Extra long tapered drill bits

[The Smoking Yeti]

Hey, so I'm going to start making my own stems 100% of the time here soon, and I really need a good extra long 5/32" tapered drill bit for the f'in hole. Any help finding one? Or do I need to grind down my own? If the latter, how would a young man of my calibre go about doing that?

[taharris]

http://www.mcmaster.com

They will have what you are looking for.

Todd

[baweaverpipes]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/2464/=hvwwwx
I also use this one to start the drilling. It assures me that I don't have any wandering of the bit:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/2464/=hvwxvo
I don't care if this helps and PLEASE, don't tell eRemarkable about this.

[KurtHuhn]

W.L. Fuller also sells direct on amazon, where you can occasionally find the Extra Long version which is 8" overall. They've got a handful for sale now - hopefully this link works:
http://www.amazon.com/Speed-Steel-Taper ... =8-1-fkmr1

If not, the Fuller stock number is 20300156 for 5/32" and 20300140 for 9/64".

[Sasquatch]

5/32" ?

You guys make me laugh.

[Ironpenny]

W.L. Fuller also sells direct on amazon, where you can occasionally find the Extra Long version which is 8" overall. They've got a handful for sale now - hopefully this link works:
http://www.amazon.com/Speed-Steel-Taper ... =8-1-fkmr1

If not, the Fuller stock number is 20300156 for 5/32" and 20300140 for 9/64".

Fullers are also available at Jamestown. I've got 50 spam newletters to prove it.



Chris

[baweaverpipes]

5/32" ?

You guys make me laugh.

What do you use, Sassafras? 5/16"?

[Sasquatch]

I carve em out with a sharpened drinking straw (bendy kind).


Actually I use 5/32 on lots of pipes but my usual setup is 11/64 airway at the chamber. The practical difference is not much. If the angle on the airway is steep, 5/32 presents a LOT smaller so that's nicer sometimes.

[Tyler]

The practical difference is not much... 5/32 presents a LOT smaller.

Philosophers confuse me.

[wdteipen]

I like the one's jamestowndistributor.com sells.

I didn't realize every Sasquatch pipe was a reverse calabash. Bet that 11/64" cavity really cools the smoke.

[Sasquatch]

Exactly. Why go to all the trouble of cutting a 2nd chamber when you can just incorporate all the goodness in the airway itself?

I've confused Tyler, not that it's hard to do, but I will elaborate on my stance, because I know that you all hang on every word I say about how to construct pipes.

The actual difference between how a pipe with a 5/32" airway feels to smoke and how a pipe with an 11/64" airway feels to smoke will be how the stem is cut - a restricted stem is a major equalizer. The area of a circle with either diameter is .019 inches square and .023" sq. It's not a huge change, and yet 11/64 provides an area of very nearly double that of an airway done at 1/8" (.012"). Completely open, a pipe at 11/64 will move a lot more smoke for any given suction on the other end. It could literally change how a guy puffs.

My only problem with the bigger airway is that if you are cutting an Oom Paul type of setup, with a steep intersection of the airway and the bowl, the 11/64" airway can look like a big gory wound in the bottom corner of the bowl. 5/32" presents a much neater hole on an angle. I realize that Tyler doesn't give a crap what his pipes look like inside or out, and so this type of finesse is of no concern to him, and I apologize for thinking so hard.

I tooled up the way I did because it's what PIMO, Lee Valley, Canadian Tire, and where-ever else I got my crap at the start had that all matched up. I subsequently read "Your Pipe Should have an Open Draw" in Pipe Dreams, and while I don't think I agree with everything Newcombe says, I think he hits upon two critical ideas. The first is that larger airways simply allow more smoke to be drawn more slowly (Wayne's calabash crack actually may be close to the mark), the second is that if you start big, you can taper, and taper and taper, and the result of this, even if Rick doesn't come right out and say it, is that the smoke is moving faster and faster through the stem as it gets closer to the button. It is therefore exerting less pressure on the walls of the stem, and therefore is less likely to condense on it's way out.

I am absolutely certain that there's arguments against everything I've said, and I'm absolutely certain that people who don't build pipes with these thoughts/goals in mind can still build super smokers. I don't by any means assert that this is the "right way". But it's apparently a good way, because I've never had anyone say "Gosh I just can't get this pipe to smoke right." and the comments I get back on most pipes are almost embarrassingly positive. I used to think that this was just a thing where someone was upgrading from a Dr Grabow to their first hand made pipe, but now that I'm selling to people who have a lot of good pipes and still getting praise and more tellingly, preferential purchasing, now I'm thinking that this is a pretty damn good way to build pipes.

[RadDavis]

Sasquatch,

You are full of shit.

Hope this helps.

Rad

[baweaverpipes]

Sasquatch,

You are full of shit.

Hope this helps.

Rad

I second that motion, all in favor say AYE!

[Sasquatch]

AYE!

Let's get 'im boys!

[Hudson]

Thanks for doing the math for us, Sas; it's easy to forget that pie are square. I think I'll sidestep for now the impending controversy on the difference between square inches and inches square but I am wondering, since you are renown for your big bowls, do you perceive any relationship between airway size and chamber size/shape as it pertains to smokability?

Aside from my burning intellectual curiosity, I ask this because I recently ordered a kit online (I know, I know, real pipecrafters have drill presses and lathes) and it arrived with a 11/16" dia chamber. Not only does it just look silly but I suspect it would burn uncomfortably hot. Might you opine?

