Two Things...HELP

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OldCorps
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Two Things...HELP

Post by OldCorps »

Okay, I'm a woodworker of more years than I wish to realize, and I'm tooling up to try my hand at making pipes. I've got woodworking skills out the wazoo, but realize that each and every endeavor requires accumulation of different knowledge unique to the pursuit, therefore I have been practically living on this forum, voraciously reading everything I can. I, have, however, realized that should I continue to merely read the encyclopedic volumes here, I will never get around to actually making a pipe.

I hate to waste you folks time asking questions which I know have probably been addressed over and over somewhere in the past, so I resort to the search function attempting to zero in on detail concerning whatever subject is of concern. Here lies my problem.

I suppose it might be my "senior" approach to things "computer", but whatever it is, I cannot for the life of me, get the search function to work with me. I cannot figure out how to narrow my searches so that I can find the exact information I desire. For instance: I have an order of drill bits coming today from MacMaster & Carr, and I will be wanting to reshape spade-bits for chamber boring. I have been considering the subject of chambers which taper to a more or less conical shape and meet the airway dead-center at the bottom of the cone, as opposed to the more typical rounded chamber with the airway entering near center at the bottom of the chamber radius.

I have attempted searching for "chamber shape", "chamber configuration", etc., etc., etc., using plusses, minuses, bars, search areas... even uttering expletives and incantations, and I continue to get unsatisfactory results. Complete frustration has forced me to bite the bullet and just ask.

Can somebody please tell the ol' man what he is doing wrong? And, if this isn't too far unrelated to the section: Point me toward any past threads relating to chamber shape, or give me your opinions concerning pros and cons of the two shapes I have mentioned. For any assistance you might offer, I will be truly grateful. :?

Gene
Life is too short to be drinking cheap whiskey, smoking bad tobacco, and failing to constantly strive for perfection.
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sandahlpipe
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Re: Two Things...HELP

Post by sandahlpipe »

I don't remember seeing anything about chamber geometry here on the forum, but maybe there's a question buried on the forum somewhere.

I do a combination of conical and rounded chambers, depending typically on the size and shape of the bowl. I have heard that rounded chambers tend to be better for ribbon-style tobaccos while conical are for flakes. Personally, I'd like to hear someone's educated opinion on the matter.
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Nate
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Re: Two Things...HELP

Post by Nate »

search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keyw ... +spade+bit

Basically the principal is, conical for 'V' shaped bowls (e.g. dublins) and rounded bits for round bottom pipes (e.g. apples)
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Sasquatch
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Re: Two Things...HELP

Post by Sasquatch »

Chamber shape really only varies from sort of bull-nosed to sort of conical. The variance isn't all that high in any pipes I've seen. No one makes flat bottoms, no one makes a huge wide V.

Connect the airway such that the bottom of the airway touches the bottom of the chamber, and it will work.
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OldCorps
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Re: Two Things...HELP

Post by OldCorps »

After rereading my original post, I believe I have been somewhat vague in describing what I was actually asking. What I was wondering was: Has anyone ever done a study on the smoking/burning dynamics of one chamber shape versus another? I've read so many opinions concerning how bowl diameter; depth; smoking technique; tobacco cut/type; etc., etc., etc. effect the smokability of a pipe, and it got me to wondering about chamber shape. So much study has gone into such things as slot configuration; bit and button size; airway diameter, taper, finish; etc., as regarding the desirability of a pipe, and smoking pleasure, but I've not seen chamber geometry discussed. Would a tapered chamber be easier to light and keep lit—or vice-versa; would one geometry tend to remain cooler than the other; would one geometry favor particular cuts, moisture levels, etc. of tobaccos more so than another. Just wondering.

Is there any way to have this thread moved to the Stummel category where it belongs? I goofed. Sorry. :oops:

Gene
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PremalChheda
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Re: Two Things...HELP

Post by PremalChheda »

OldCorps wrote:After rereading my original post, I believe I have been somewhat vague in describing what I was actually asking. What I was wondering was: Has anyone ever done a study on the smoking/burning dynamics of one chamber shape versus another? I've read so many opinions concerning how bowl diameter; depth; smoking technique; tobacco cut/type; etc., etc., etc. effect the smokability of a pipe, and it got me to wondering about chamber shape. So much study has gone into such things as slot configuration; bit and button size; airway diameter, taper, finish; etc., as regarding the desirability of a pipe, and smoking pleasure, but I've not seen chamber geometry discussed. Would a tapered chamber be easier to light and keep lit—or vice-versa; would one geometry tend to remain cooler than the other; would one geometry favor particular cuts, moisture levels, etc. of tobaccos more so than another. Just wondering.

Is there any way to have this thread moved to the Stummel category where it belongs? I goofed. Sorry. :oops:

Gene

I think we have discussed it a time or two on the forum, but it may have got deleted in the big fiasco last year when some data was lost.

TIAFO

We all have our opinions about it, and many of us have had different results. My opinion is to have straight walls and tapered tip with a little round at the bottom. Kind of like a Belicoso cigar tip. This has brought the best results for me. Also, I keep them between 11/16 to 7/8 diameter. There are reasons for these specifications. I will discuss one of them:

I have noticed diameters that are larger than 7/8" generate a little too much heat and are prone to scorching the chamber. Also it can be difficult to keep an even burn if that is how one likes to smoke a pipe.
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Nate
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Re: Two Things...HELP

Post by Nate »

Sorry Gene, I guess I misunderstood you. There has been a great article written by Greg Pease on PipesMagazine.com. Look for his column and that has some info regarding the 'importance' (or lack thereof) of chamber size for particular cuts or types of tobacco. The general thought (at least as explained to me by pipers far wiser) is the narrower, shorter chambers (11/16" & 3/4") are good for flake tobacco. The midsize chamber (3/4", but usually deeper) are good for virginia style ribbon tobaccos. Larger chambers (7/8") are better for latakia, oriental and aromatic tobaccos. This is a big generalization and Greg basically refutes this idea in his article. He states (in my own words, a summary) to try all different tobaccos in different sized bowls and see how they perform. Basically TIAFO.
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