In defense of bowl coating

Sanding, rusticating, sandblasting, buffing, etc. All here.
User avatar
jogilli
Site Supporter
Posts: 756
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2010 2:49 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: In defense of bowl coating

Post by jogilli »

great discussion... IF I have flaws inside the bowl it just doesn't get sold... the outside is a different story... Joao Reis was recently in Speyer and asked the fellow next to my why he didn't fill the flaw in his sandblast... almost a direct quote "everybody knows rusticated and sandblasted pipes have something wrong with them or they would have stayed smooth"

not true for all blasts that's for sure but a rule of thumb.. tiny blemishes, no grain, etc etc etc

and in a chat w/Rainer Barbie his comment was you can put anything you want on the outside.. b it's the inside that counts... you should have seen the eyes of the fellas in the room when he said it...

I enjoy the discussion and hearing different sides of the story... it's amost the same argument about an air chamber not meeting the exact bottom... conduction wise some of my best shop pipes have the air hole meeting the tobacco chamber almost on the side... I never ever even thought about the 'meeting' of the holes until I started making them... look though your factory pipes you really like and I'm sure you'll find one or two that don't really meet at the right junction... would i buy one now that didn't meet.. No, but ignorance was bliss at one time :-)

Enjoy your shop time fellas

james
User avatar
bregolad
Posts: 234
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:00 pm
Location: irvine, ca

Re: In defense of bowl coating

Post by bregolad »

UberHuberMan wrote:You might be surprised to learn that it's not at all difficult to get a beautiful chamber. As long as your drill bit is sharp, presto!
You may be onto something there. How do you drill your pipes? When I do them on a drill press, smooth chambers. When I drill freehand....not so much. No matter the sharpness of the drill bit I always get some chatter and tear out. That might be a big factor right there.
J&J Pipes
jnjpipes.com
User avatar
d.huber
Posts: 2691
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:28 pm
Location: Durham, NC
Contact:

Re: In defense of bowl coating

Post by d.huber »

bregolad wrote:
UberHuberMan wrote:You might be surprised to learn that it's not at all difficult to get a beautiful chamber. As long as your drill bit is sharp, presto!
You may be onto something there. How do you drill your pipes? When I do them on a drill press, smooth chambers. When I drill freehand....not so much. No matter the sharpness of the drill bit I always get some chatter and tear out. That might be a big factor right there.
I drill freehand and get very smooth chamber walls. I'm using spoon bits though, so that's a major help. Are you using a ground spade bit? When I've done freehand drilling with a ground spade bit I experienced chatter and tear out in the chamber.
http://www.dshpipes.com

"Strive for excellence, not for what someone else accepts."
-Tyler Beard
User avatar
d.huber
Posts: 2691
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:28 pm
Location: Durham, NC
Contact:

Re: In defense of bowl coating

Post by d.huber »

Sasquatch wrote:The bottom-pit bothers me because of the moisture cycling down there.
Could the moisture cycling in a small flaw like that cause issues? I'd think it would fill up with gunk and the issues would vanish.

Great photo points made, Todd. It's tough to have to put a pipe in the reject pile because of ugly flaws in the chamber when you could coat and sell...

A shop pipe that I have became such because of a MAJOR flaw on the bottom of the chamber which penetrated to the outside. Air didn't pass through, so I figured I'd smoke it. I've smoked that pipe to hell and back and never had a burn through or any other issues. Of course, not all flaws will behave so well, but this experience has made me think twice about tossing a pipe if there are minor flaws in the chamber.

That being said, I think it wise to toss a pipe with flaws like we see in your photos, whatever that's worth. :P

The debate rages on! :twisted:
http://www.dshpipes.com

"Strive for excellence, not for what someone else accepts."
-Tyler Beard
User avatar
Sasquatch
Posts: 5147
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:46 am

Re: In defense of bowl coating

Post by Sasquatch »

Especially if you are trying to sell pretty high-end pipes, I think flaws like that are deal-breakers. AT 150 bucks... okay. But at 400... I don't want to see that in my chamber.
ALL YOUR PIPE ARE BELONG TO US!
User avatar
bregolad
Posts: 234
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:00 pm
Location: irvine, ca

Re: In defense of bowl coating

Post by bregolad »

I guess it kind of a where-to-draw-the-line sort of deal. Does the interior have to be absolutely flawless? I would never sell anything that looks like what Todd put up, but I might have to think about something that is just slightly smaller than those. You'd need to figure out what kind of failure rate you're ok with, and how much that costs based on your briar source.
J&J Pipes
jnjpipes.com
User avatar
Sasquatch
Posts: 5147
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:46 am

Re: In defense of bowl coating

Post by Sasquatch »

I don't think it's even about failure rate. The second two probably will cake over and never be an issue. Just... no one would buy 'em!
ALL YOUR PIPE ARE BELONG TO US!
Post Reply