This Could Explain Why Some Bent Pipes are "Mysteriously Bad" Smokers

[georged]

This Dunhill had a snapped off tenon that required replacement. After drilling the "false mortise" to receive the Delrin insert, I was surprised to see a large blob of crud/fuzz/gunk still in the airway, just past the bottom of the drilled hole.

I'd cleaned the airway with an alcohol-dipped cleaner before starting work, though.

It had felt somewhat snug but not unusually so (cleaner resistance varies a lot across pipes), so just moved on.

Put another way, in this situation, as long as the WIRE of a cleaner isn't blocked, everything feels normal.

The blob of fuzz-crud reduced the cross-sectional area of the airway by a lot, though. Visually, it was blocked about 75%, which means it was also blocked about 75% in airflow terms.

Turns out the FuzzGunkBlob was anchored by a mechanical obstruction. I finally got the crud itself off the obstruction (more difficult than you'd think, given how it had "evolved" over 40 years), gave it another pass with alcohol to better see what was going on, and it turned white.

!!!

That's when I realized the hole for the white dot had been drill through to the airway, and the rod inserted and glued IN the airway.

Halfway through carving the blockage away with a Dremel I thought to stop and take these pics.

Much of the obstruction has been cut away here, and the curvature of the stem + the necessity of shooting "upward" (so the camera doesn't block the light) makes the remaining piece of rod look smaller than it actually is. But you get the idea: Any bad-smoking pipe with a stem that's bent enough that light can't be seen by looking through it AND has an emblem comprised of one or more inlaid dots, could POTENTIALLY be suffering from the same manufacturing error.

Again, if the wire of a cleaner passes, you won't feel it.

The smoke sure will, though.

 

[beefeater33]

Interesting! I don’t smoke anything much more than 1/8 bents. Is this common? Is this a 70’s era Dunhill?

 

[anotherbob]

this sounds like the Dunhill magical expertise I hear about. Most pipe makers wouldn't even think to add such a feature.

 

[mso489]

So the dot that makes it so expensive is also clogging the airway. That's sad.

 

[spicy_boiii]

One of the many reasons I buy straight pipes, is that I can modify the Airway and work on the stem to suit my preferences fairly easily. I use Swiss needle files for the job.

But disaster stemwork for sure isn't just a bent stem problem. I've been pretty blown away at what I've found seen as I've finished and modified my pipes. Some pipes I thought were well made... weren't lol.

I'm sorry you had that experience with your Dunhill. Goes to show you how uncomplicated pipes are. Turns out not much has to go right for them to be serviceable, really.

 

[georged]

Interesting! I don’t smoke anything much more than 1/8 bents. Is this common? Is this a 70’s era Dunhill?

1980

No idea how common it is, since it's impossible to tell the obstruction is there with ordinary use. It would just smoke badly for seemingly no reason.

Some sort of flexible rod that's wider than the air gap(s) left by the dot material is necessary to "see" it.

 

[georged]

this sounds like the Dunhill magical expertise I hear about. Most pipe makers wouldn't even think to add such a feature.

I've seen much worse on pipes that cost far more. lol

 

[georged]

One of the many reasons I buy straight pipes, is that I can modify the Airway and work on the stem to suit my preferences fairly easily.

Indeed. This particular problem would be easily seen and easy to fix with a straight stem.

 

[greeneyes]

I imagine a similar problem happens with molars and dental floss.

 

[DAR]

This must be the reason my bent pipes get used less and why cobs smoke so well. Along with my Kirsten and Falcons. There is no place for gunk to hide and maintenance is easy.

 

[snagstangl]

I would imaging a similar problem could happen on Dr. Plumb pipes. I have seen a number where the red dot on the stem, which i bet is acrylic has just popped out and is gone, leaving a nice extra air hole in the stem.

 

[mso489]

I'm not drawn to system pipes or others that have extra chambers or airway. About 2/3 of my more fully bent pipes won't take a pipe cleaner, but it is easy to take off the stem and completely clean the airway from both ends. I sure give extra points to bent pipes that will take a pipe cleaner, and some of these are just good middle-grade factory pipes from standard brands.

 

[burleybreath]

That's pathetic. Fortunate that it wasn't an expensive, overrated marque whose time has passed.

 

[georged]

Looks like I need to repeat what I said earlier: I've seen MUCH worse screw-ups than this on pipes that cost thousands and were made by legendary carvers.

The POINT of the thread, though, was to give people who have poor-smoking bent pipes which have an inlaid stem dot of some kind as a brand identifier (there are quite a few), something surprising to investigate before giving up on them.

Put another way, this is the repair and maintenance board, not one of discussion ones where the social media mob dynamic (She's a witch!) has become a primary form of entertainment.

 

[kcghost]

A message from the Wizard!!

 

[captpat]

Thanks George, I would have never thought to look there for an obstruction or constricted airway.

 

[jguss]

…it was blocked about 75%, which means it was also blocked about 75% in airflow terms.

It’s my understanding the standard of care for any blockage over 70% is a briar stent.