Reaming Conical Bowls and Extra Large Bowls?

[Dutch]

I'm curious if any of you guys can share any tips on reaming conical bowls. I have a conical bowled Boswell poker that I used my Kleen Reem on, and I didn't really like the results. It seemed to reshape the bottom of the bowl, by widening it somewhat.

Also, other than just scraping down the sides, do any of you have any tips for reaming above average size bowls? I have become so dependent on my Reem Kleen for 99% of my pipes, I am not sure how to proceed other than sending them off to a professional for reaming/cleaning.

Thanks for any tips or suggestions on how to clean and maintain these unusual style pipes. I have recently acquired a little Charatan Dublin sandblast with a conical bowl, and I am wanting to keep it in pristine condition as best I can.

 

[d4klutz]

for conical bowls, I use a butner reamer. For larger bowls, I make sure to use a paper towel to "soft ream" the bowls after each smoke. When it comes time to ream them when they are cold, and a good cake has built, I use the back edge of a pocket knife and just lightly scrape around, making sure the sharp edge faces the center. I know it isn't the best method, but it keeps me from damaging the cake and walls of the pipe.

 

[MisterE]

Sandpaper glued onto a dowel rod works pretty well. It's not as elegant as a reamer, but you can meet the angle of the chamber wall without gouging anything in the doing.

 

[monbla256]

For angled bowls such as found on the only three that I have, all Charatan Dublins, I use my Butner 'cause of how the blades adjust to the bowl side sangles. On the 10 large Charatan Pots I have, all of which have 1"+ dia. bowls I use Mr. E's dowel w/sandpaper technique as it works PERFECTLY !! For the rest of my pipes my old Reem-n-Kleen works just fine!! 'Course all of this depends on how much cake you are trying to leave or remove !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Puff Daddy]

You need one of these:

Savinelli Fitsall Reamer. They're a little pricey new but I've seen them go on ebay in great shape for $20. The only reamer that works well, imho. Why? There's no mechanical force being applied to the walls of the pipe that can result in the cutting blade being off and gouging the surface of the chamber, and the scraping of the cake is even, with pressure applied by just your finger as you lay the edge of the cutter against the wall of the chamber and gently apply pressure. The reamer is 3 sided with slight curved edges. Lay it in the chamber against the wall, use finger pressure to gently scrape, you can feel everything that is going on. I have never messed up a chamber wall with this tool and never had a problem with any shape bowl. What I usually do is hold the tool horizontal with a finger along side an edge and turn the pipe around the tool, not turn the tool in the pipe. Works wonderfully.

A second opinion: https://thepipesmoker.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/let-them-eat-cake/

 

[joshoowah]

You need one of these:

Savinelli Fitsall Reamer. They're a little pricey new but I've seen them go on ebay in great shape for $20. The only reamer that works well, imho. Why? There's no mechanical force being applied to the walls of the pipe that can result in the cutting blade being off and gouging the surface of the chamber, and the scraping of the cake is even, with pressure applied by just your finger as you lay the edge of the cutter against the wall of the chamber and gently apply pressure. The reamer is 3 sided with slight curved edges. Lay it in the chamber against the wall, use finger pressure to gently scrape, you can feel everything that is going on. I have never messed up a chamber wall with this tool and never had a problem with any shape bowl. What I usually do is hold the tool horizontal with a finger along side an edge and turn the pipe around the tool, not turn the tool in the pipe. Works wonderfully.

A second opinion: https://thepipesmoker.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/let-them-eat-cake/

I've wanted one for a while, but they have become quite scarce these days.

 

[mark]

http://www.generaltools.com/478--TRIANGULAR-SCRAPER_p_551.html

 

[joshoowah]

http://www.generaltools.com/478--TRIANGULAR-SCRAPER_p_551.html

Nice find. Good price too. Only qualm is it looks a bit too pointy, not rounded out like the Savinelli tool.

 

[Dutch]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I do remember looking at these triangular shaped reamers about 3 or 4 years ago, and had forgotton that they were an option. I do remember how hard it was to find an online retailer who stocked them.

I already have a British Butner somewhere's, hopefully between these two style tools I can just take the cake and leave most of the wood.

