I've been posting regularly to a thread at BrothersofBriar.com detailing the making of my first pipe as it progresses. I was hesitant at first to repost here, but Tyler left me some great advice in that thread and I realized that I should post here without fear.
Kyle and I have been going back and forth so much that I didn't even check to see who'd responded.
Thanks for the guidance! As far as drill bits go, I went in hoping to find some gimlets larger than 5 mm so I wouldn't have to concern myself with sanding the tenon so thin, but I suppose I could always sand the mortise wider. Maybe eventually I'll worry about getting a lathe and some nicer tools, but for now I'm just taking a stab at it.
I really appreciate your input here. It's great to know that even the pros "luck into" it.
5 mm is going to be too small for a mortise. 4 mm is usually about how big the air hole is, so that doesn't leave enough room left for a mortise. Most mortises are in the 5/16" range. (sorry, I dont really know metric on these dimensions)
I don't like to "luck into" things, so I don't use calipers to measure ID if I can help it. Honestly, I've never found a need to really. Just stick the stem in. If it fits well, who cares what the numbers are?
Last edited by d.huber on Thu Dec 29, 2011 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
tyler wrote:
Opened up? Do you mean making the holes bigger? If so, you shouldn't need to heat them first. What are they made of, acrylic of vulcanite?
Yup! Expanded the holes to 3 mm, tapering to 2 mm at the bit. Rather they will taper once I have those diamond files in hand.
These stems are vulcanite. I didn't think I'd need to warm them either, until I started to open one up and a major crack appeared on both sides of the stem. After I warmed them up with a candle flame(how romantic), they expanded with no problem.
Stem pictures:
I'll more than likely be using the tapered stem.
How are you opening them? By removing material or expanding the hole by force? If by force, you'll need heat, but remember that vulcanite had memory. If heated again, the hole will go back to its original size. Removing material is the normal method, either with drills or files, and no heat is required for those.
EDIT: As I look more closely at the stems, I see the "pooch" of the hole behind the button. It seems you are making that hole larger in diameter. You shouldn't need to do that. I drill 1/16" there, and don't want it any bigger. Airflow is improved there by removing material from the "sides" of the hole. In other words, make a slit. That way you have the effective air flow of a big diameter without need to make a thick stem. I'd recommend heating that area back up and closing that hole back down so it's flat behind the button. Then wait for the files and open that area up on the sides with the files. That said, many preformed stems are actually fairly nice and open. You might not need to do anything to them but fit them in the stummel and start smoking!
Last edited by d.huber on Thu Dec 29, 2011 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kyle Weiss wrote:I'm glad someone else is joining in on this... I think 5mm is too small, as well. If there's a lot of tightening and swelling while in use, and you manage to twist it right, the thing may snap at the tenon shoulder and leave you with a frustrating situation.
The nice thing about having precision in measuring the mortise and tenon is if you have to work within specific parameters...such as if your pipe has a particularly thin shank and you don't want the walls to be too thin, there's probably some wisdom in not exceeding a certain size mortise/tenon joint. Plus, calipers are handy if you have a pipe you really like the draw on, stem fit, bowl size, etc., you can do better than "luck" to try and re-create it this way.
Otherwise, if luck is workin' for ya, then luck it is.
Kyle Weiss wrote:I'm glad someone else is joining in on this... I think 5mm is too small, as well. If there's a lot of tightening and swelling while in use, and you manage to twist it right, the thing may snap at the tenon shoulder and leave you with a frustrating situation.
The nice thing about having precision in measuring the mortise and tenon is if you have to work within specific parameters...such as if your pipe has a particularly thin shank and you don't want the walls to be too thin, there's probably some wisdom in not exceeding a certain size mortise/tenon joint. Plus, calipers are handy if you have a pipe you really like the draw on, stem fit, bowl size, etc., you can do better than "luck" to try and re-create it this way.
Otherwise, if luck is workin' for ya, then luck it is.
Let me disclaim my thoughts with the fact that I am not a plan-your-work, work-your-plan sort of guy. I'm more of a work-and-adjust sort of of guy.
On the calipers, my point seems to be missed: if you are using a caliper to measure the mortise ID, your doing it the "luck" way. Calipers are not good for measuring ID.
As for too thin walls, I think eye balls measure that as well as calipers. And too, when it comes to draw and stem fit, etc., the challenge is you can't measure all the places that need to be measured to determin the "magic" dimensions. The work inside the stem is critical, but you can measure it with calipers. Heck, you can't even see it that well, if at all. You have to develop a feel for it, and regularly stick the thing in your mouth and test it...yep! that's the draw I want on it. Let's talk about comfort in the mouth, what dimensions should the bit be? Well, how long is the pipe and how heavy is the bowl? What material is the stem? This can affect how wide I want the bit and perhaps how thin.
