pipemakersforum.com

I've consulted the wiki, and it looks like chamber and even mortise and draft hole drilling call for specialized drill bits. If I had my choice I'd probably go with Forstner bits for the mortise and bur bits for the chamber.

But right now I don't have my choice, will have to purchase those bits later.

So my question is, are standard straight steel drill bits a no-no? If so, why exactly?

It is appreciated.

Twist drills will work fine in the mortise.

For the chamber.... well... have you ever looked inside a pipe? Smooth cone-ish sort of shape works good and allows some shaping on the walls of the the pipe that a big flat ended shape just won't.

Burs come in all sorts of shapes. Unless you buy a nice carbide one you will dull it. They are very slow cutting by reputation. I don't have one myself. Spade bits were easier and cheaper. Just shape them on a bench gringer from harbor freight.

andrew wrote:Burs come in all sorts of shapes. Unless you buy a nice carbide one you will dull it. They are very slow cutting by reputation. I don't have one myself. Spade bits were easier and cheaper. Just shape them on a bench gringer from harbor freight.

A burr also doesn't have the chip clearance needed for drilling.

Burrrrrrrr its cold in New England

It's cold for California about now too.

Thanks for the tips about bur bits.

andrew wrote:Burs come in all sorts of shapes. Unless you buy a nice carbide one you will dull it. They are very slow cutting by reputation. I don't have one myself. Spade bits were easier and cheaper. Just shape them on a bench gringer from harbor freight.

This. I'm still super green when it comes to pipe making, but making a chamber bit is really easy, and spade bits are cheap if you mess up.

I'm thinking that it's better to drill the draft hole BEFORE the mortise, is there an argument either way for this?

Occassionally it is advantageous to do this, but only occassionally. I mean, you have a pretty good ability to control where your hole is if you drill your mortise first - you can see exactly what you are doing.

IF you have an airway that is really gonna be off kilter, it can be nice to sort of chase it down and positition it by adjusting the mortise depth. But I've only done that on a half dozen pipes. It's just faster and easier to do the mortise first, tap a little pilot hole dead center, and then do whatever else needs to be done.

The disadvantage of doing the airway first is that on a pipe with only a slight bend, the mortise will tend to follow the airway hole, and that's bad.

All in all, I would do the mortise first 99% of the time.

As Sas says, it does depend. I often times do an airway first, but I'm gonna rethink things and start doing mortise first again. The way I avoid the mortise following the airway is running a 5/32" pilot hole for the mortise first- I'm also shaping then drilling though, which changes things a bit.

you have a pretty good ability to control where your hole is if you drill your mortise first - you can see exactly what you are doing

that was how I was thinking about it.

the mortise will tend to follow the airway hole, and that's bad

Do I understand you right, that the mortise (and likewise, the draft hole of the stem) lining up parallel to the draft hole is bad? Is this because moisture will get up the stem easier while smoking?

He means when you're drilling a bent pipe, your mortise is supposed to be at a different angle to the airway- if it follows the airway passage, it'll wander, and the whole mortise wont be properly aligned. It has nothing to do with moisture.

Sasquatch wrote:It's just faster and easier to do the mortise first, tap a little pilot hole dead center, and then do whatever else needs to be done.

Here's the key.

Airway first for me, I find i can't get a nice start otherwise on bent pipes.

caskwith wrote:Airway first for me, I find i can't get a nice start otherwise on bent pipes.

Mee too.

I get around the mortise wander issue be leaving about a half inch of scrap on the end of the shank that I trim off after the mortise is drilled, leaving a nice straight mortise.

Todd

Now I am totally confused. Not an unusual circumstance for me, however.

wmolaw wrote:Now I am totally confused. Not an unusual circumstance for me, however.

There are a few methods laid out here. I think it important to choose which one works best for you.

taharris wrote:

caskwith wrote:Airway first for me, I find i can't get a nice start otherwise on bent pipes.

Mee too.

I get around the mortise wander issue be leaving about a half inch of scrap on the end of the shank that I trim off after the mortise is drilled, leaving a nice straight mortise.

Todd

I use a carbide stub drill, no chance of wander with that! haha.

Does anyone have experience with countersink bits for chamber drilling?