 

[RDPipes]

I use a Kleen Ream but, thankfully none of my conical bowls are smaller at the bottom then the tip of my reamer.
But, I have had some come across my bench and I do what I can between the Kleen Ream and the T-handle reamer (name escapes right now) and my pocket knife. And I always sand the cake smooth after reaming any pipe.

 

[Dutch]

I use a Kleen Ream but, thankfully none of my conical bowls are smaller at the bottom then the tip of my reamer.
But, I have had some come across my bench and I do what I can between the Kleen Ream and the T-handle reamer (name escapes right now) and my pocket knife. And I always sand the cake smooth after reaming any pipe.

Ron, do you use sandpaper on the end of a piece of dowl, or do you have another sanding method?

My Kleen Reem is fantastic, and really keeps the inside if my bowls uniform. Even the Boswell poker I mentioned earlier was left undamaged, but the Kleen Reem reshaped the bowl, because it left cake in the bottom that conformed to the shape of the Kleen Reem. It no longer has it's original shape, but underneath the cake, it's still there.

This freehand sanding and scraping will take some getting used to. I am used to working with metal, so when I work with wood, I get really careful, since I can't add anything back. :lol:

 

[RDPipes]

I use a Kleen Ream but, thankfully none of my conical bowls are smaller at the bottom then the tip of my reamer.
But, I have had some come across my bench and I do what I can between the Kleen Ream and the T-handle reamer (name escapes right now) and my pocket knife. And I always sand the cake smooth after reaming any pipe.

Ron, do you use sandpaper on the end of a piece of dowl, or do you have another sanding method?

My Kleen Reem is fantastic, and really keeps the inside if my bowls uniform. Even the Boswell poker I mentioned earlier was left undamaged, but the Kleen Reem reshaped the bowl, because it left cake in the bottom that conformed to the shape of the Kleen Reem. It no longer has it's original shape, but underneath the cake, it's still there.

This freehand sanding and scraping will take some getting used to. I am used to working with metal, so when I work with wood, I get really careful, since I can't add anything back. :lol:

Dutch, Depending on the size of the bowl I either tape the top half of the sandpaper with masking tape to my index or pinky finger to keep from scratching the rim of the bowl with the paper and it makes it easier to hold onto, I got pretty skinny fingers. Never used a dowel for sanding the tobacco chamber but, any tool that works for ya is good. Using my pocket knife is fairly easy, ya just have to have good control and work evenly around the bowl paying good attention the the bottom and the point of the blade. Sometimes depending on the size of the bowl again, I'll use my T-handle reamer with the smallest ream at angle with the chamber for conical bowls. All in all it just takes patience and checking your progress every couple of turns. Haven't gouged a bowl yet,.......Knock on wood.

 

[KevinM]

I'm with the sandpaper on a finger or stick pipers. I've never owned a reamer and like the control the "touch up with sandpaper" gives. I've also noted on many occasions the ads for refurbed pipes that cite damage from over-enthusiastic reaming. Reamers seem to me to be an example of the quest for perfection driving out the good. Yes, I know, some pipers swear by the regularly scheduled reaming, needed or not. That's fine.

 

[RDPipes]

I'm with the sandpaper on a finger or stick pipers. I've never owned a reamer and like the control the "touch up with sandpaper" gives. I've also noted on many occasions the ads for refurbed pipes that cite damage from over-enthusiastic reaming. Reamers seem to me to be an example of the quest for perfection driving out the good. Yes, I know, some pipers swear by the regularly scheduled reaming, needed or not. That's fine.

The problem is there are so many different shaped and sized tobacco chambers that they can't make one reamer for all. And what I mean by shaped is that all conical bowls are not exactly alike and some bowls are just so deep or narrow the reamer won't fit. And size, it seems no one has a standard, heck just look how many sizes Dunnies come in to start not counting Italians, Americans, etc. I have 4 sizes of T-Handle reams and a lot of the time there either too big or too small.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

This is an excellent thread. Boswell definitely likes his conical bowls. Both of mine are pretty much about as conical as conical can get and I often times struggle shaping the cake at the bottom of them. I have been very gently using the tip of a Brigham pipe nail to trim the carbon up.

Both pipes smoke fantastic by the way. Thanks for the info...

 

[Brewdude]

You need one of these:

Savinelli Fitsall Reamer.

That looks perfect for my needs. I'll have to look into getting in one of those. Thanks PD!


Cheers,

RR