IOW, there's a lot of art to the process, not just science.
I'm not discounting measurement entirely, I'm just suggesting that it isn't always a critical part of the process. I think maybe it might be personality driven though? I know Brad Pohlman measures EVERYTHING to a bajillionth of an inch. I make a lot of pipes without measuring a thing. Different strokes, I guess.
tyler wrote:How are you opening them? By removing material or expanding the hole by force? If by force, you'll need heat, but remember that vulcanite had memory. If heated again, the hole will go back to its original size. Removing material is the normal method, either with drills or files, and no heat is required for those.
Initially, I was trying to expand the hole by removing material with a gimlet, but the first stem I tried that on cracked. I'm not sure if I was doing something wrong, but aside from slowing down I'm not sure what to change. Would a power tool cause the same issue?
tyler wrote:
EDIT: As I look more closely at the stems, I see the "pooch" of the hole behind the button. It seems you are making that hole larger in diameter. You shouldn't need to do that. I drill 1/16" there, and don't want it any bigger. Airflow is improved there by removing material from the "sides" of the hole. In other words, make a slit. That way you have the effective air flow of a big diameter without need to make a thick stem. I'd recommend heating that area back up and closing that hole back down so it's flat behind the button. Then wait for the files and open that area up on the sides with the files. That said, many preformed stems are actually fairly nice and open. You might not need to do anything to them but fit them in the stummel and start smoking!
See, look at me making more work for myself.
I'll be taking your suggestion here. Thanks for helping me make this easier!
UberHuberMan wrote:I completely agree with both of you guys. 5 mm is way too thin a mortise. I'm just going to sand it open past 5 mm unless I can find a 6 or 7 mm gimlet in the mean time.
I personally like the idea of not measuring everything to the nth degree. It makes sense that there may be some things that need to be measured very accurately, but creating something that is beautiful to the eye and highly functional without extreme measurements is a different skill set which I value a lot and hope I have. Science can be beautiful but art is innate.
tyler wrote:Glad to help. I was where you are about the years back (dang! Where'd to time go?). I know how overwhelming (but fun) it is to figure all of this out. I enjoy helping out where I can, and where I can in the pipe world is usually with pipe making. This is fun to me.
My fear is I'll become annoying. I usualy jump in if i think the easiest way to do something hasnt yet been offered. If the best advice i could offer is already posted, i dont see a need to say anything. So when i do jump in it is usually with a slightly different view than has been proposed. The result of this is that most of the comments i make then are in slight disagreement with earlier posts. I fear it makes me come across as antagonistic. I hope thats not true, but i sometimes fear it to be. I've done a little gentle disagreeing in this thread because I think it's easy to get too complicated with your pipe making. Like I said earlier though, easy to me might be hard to you and vice versa. It could be I'm crazy.
UberHuberMan wrote:Initially, I was trying to expand the hole by removing material with a gimlet, but the first stem I tried that on cracked. I'm not sure if I was doing something wrong, but aside from slowing down I'm not sure what to change. Would a power tool cause the same issue?
Well, it could be that you just took away too much material. There's not enough material left in most stems at the button to be making the through-hole bigger.
Initially, I was trying to expand the hole by removing material with a gimlet, but the first stem I tried that on cracked. I'm not sure if I was doing something wrong, but aside from slowing down I'm not sure what to change. Would a power tool cause the same issue?
Well, it could be that you just took away too much material. There's not enough material left in most stems at the button to be making the through-hole bigger.
tyler wrote:Glad to help. I was where you are about the years back (dang! Where'd to time go?). I know how overwhelming (but fun) it is to figure all of this out. I enjoy helping out where I can, and where I can in the pipe world is usually with pipe making. This is fun to me.
My fear is I'll become annoying. I usualy jump in if i think the easiest way to do something hasnt yet been offered. If the best advice i could offer is already posted, i dont see a need to say anything. So when i do jump in it is usually with a slightly different view than has been proposed. The result of this is that most of the comments i make then are in slight disagreement with earlier posts. I fear it makes me come across as antagonistic. I hope thats not true, but i sometimes fear it to be. I've done a little gentle disagreeing in this thread because I think it's easy to get too complicated with your pipe making. Like I said earlier though, easy to me might be hard to you and vice versa. It could be I'm crazy.
