CUTTING THE SLOT

[timothy thorpe]

hi guys. i have cut about 12 slots in my pipe making experience. i v-slot the airhole , then using the dremel cutting wheel i make the slot. well it always crocked or uneven!!! is there a better method or just practice.

thanks,tim

[RadDavis]

Hi Tim,

It's mainly just practice.

I cut the slot with the dremel cutting wheel first. Then I widen it a bit with a dremel diamond burr point, open it side to side with a 1/16 drill bit in the dremel, smooth everything out with another skinny diamond burr, then finish it off with small files.

Rad

[timothy thorpe]

Hi Tim,

It's mainly just practice.

I cut the slot with the dremel cutting wheel first. Then I widen it a bit with a dremel diamond burr point, open it side to side with a 1/16 drill bit in the dremel, smooth everything out with another skinny diamond burr, then finish it off with small files.

Rad

thanks rad, as i smoke your pipes i often say, dam that bit looks perfect!!! thanks for the tip!!

tim

[hazmat]

Cutting the slot first, and then opening the airway is about the best way to go, as Rad suggested.

Something else you may want to try is clamping your dremel in a vise and moving the stem stock to it instead of trying to freehand it with the dremel in-hand. I had problems keeping my hand steady and the cutting wheel would walk off on me and rip a slot clear across the face of the stock. It can still happen with the dremel in a vise but I've only had it go bad once, when I first tried it this way. YMMV.

[Frank]

If you have a drill press with a cross slide vise mounted on the drill table, you can advance the stem into the dremel wheel exactly where you want it. Presumably the drill has a quill lock.

[LatakiaLover]

Another variable that GREATLY affects accuracy and usability with regard to "Dremel type tasks" is torque. The foot controlled, mega-motor, shaft-drive sort like Foredom sells are as different from the kind where the handpiece contains the motor as night and day.

Slowing things down and still getting cutting action is close to being the entire "secret" of hand held rotary tools for pipemaking tasks, in fact.

[KurtHuhn]

I tend to do the entire thing by hand. Cut the slot with a rotary saw, and then switch to a 1mm drill bit to cut the "V". Then I sometimes will enlarge the "V" a little more with a 1/16" drill bit. All tools are held in the remote handpiece of my dremel-like tool running at full speed. It definitely takes practice. I must have spent a year or two developing the skill to do the procedure that I use. Now, I can't see doing it any other way. It's all over except the finish file work in about 45 seconds.

[pierredekat]

One thing that can make a big difference is having a good quality 1/16" drill bit.

I tried everything readily available on the market, and the one I like the best, by far, is made by Ridgid.

The biggest disappointment was the ones made by Dewalt. They looked so fancy with the "gold" or whatever plating, but those things won't cut hot butter.

The Vermont American and Blu-Mol ones were fair.

But the Ridgid bits are sharp, the flutes have a sharp edge that you can feel. And they're actually fluted longer than anybody else's.

But a good sharp 1/16 bit will cut, rather than melt, and they cut with a lot less wandering.

[Nick]

I usually cut my slot using a snipped scroll saw blade. Then I'll go back with files or a dremel and widen it out a bit. Clearly, this is no way to do it if you're going for speed and efficiency. But it is very controled and makes a great, deep slot.

[LexKY_Pipe]

Listen to the masters. It takes practice, practice, practice. Keep working at it until you find the method that works for you. Also, take little cuts each time. Even when you're widening the opening. Little by little by little.

[Tano]

Here is a picture of the cross-slide vice and the dremel bit. I find this gives me more control in cutting the slot. I hope it helps visualize the process.

[LexKY_Pipe]

Tano

Wow, I can do that. It'll make my process more precise too. Thanks. A pic is worth 1,000 words.

[Briarfox]

Here is a picture of the cross-slide vice and the dremel bit. I find this gives me more control in cutting the slot. I hope it helps visualize the process.

That is a great idea!

[Frank]

If you have a drill press with a cross slide vise mounted on the drill table, you can advance the stem into the dremel wheel exactly where you want it. Presumably the drill has a quill lock.

DUH! You couldn't picture what I was saying?

[LatakiaLover]

From the slot cutter pictured, over to the router table / jig setup shown in last weeks thread for shaping... Looks like a "Hand Cut" stem to me!

(The boards like Smokers Forums will argue for weeks about the term. It's great entertainment.)

[Tyler]

Tano has a very precise fix there, but guys, seriously, its not that hard. Just use the Dremel and cut the slot with the bit that Tano is showing in his rig. While the rod is still round it is almost impossible to screw up since there is not a fixed perspective that the slot needs to be squared to.

Tim, I think you problem is just doing it in the more difficult order. Use the "saw blade" bit to cut the slot, then use the bits for "smearing" the V open.

Tyler

[LexKY_Pipe]

Tim

Also, have you watched Tyler's videos on pipemaking in general. A wealth of knowledge there. Tyler did us a great service in taking the time to make them.

[wdteipen]

This is definitely the most difficult part of fabricating a stem for me. I can see that getting a clean, thin slot takes a lot of practice. A couple things that have helped me is to Dremel cut the slot after I have rough cut the bit and also to widen the "V" manually with a 1/16 bit. Other than being a bit slower does anyone see anything wrong with this technique? With past stems I've cut it seems I do okay using the Dremel cutter but botch it up trying to cut the V with a 1/16 bit in a Dremel.