Open up the Bowl Diameter

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atjurhs

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 19, 2017
211
9
I would like to open up a pipe's bowl diameter. How do I do it?

 

philobeddoe

Lifer
Oct 31, 2011
7,578
12,411
East Indiana
Not to be trite, but....YOU don't! If it must be done, send it out to a pipe restorer such as George Dibos. But it would really be better to just find a different pipe than to try to expand the bowl diameter.

 

zack24

Lifer
May 11, 2013
1,726
2
Trying to do this yourself will in most cases end up with a destroyed pipe. In the worst case, you'll get hurt badly...Send it out to George...I have a shop full of tools, make many pipes every year, and I won't attempt it....

 

aquadoc

Lifer
Feb 15, 2017
2,044
1,525
New Hampshire, USA
For what reason, if you do not mind me asking? Is it a "beater" pipe and are wanting to do this as a learning experience? Or do you truly want to open up the bowl of one of your nice pipes?

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,661
4,967
I should note before saying anything else, I regret widening some of the pipes that I did, and especially to the degree that I did.

It's also one of those exploratory moments where you can't predict the long term consequences and sometimes you have to just try things to understand it, and I do also love the way that some of the pipes turned out.

It's a love hate thing because a wide bore does not work so well with flakes, so I probably would have kept more pipes in stock condition if I had known that at the time.
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=69808&cat=1,130,43409

I use the "N" bit in an air powered die grinder. Electric drills generally aren't made for this sort of thing, though if it's cheap enough maybe it would be worth dedicating a drill to this sort of thin and just understand that you'll probably ruin the bearings if you work with a lot of side pressure for extended periods.

I only have a small air compressor though so it was slow going with the die grinder, If you have a bigger air compressor it's a lot faster.
Here's a few examples I posted a while back.

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/boring-pipes

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
60,650
So many pipes are designed specifically for a wide chamber -- many pots, authors, diplomats, and princes -- it seems a shame to go boring out some other pipe with a different design for the purpose. Even a modest priced Rossi or similar pipe designed with a wide chamber would be better than an after-market re-design in most cases, in my opinion.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
60,650
Let me know if you have experience otherwise, but beyond .8 inch or slightly larger, I don't think you are going to gain much.

 

atjurhs

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 19, 2017
211
9
It's a Stokkebye 4th Gen 1897 Dark Porter pipe, and it's never been a very good smoker.
It's got the smallest bowl of all my pipes. I opened up the air hole in the shank and it got better (can't open up the stem's air hole), but still not as good as my others (although my 9" Canadian can be finicky as well). I'm hoping that by opening up the bowl a bit more air can get into the chamber, then more oxygen can get in there and smoke more easily

 

atjurhs

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 19, 2017
211
9
btw, it's got plenty of "meat" between the inside and outside of the bowl.
sending it off to a pro would be the best solution, I agree, but I don't know that the pipe is worth putting more $ into, that's why I would like to give it a go... maybe with a Dremel?

 

zack24

Lifer
May 11, 2013
1,726
2
Your issue is the airflow through the stem...The bowl diameter has nothing to do with airflow- airflow always is constrained by the smallest diameter passage- in your case, it sounds like the stem since you already opened the shank....If you have a bent stem, heat it, straighten it, and open it up...or have someone do it for you.. It will make a huge difference...

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
6,131
16,852
Your issue is the airflow through the stem...The bowl diameter has nothing to do with airflow- airflow always is constrained by the smallest diameter passage- in your case, it sounds like the stem since you already opened the shank....If you have a bent stem, heat it, straighten it, and open it up...or have someone do it for you.. It will make a huge difference...
^^^ I'm no pipe architect, but this was my thought exactly.
I am a pipe arcihtect (I guess :lol: ), and it is also my thought exactly.

 

jpmcwjr

Lifer
May 12, 2015
26,264
30,361
Carmel Valley, CA
I study physics and also agree with the above.
Other options: for draw that feels more open, dry the tobacco more, and don't pack as tightly. Or switch types of tobacco, such as flake placed vertically in the chamber.

 

atjurhs

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 19, 2017
211
9
I would think that Stokkebye (whose been around a looong time) would have made it with the right sizings?

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
4,630
3,948
Baku, Azerbaijan
Your issue is the airflow through the stem...The bowl diameter has nothing to do with airflow- airflow always is constrained by the smallest diameter passage- in your case, it sounds like the stem since you already opened the shank....If you have a bent stem, heat it, straighten it, and open it up...or have someone do it for you.. It will make a huge difference...
^^^ I'm no pipe architect, but this was my thought exactly.
I am a pipe arcihtect (I guess :lol: ), and it is also my thought exactly.
I am in the automotive industry and it is my thought as well.

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,661
4,967
I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once, opening the bowl diameter sounds like trouble.
The stem should probably be addressed before anything else.

 
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