offness of drilling

For discussion of the drilling and shaping of the stummel.
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andrew
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Location: North Idaho

offness of drilling

Post by andrew »

So, I've found myself questioning something. How far is too far when considering misalignment of the draft hole and chamber. I know the goal is dead on, but I've run into issues when drilling long draft holes (about 6" of wood). The last one was so long that I had to transfer it to the drill press for chamber drilling instead of using my lathe. It's about 1/8" off, which sucks. My gut is telling me "well, meet the newsr addition to your shop pipe collection", but I've been a little harsher on my own work than is probably necessary for where I'm at skillwise... So what are the thoughts of others? I know it depends on what I'm wanting to do with pipe making long term, but I just would like to hear thoughts from others on this. Thanks.
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Sasquatch
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Re: offness of drilling

Post by Sasquatch »

This might be overthinking it, but there's 2 ways to judge your airway. 1st is the "normal" way, which is relative to the chamber. 2nd is relative to the shape of the pipe. If you've got the pipe basically done and there's no wiggle room on the shape, you might be screwed. If you drill and then have some shaping touchups, you could cheat the chamber over a little by hand and just physically shift the thing. But like I say, that would only work if you had lots of room to cheat on your shaping.

Some guys won't care much about that 1/8" (especially for a deal), but if you sell the pipe as a 1st, I think your customer would be disappointed.
ALL YOUR PIPE ARE BELONG TO US!
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andrew
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Re: offness of drilling

Post by andrew »

Well, I just moved the chamber over 1/16". It looks good now. Once It's coated it will imperceptible.
caskwith
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Re: offness of drilling

Post by caskwith »

A small ammount side to side is acceptable, maybe a couple of mm at worst especially on a long pipe. My recent reject long shank was off by about 3-4mm so I considered that a reject and sold it at a heavily discounted price with no stampings etc, its sister pipe of the same length is off by about 1mm and that is within range in my book.
timothy thorpe
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Re: offness of drilling

Post by timothy thorpe »

of coarse we all want that dead on drill...there is nothing like seeing it when drilling the chamber and there it is!! i agree with chris. a little off is ok. lets face it... i have owned my share of pricey pipes and have seen some off alittle. i feel just as long as its at the bottom the draw will be fine!!
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1FatBastard
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Re: offness of drilling

Post by 1FatBastard »

Putting the aesthetics of a centered hole aside for a minute... I think an off center air hole smokes better, by crating a twister/vortex effect. I have tested this with my reject pipes, and the tobacco seems to stay lit longer and burn more evenly. And as a bonus, the hole is less prone to tobacco clogging. But convincing the customer is another story. :?
wdteipen
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Re: offness of drilling

Post by wdteipen »

For me, one to two mm off is within acceptable limits for sale. Anything more than that it's not saleable for me. With my current setup, I'm never off more than a mm if I'm off at all.
Wayne Teipen
Teipen Handmade Briar Pipes
http://www.teipenpipes.com
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