altering.

 

[georged]

Thanks! Looks like a few of these could get the job done without needing the altering.

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NO!

Any tip without smooth sides will grab and cut wood you do NOT want cut.

 

[AroEnglish]

NO!

Any tip without smooth sides will grab and cut wood you do NOT want cut.

Ah ok I get what you’re saying now. Thanks!

 

[Tate]

I'm going to give this a try. Passing a pipe cleaner is important to me because I like to run one after smoking at work where I can't really wait for it to cool down. I know I could probably just run it before the next time I smoke but I like it the other way lol. Add me to the weirdo thread hahagha

 

[Papamique]

I'm going to give this a try. Passing a pipe cleaner is important to me because I like to run one after smoking at work where I can't really wait for it to cool down. I know I could probably just run it before the next time I smoke but I like it the other way lol. Add me to the weirdo thread hahagha

If the cleaner does hang up, pulling it back a quarter inch and spinning a half turn (180 degrees) works 95% of the time.

^^

 

[Tate]

^^

I will give this a shot in the mean time but I don't think it has worked for me so far.