joshlore
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Keeping the Shank CleanI've read in several threads here about using a drill bit to keep the airway in the shank and briar open. This would seem to be especially important for keeping the cavity around the stinger open--otherwise it seems that little metal piece would go from being an aid to a pain.
Is there a set size bit that should be used for this? Is it not enough to use a pipe cleaner once the pipe has returned to room temperature every time?
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ozark southpaw
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Josh,5/32" is the most used size I believe. Some use 11/64". Be careful doing this especially with bent pipes. With a bent it is very easy to get the drill started in the wrong place and end up with a hole where you don't want it!! Do not use a drill motor!! Use a pin vise etc. or do as I do and clamp the drill bit in a pair of vise-grips! Go slow,turning clockwise and when the bit enters the bowl back out still turning clockwise.Once you have opened the airhole you may find that cotton swabs(and alcohol) are better for cleaning the shank. Drilling is very useful when cleaning up a nasty estate pipe! Saves a BUNCH of pipe cleaners!! Shank brushes are great too. Got mine at 4noggins.com.
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drbridges
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I managed to acquire a 6" 5/32 drill bit. It is fit into a T handle tap wrench. It works for everything except a wide banded #37 Belvedere I have.
I think Mac may use a larger bit for shanks.
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LokoMac8
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Re: Keeping the Shank Clean | joshlore wrote: | I've read in several threads here about using a drill bit to keep the airway in the shank and briar open. This would seem to be especially important for keeping the cavity around the stinger open--otherwise it seems that little metal piece would go from being an aid to a pain.
Is there a set size bit that should be used for this? Is it not enough to use a pipe cleaner once the pipe has returned to room temperature every time? |
Excellent observation, and yes, that is EXACTLY WHAT I CONCLUDED. I will have to try and locate my drill bit sizes, but I should say that I do not routinely use a drill bit -- only when things get bad or durning the initial cleaning of a recently acquired pipe. Once cleaned I only use pipe cleaners and Q-tips for the "stinger" or cleaner cavity.
I only use my fingers with the drill bit so I can maintain a light touch and a good feel for what I am doing. Getting too aggresive with the larger bit for the filter or cleaner cavity may result in an enlarged air or flue hole into the bowl, as often there isn't much more than an 8th of an inch or so width of briar "separating" the two.
For the flue hole itself, I find the "drill bit" on the KLEEN REEM pipe tool to be very satisfactory, although some people like a slightly larger flue hole.
I'll try and get back with some drill bit sizes when I find them. I originally found the old Linkman Grabows and the Sparta Grabows to use slightly different sizes, but I think since I have, being a bit agressive perhaps, found that I can standardize on one size for both. --RJ--
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LokoMac8
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Re: Keeping the Shank Clean | joshlore wrote: | | Is there a set size bit that should be used for this? Is it not enough to use a pipe cleaner once the pipe has returned to room temperature every time? |
Well, here are some drill stem sizes based on some old notes I have from about three years ago when DRB and I discussed this subject. DRB says in regard to the AIR HOLE he used 5/32". He also said PIMO sold a bit 11/64" and he had tried 3/16" before he decided that was TOO BIG.
My drill bits were only marked decimally, so here is what I came up with in that discussion:
3/16" equates to .187 -- that sure LOOKS big anyway!
11/64" equates to .171 -- I don't have that size bit as it is one of many I have broken and never bothered to replace. .169 was the closest I had.
5/32" equates to .156 -- again, ALL my bits about that size were missing or broken in non-pipe related projects.
The KLEEN REEM pipe tool bit appears to be about .149 -- a hair smaller than the 5/16" DRB uses. This is what I use on all my pipes.
As far as the "stinger"/cleaner bore, I found that most of the older LINKMAN Dr. Grabows would take about a .209 bit, while the Sparta Dr. Grabows would take around a .221 bit. In the end, in going back and being less timid, I actually found that the .221 would usually work on the older Linkman's as well, without damaging the aluminum fitting.
So that's the long and short of that as I see it -- or the skinny (or fat) on it.
As far as cleaning, I am not nearly as fastidious as most pipe smokers I know. Basically, I am guided by the words attributed to the good Doctor Paul E. Grabow where he was quoted on an old, old box insert circa 1937, " . . . A pipe that veritably cleans itself upon simply removing the mouthpiece and wiping off the aluminum projection . . ." When I finish the bowl, I generally put my thumb over the bowl, shake the ash about and knock any ash or dottle remaining loose at the same time by banging against my other hand, then dump the contents of the bowl out. I seldom have to do any more than that to dislodge anything. Then I unscrew the stem, blow out the shank once, wipe the "projection", as Doctor Grabow called it, with my hanky, then blow through the stem into the hanky until no more moisture comes out onto the cleaner. Every, so often I will run a pipe cleaner through the stem and the shanks and use a Q-tip, both with Bee's Pipe Sweetner or some similar solution, to thorughly clean out things again. That's good enough for me. I also wipe down and lightly "polish" the pipe before putting it back on the rack -- not really polish, but sort of buff it a bit with the hanky just to remove fingerprints and dust, etc.
I should say though, that only when I am on the road do I smoke more than one bowlfull in the same pipe. Otherwise, my pipes get very well rested and dried out in a very large rotation. Therefore, they don't get very abused. Naturally, if you smoke quite a few bowlfuls in the same pipe for the day, it only stands to reason you will have to do more cleaning than I do. If I get any gurgling or a "wet" smoke, that usually signals to me, that in addition to running a cleaner through the stem right then, that I will do a more thorough cleaning before putting the pipe up, as residue buildup on the interior surfaces and cavities seems to be one of the biggest pipe caused wet smoke conditions when it cannot be attributed to the moisture in the tobacco, humidity, etc.
Hope this helps. Just one man's opinion who is also rather ignorant in pipe smoking, etc. I think this also addresses a similar thread about pipe cleaning that appeared in another thread about VISCOUNT pipes.
Oh yea, I might mention that it is taboo to remove the stem of a push stem type pipe while the pipe is still hot, lest you break or crack the shank trying to remove it. Best to let it cool down first. That's why I am partial to screw stem pipes, because no such precaution is necessary. --RJ--
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Dave
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I use nylon shank brushes to clean mine they work a little better than pipe cleaners
I usually open most of my pipes to 5/32nds with the eception of a few that are designed for smaller openings
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drbridges
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5/32" airway is for most briar pipes. Missouri Meerschaum pipes use a larger airway diameter approaching 1/4 to 1/2". Just kidding, but they are huge. I generally let them constrict down naturally to 5/32" and hold it at that.
I prefer clean pipes, but I still entertain the notion that a dirty oil-saturated pipe might provide a more flavorful smoke. Friend of mine is smoking a Dunhill, his first Dunhill, and he reports it needs about 3-4 conditioning bowls through it before he starts giving him a pleasant smoke. Then it gets real good.
I wouldn't aggressively clean a pipe like that.
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