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Hi there - a friend who manages a local B&M has enquired about me making some pipes for his shop to sell under their name. As a rank amateur it takes me far too long to put together a pipe, so it wouldn't be cost-effective for me or him. I was looking into using pre-turned bowls, but most that I see online only have the tobacco chamber drilled. Drilling the airway would not be a problem but I am confused how I could do the mortise and shank end. Any advice would be appreciated.

Edit: Just to clarify, I'm happy with the order of drilling, but my concern is with how to clamp the bowl for drilling the mortise and squaring the shank end using a drill press.

6 of these and half a dozen of the other it all depends on what is easier to drill first.Somtimes if you drill the mortise first the draft hole is harder to get aligned or visa versa

I don't really understand your question. If you can drill the airway, why would you have a problem drilling the mortise and facing the shank?

It should be clamped the same way if it is a straight pipe - i.e. the centroidal axis of the airway and mortise should be the same, and the plane of the shank end should be exactly perpendicular to the centroidal axis of the mortise. If it is bent, just rotate the pipe in the clamp after you have faced and drilled the mortise, then drill the airway.

Could you clarify your question?

I think I understand the question - if you have basically a finished stummel in terms of shaping, putting it in any kind of "ordinary" vise may pose a challenge.

Most of the "pipe factory" sort of videos show a vise that essentially clamps onto the shank, orienting it for facing/mortising (often one operation). You could work on this idea and manufacture a "shank clamp" of some kind that would allow you to hold the stummel correctly under the drill press head.

Cory wrote:I don't really understand your question. If you can drill the airway, why would you have a problem drilling the mortise and facing the shank?



Could you clarify your question?

Thanks for your reply, and sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I free drill my airways using a laser line to ensure I get everything spot on once I have faced the shank and drilled the mortise. I've actually bought some pre-turned bowls now and have found I can clamp them into my standard drill press vice with no problems. I just use little scraps of wood to help stabilise the bowl as I'm facing the shank and drilling the mortise.

If you have a lathe, then just drill the mortise and airway the same as you would with shape before drilling. To face the shank, it's easiest to use a pin gauge and spin the stummel on the lathe.