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Drilling Oversized Chambers

Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 11:26 pm
by sandahlpipe
When you make a magnum pipe, do you scale the chamber diameter the same way you scale everything else? Or do you draw the line somewhere. I've never made anything over 1" chamber diameter before because I thought it would be harder to smoke. But at the same time, I'm thinking if the bowl is 2" or more across, I'm thinking it won't look right at scale if I don't make the chamber closer to 1 1/4" to 1 3/8." Does anyone have advice as to whether a 1 3/8" chamber is a good idea?

Thanks!

Re: Drilling Oversized Chambers

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 12:19 am
by Ocelot55
I made a magnum last year that had a 1 1/4" bowl for Rich Esserman. He reported that it smoked great. I used a 1" spade bit and followed it up with a boring bar. Like you, I thought a 1" chamber just looked a little out of place.

Re: Drilling Oversized Chambers

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 1:01 am
by sandahlpipe
A boring bar is a great idea. I have already shaped a 1 3/8" bit, but not tested it. The boring bar sounds like a much better plan. Thanks for the feedback!

Re: Drilling Oversized Chambers

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 8:25 am
by caskwith
T0 some degree yes, but there are limits. If you make your chamber too wide then while it might smoke fine at the top you will have problems further down where it intersects the airway. When this happens I use a tapered chamber, drilling it straight to 1" and then using a boring bar to open the top out to an aesthetically pleasing size, tapering it down to meet the main chamber diameter. It's a bit of cheat but it gives a good look without causing trouble smoking.

Bear in mind, those who smoke magnum sized pipes with enormous chambers are not always going to be filling them right up very often, if ever at all. Most of my magnum customer only fill the bowl about half to 2/3rd otherwise it is simply too much tobacco.

Re: Drilling Oversized Chambers

Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 1:04 pm
by Sasquatch
I think the functional limit for good smoking is about 1". But whatever, anyone buying a pipe 4" deep and 1 1/4" diameter is doing something very very different than the ordinary pipe smoker, so that 1" cutoff point probably doesn't matter a hill of beans even if it were real and obvious.