Bent Pipe Draught Hole / Drilling Question

[tmgaus51]

Hi All, recently picked up a horn shaped Stanwell. Seems to smoke great, but I've been having trouble passing a pipe cleaner. When I remove the stem, I see this little notch

I thought it might be drilled the same way as in the below diagram, but isn't the point of that design to facilitate passing a cleaner?

Appreciate any help.

-Dave

 

[sablebrush52]

Your pictures are being held ransom by Photobucket. For us to see them, you need to post from another 3rd party site, like imgur, or from the pipesmagazine site. There's a "how to" for posting images in the section of stickies above the main forum thread window.
Cleaners don't always easily pass in bents, so it's not really a reliable standard for making a judgement. With some of mine, I given the cleaner a little bit of curve before inserting in order to make for an easier passage through the airway.

 

[tmgaus51]

Ah, very sorry about that. Photobucket used to work I thought. Anyway, here's the pic of the pipe

and here's the diagram that I thought it might be based off of

 

[tmgaus51]

The other concern I have is since I've been trying to get the pipe cleaner to pass, it looks like I've chipped away just a little at the wood just below the draught hole (you can see in the lighter portion inside the mortise). I'm hoping I haven't done any damage here?

 

[cortezattic]

The notch is an artifact of double drilling, or so it seems. It will help if you put a slight bend in the tip of the pipe cleaner, and rotate it as you probe for the draught hole.

 

[tmgaus51]

Yeah, I've tried bending the pipe cleaner and twisting at the end--no luck. Just tends to end up with me pressing up and scratching the wood under the draught hole. Thanks though.

 

[nevadablue]

I think the point of the design is to get the draught hole drilled without going through somewhere other than the bottom of the bowl. Unless your pipe is plugged, it seems you have to 'hit the hole' at the bottom of the mortise. Maybe try the drill bit from a Senior reamer or a piece of wire to find exactly where the hole goes. Seems odd that you can't get a cleaner through.

 

[yaddy306]

I agree with Nevada blue that the point of the notch is for the maker to drill to the bottom of the bowl, not to facilitate passing a cleaner.
If you don't want to remove the stem to clean, you can try what I do: turn the stem 180 degrees so the stem and shank make a "c" shape instead of an "s" shape. I find it's easier to pass a pipe cleaner that way.

 

[tmgaus51]

Thanks for the responses. Nevada, out of curiosity, why are you surprised a cleaner doesn't pass?