Randy Wiley Pipe thoughts...

[RobEsArt]

I'm curious what others thoughts are regarding Randy Wiley pipes.

I bought one years ago and although it was pretty, and big (2.5" deep X 3/4"diameter chamber), I didn't have the best time smoking it... until yesterday.

I decided to take a look at the mechanical aspects of the pipe much more closely than I did when I first bought it. What I determined was that the draft hole exiting the tenon was not open enough, nor was it centered in the tenon, and the slot was never funneled. The draft hole in the bottom of the mortise was also misaligned.

So Friday in the shop, I carefully straightened the stem, I funneled the slot and free hand drilled the tenon end to open and adjust to center. I then reamed the draft hole in the stummel, and centered/modified the entry point into the mortise.

Yesterday I smoked it for the first time after modifications, and it was like smoking a whole other pipe! No gurgle, no bite, and most importantly, it smoked wonderfully all the way to the bottom.

[LatakiaLover]

Yup. It often works that way.

Here's the whole "retroactive internal engineering" thing in a nutshell:

--- If a pipe smokes acceptably well, LEAVE IT ALONE

--- If it does not, increasing the cross-sectional dimensions of the entire length of the airway---not just the shank---by some amount, especially through the bite zone (where the funnel meets the tube), will USUALLY improve things. (There are no guarantees, though, because there are other variables involved.)

[Sasquatch]

IF you can get smoke from the bowl to the button without it tumbling over, going around, being split by or smashing up against something, a pipe smokes fine. Amazingly, only about 1/10 pipes manufactured seem to manage this.