Dr. Reamlove, or How I Learned to Not be Afraid of Reaming

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lightxmyfire

Can't Leave
Jun 17, 2019
364
989
DMV Area
Reaming is easy to do when needed. I have a variety, Pipnet, a set of Swedish made stainless, and a couple of Buttners for conical chambers. Castlefords are poorly made garbage.

You can significantly reduce the need to ream by wiping out the chamber and cleaning the airway after every bowl. plus yo'll build a hard superior quality carbon coating.

I joined you and MSO and several others a ways back and started wiping out the chamber after every smoke with a U-shaped pipe cleaner. Before that, I was doing the cake building thing where you shake the ash around the bowl after each smoke and leave it. I think whoever recommended that to me in a B&M a while ago got mixed up between cake ? and "cake" something about greasing the pans and coating the sides with flour. I eventually saw the light and decided that wasn't a great way to go; for me at least.

So now I have several pipes that I never did the cake building thing with that are building a really nice hard carbon coating and several (this BST was one) that had the old flaky not so great "cake". It's a good feeling to be getting those back to a better "starting point" for doing the wipe-out method.
 

futureman

Can't Leave
Jul 9, 2011
411
663
Ohio (Displaced Central Texan)
Some years ago I inherited a nice pipe collection from an uncle. He apparently never reamed his pipes. I had not yet become an avid pipe smoker and did not know too much about pipe maintenance. My first attempt at reaming was more akin to hacking and chopping. I'm certain I damaged a few chambers. :confused:

I'm far more careful and deliberate now, although I could use a good, adjustable reamer.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I don't ream, as mentioned above, but I think developing the touch for it is like not over-tightening screws or bolts. If you get going and really give it hell, you are likely to do some damage. You have to be your own torque wrench, if you know that tool from (for example) auto shop. It's a wrench that measures the torque you are applying so you can stop before you do any damage. I don't own one, but was delighted to discover the tool in some car magazine since it is such a good illustration of the need to measure and moderate the force you are applying to a nut on a bolt, or a bolt in an engine block.
 
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