Not annoying at all! If anything you're being extremely helpful.
kurthuhn wrote:One thing to keep in mind is that premold stems have all kinds of horribleness in the airways. There's molding flash, as well as a garbage slot. Add to that the propensity to crack when you're trying to redrill the airway....
Anyway, what I typically do is open up the airway with either a 9/64" or 5/32" drill bit chucked in my lathe (but drill press will do, or hand held drill even) depending on how much the stem can take (the first one is typically sacrificed determining this), then use a dremel with a 1mm drill bit chucked in it to clean up and widen the slot. It's basically the same cleanup operation that you have to do when hand cutting a stem from rod stock.
kurthuhn wrote:One thing to keep in mind is that premold stems have all kinds of horribleness in the airways. There's molding flash, as well as a garbage slot. Add to that the propensity to crack when you're trying to redrill the airway....
Anyway, what I typically do is open up the airway with either a 9/64" or 5/32" drill bit chucked in my lathe (but drill press will do, or hand held drill even) depending on how much the stem can take (the first one is typically sacrificed determining this), then use a dremel with a 1mm drill bit chucked in it to clean up and widen the slot. It's basically the same cleanup operation that you have to do when hand cutting a stem from rod stock.
Open it all the way through to 5/32"? Not even a taper?
kurthuhn wrote:One thing to keep in mind is that premold stems have all kinds of horribleness in the airways. There's molding flash, as well as a garbage slot. Add to that the propensity to crack when you're trying to redrill the airway....
Anyway, what I typically do is open up the airway with either a 9/64" or 5/32" drill bit chucked in my lathe (but drill press will do, or hand held drill even) depending on how much the stem can take (the first one is typically sacrificed determining this), then use a dremel with a 1mm drill bit chucked in it to clean up and widen the slot. It's basically the same cleanup operation that you have to do when hand cutting a stem from rod stock.
Thanks for chiming in, Kurt! This is great info.
Sounds like I need to get a 1 mm bit to chuck into my dremel. I have a feeling that I'll be using my dremel a lot.
Questions:
1.
tyler wrote:Open it all the way through to 5/32"? Not even a taper?
2. What is molding flash and garbage slot? I assume garbage slot is simply a crappy slot, but hey, you never know.
UberHuberMan wrote:
2. What is molding flash and garbage slot? I assume garbage slot is simply a crappy slot, but hey, you never know.
See how there is a rough ridge on the outside of the stem that is where the rubber oozed into the seam in the mold? Thats molding flash. (You'll want to sand that off eventually.) Kurt is saying you have to watch out for that on the inside of the stem too. You want as clean a flow-path as possible for the smoke, so filing that out would be preferable.
Kyle Weiss wrote:Opening up an airway, tools I've used successfully, both against foreign matter blockage, excessive buildup and that excess flash in crappy molded stems:
* Trusty micro/precision files.
* Wound bass guitar string(s). Flexible, just enough "roughness" to clean out most irritations. "A" and "G" being the easiest to use. A little back-and-forth flossing action sometimes is all you need. Works great on bent stems in a pinch.
UberHuberMan wrote:
2. What is molding flash and garbage slot? I assume garbage slot is simply a crappy slot, but hey, you never know.
See how there is a rough ridge on the outside of the stem that is where the rubber oozed into the seam in the mold? Thats molding flash. (You'll want to sand that off eventually.) Kurt is saying you have to watch out for that on the inside of the stem too. You want as clean a flow-path as possible for the smoke, so filing that out would be preferable.
Roger all that.
Also, the slot tends to be a sudden change from the airway to a square or semi-circle slot shape (when viewed from the top). You need to smooth that transition with the 1mm drill bit, using it to sort of "smear" the sides of the slot. You could probably do this with micro files, but it take about 20 seconds with the dremel.
Also, the slot tends to be a sudden change from the airway to a square or semi-circle slot shape (when viewed from the top). You need to smooth that transition with the 1mm drill bit, using it to sort of "smear" the sides of the slot. You could probably do this with micro files, but it take about 20 seconds with the dremel.
Lots of great advice coming my way. I'm thrilled!
Kurt, as far as "smearing" the sides of the slot goes, do you have photos or video anywhere of this quick process? I've been through your stem making photo essay but don't remember seeing this illustrated.
UberHuberMan wrote:Kurt, as far as "smearing" the sides of the slot goes, do you have photos or video anywhere of this quick process? I've been through your stem making photo essay but don't remember seeing this illustrated.
I don't have anything made up currently, but if you give me a couple days I can get something put together. This is best done with a video, because pictures can't really convey the process. It's simple to show, but complex to explain.
