Canted bowls...

[Blackbeltpipes]

I read recently about someone who was working to fit a bowl to a thin heel and I think it was docaitch who said the problem would be that you could end up charring the stem side wall... I had a pipe I made recently start to burn through on that side, had a canted bowl, and is being used by a hot smoker... it could be briar flaw but there was no evidence of that and now I’m thinking this could be the culprit... any ideas?


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[LatakiaLover]

Look at the angle pipes "hang" when clenched. No one bites and holds them so the shank is level, not even close. The angle is usually around 30-40 degrees. Then add chamber angle to it, and a canted bowl's chamber wall above the airhole spends a lot of its time approaching horizontal.

Now, go into your kitchen, turn on a stovetop burner and hold your hand directly over it.

See the problem?

Canted bowls do indeed burn out at a higher rate than vertical ones for that reason. Heat rises.

Anyone who likes them needs to be aware of that and handle their pipe(s) accordingly.

[DocAitch]

Please delete

[DocAitch]

I am not sure that I see exactly what concerns you. I do see irregularities in the chamber surface that appear to be tear out from your bowl cutter, and there is an area on the left side of the chamber which may be incipient burn out. Each of those edges from the tear out is a potential point of ignition. I would recommend sanding the chamber surface until the tear out is smoothed away (and sharpening your bowl bit). There are several methods for sanding the chamber, ranging from a finger wrapped in sand paper to some really spiffy mandrels that you can use on a lathe (carried at RawKrafted).
I recommend to people first smoking a non coated bowl that they wipe the chamber with a paper towel or tissue after each of the first 10 smokes or so, and if they see crazing or discoloration indicative of a burn out that they put a dab of honey or thick syrup on that area (no need to cover the whole bowl. The carbonization from the burned sugar will speed the cake build up on the questionable area. This usually takes 3 smokes or so.
I also recommend that when someone lights a canted chamber that they hold the bowl as vertically as possible while lighting.
DocAitch

[Blackbeltpipes]

I am not sure that I see exactly what concerns you. I do see irregularities in the chamber surface that appear to be tear out from your bowl cutter, and there is an area on the left side of the chamber which may be incipient burn out. Each of those edges from the tear out is a potential point of ignition. I would recommend sanding the chamber surface until the tear out is smoothed away (and sharpening your bowl bit). There are several methods for sanding the chamber, ranging from a finger wrapped in sand paper to some really spiffy mandrels that you can use on a lathe (carried at RawKrafted).
I recommend to people first smoking a non coated bowl that they wipe the chamber with a paper towel or tissue after each of the first 10 smokes or so, and if they see crazing or discoloration indicative of a burn out that they put a dab of honey or thick syrup on that area (no need to cover the whole bowl. The carbonization from the burned sugar will speed the cake build up on the questionable area. This usually takes 3 smokes or so.
I also recommend that when someone lights a canted chamber that they hold the bowl as vertically as possible while lighting.
DocAitch

Yeah I see those too... I need to sharpen my bowl bit. I put a bowl coating on it before I gave it to him and he was meticulous with the break in but he’s a hot smoker and clincher so after many hours on his tractor he had the thing red hot. I figured it was a combo of heat and possible briar flaw but then saw a post on canted bowls and wondered if that was the culprit. He’s still smoking it but it’s just disappointing carving such a fine block and having it burn. Luckily I left a lot of meat on that side of the bowl so he’ll be able to use it for a long while but it just isn’t the same... lesson learned.


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[Blackbeltpipes]

Look at the angle pipes "hang" when clenched. No one bites and holds them so the shank is level, not even close. The angle is usually around 30-40 degrees. Then add chamber angle to it, and a canted bowl's chamber wall above the airhole spends a lot of its time approaching horizontal.

Now, go into your kitchen, turn on a stovetop burner and hold your hand directly over it.

See the problem?

Canted bowls do indeed burn out at a higher rate than vertical ones for that reason. Heat rises.

Anyone who likes them needs to be aware of that and handle their pipe(s) accordingly.

Thanks I’ll keep this in mind in the future.... I had no idea he smoked his pipe so hot and literally alllllllldayyyyyyyyy...! He was meticulous with the break in but the fault probably lies with me.


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