[Sasquatch]

11/16" is pretty small for sure. But there's lots of people around who like that size of bowl for a quick pinch of brown rope or that kind of thing. My smallest bit probably cuts an 11/16" hole - it's ground from a 3/4" bit so it's smaller. Flake pipe I guess.

I don't mind deep skinny bowls but the tobacco will taste very different at the bottom than at the top... some guys like that build up, I don't especially.

[Growley]

This topic befuddles me. On some minuscule level I know this all makes a difference. I always drill 5/32 because that's what I've been told to drill. And I always open my stems wide, so technically I'm probably getting about 5/32 worth of air flow all the way through.

I had a customer the other day tell me the 5/32 was too big for one of my pipes, but perfect for my Lumberman because it had a longer shank and a bigger bowl. What????

Part of me thinks these guys are just smoking their lunch, and part of me realizes that compared to maybe my 2 bowls a week over the last few years, they have probably smoked about 5 bowls a day for the last 40 years and might have some insight.

I actually asked an acquaintance of mine, who is one of Exxon Mobile's top engineers, if he could help me out with the fluid and air flow questions I have...but it turns out he's a mechanical engineer. I guess I need more smart friends!

Brian.

[wdteipen]

This topic befuddles me. On some minuscule level I know this all makes a difference. I always drill 5/32 because that's what I've been told to drill. And I always open my stems wide, so technically I'm probably getting about 5/32 worth of air flow all the way through.

I had a customer the other day tell me the 5/32 was too big for one of my pipes, but perfect for my Lumberman because it had a longer shank and a bigger bowl. What????

Part of me thinks these guys are just smoking their lunch, and part of me realizes that compared to maybe my 2 bowls a week over the last few years, they have probably smoked about 5 bowls a day for the last 40 years and might have some insight.

I actually asked an acquaintance of mine, who is one of Exxon Mobile's top engineers, if he could help me out with the fluid and air flow questions I have...but it turns out he's a mechanical engineer. I guess I need more smart friends!

Brian.

I have to agree with you Brian. He's smoking his lunch. The honest truth of the matter, IMHO, is that the larger airways are preferred by so many because they are easier to smoke correctly. Dare I say, most of today's pipesmokers are less interested in taking the time to learn how to correctly smoke their pipes (myself included.) I have a pipe with an 11/64" and it smokes fine. The only problem I have with it is that I tend to get a mouthful of tobacco on light up. Most fellas feel that 5/32" (or 4mm) is a good compromise and drill their pipes to that diameter. Occasionally I use 9/64" when I need the extra briar when the design calls for it. More important is the airway in the stem. A 9/64" airway will draw plenty open if the slot is cut correctly.

[Sasquatch]

A pack of lies. Have you no shame, Teipen??

[Kenny]

This is a topic of great interest for me. I studied airflow quite a bit when I worked at the engine shop, as I did a lot of work on the flow-bench with cylinder heads (we built race engines, mostly for circle-track, and some drag stuff too).
That said, I'm still very green in the topic, and there is still a lot I'd love to learn.

I know that in an engine, you want to keep the velocity of the air pretty high, or you get fuel puddling in the ports. I can only imagine this has to hold true, at least to some degree, in pipes. Slower moving air will allow more time for the moisture in the tobacco smoke to "fall" and condensate in the airways of the pipe.
My Kirsten is designed this way, with a large open airway made from aluminum to both cool and slow the smoke to the point where the moisture condenses onto the walls of the pipe's airway, thus creating a cooler, drier smoke.

But, if this happens too much in a briar pipe, you get a gurgling mess (at least in my experience with my crappy low-end pipes). Unless, like the chamber in a Peterson, you have a place for all this liquid to collect and be out of the main airstream.

I think there has to be a fine line somewhere in the middle, where the draft hole is sized large enough to provide free-flowing air, but not so large as to slow the velocity so much that it creates a ton of condensation.

Myself, I use a "step drilling" process in my stummels, where I drill into the chamber with a 9/64" bit, and then I come in with a larger tapered bit behind that. The tapered bit starts at 1/8" at the tip, and then tapers to 7/32" over about 1-1/2". I leave about 3/16" to 1/4" of the 9/64" airway intact, stepping it up from there on out.
I know my bit has a much faster taper than what most here are using, but it seems to work well. And until I come up with something truly better, I'll likely stick with it.

Then, I use the taper drill in my stems to raise the velocity. I normally only plunge it to about 3/16" in diameter, unless the hole in the stummel is larger, where I will try to match that.
I use a 1/16" bit to finish the hole out to the button, and then I will slot the stem all the way to where the hole reaches 1/8", sometimes even a bit deeper (not much though).

Like I said, I have no clue if this is right, wrong or otherwise. I had nothing to go by when I made my first pipe, and I pretty much just winged it, going with what I thought would work. And so far, it's turned out OK. My pipes draw and smoke well, and don't gurgle.
I've given one to an old-timer friend of mine, and he loves it, and it was the first, and only, briar pipe I've made thus far. He told me it's the best smoking pipe he has, and he has some nice pipes. I think he's exaggerating a bit to be kind, but he does smoke it quite often, so it can't be too bad.

I'm very much looking forward to what other people have to say on the subject, as I'd love to learn a "right way", or at least improve what I'm doing now!