French Oom Paul Project

[ThermionicScott]

Tried a few other items of various thickness with no luck. Even went down to fishing line to see if I could get it through. When I shine my headlight down the shank, it looks as if the shaft-hole to the bowl seems to be just a hair higher than the bottom of the shaft in the shank. The pipe cleaner goes to the bottom and passes by the hole. I've tried bending the tip of the cleaner slightly but to no avail.

By this point, you've already figured it out, but it can be useful to shine the light into the bowl and look into the shank to see where the hole actually is.

 

[AreBee]

By this point, you've already figured it out, but it can be useful to shine the light into the bowl and look into the shank to see where the hole actually is.

I did that as well and did see a faint light filter into the chamber. I was too dense to realize it was coming from the smaller hole. One of the previous posts made me realize that the angle of the well was just wrong and it would never reach the bowl. I decided to aim a pipe cleaner at the smaller hole and viola!

 

[TheIronMonkey]

And the moral of this story is:

Sometimes the wrong hole is the right hole.

 

[Hillcrest]

My big concern is getting the shank clean

And ... now we're back to the beginning ...

 

[AreBee]

I think I’m done. Went through a slew of pipe cleaners! Oxy cleaned the stem and then sanded with 2500 to 12,000 grit polishing pads. High grit sand of the chamber and then salt and alcohol overnight for good measure. Interesting to watch the tars creep up the pipe cleaner in the shank! Cleaned the outer bowl with Murphy’s and a toothbrush per Reborn Pipes and then a second pass with the toothbrush and water to eliminate any potential for Murphy’s build up. Going to give it a few days to completely air out and will try it over the weekend. Greatly appreciate all the assistance!