Since MM doesn’t make a deep angled pipe, I decided to make one myself. So, I take a Country Gentleman, cut off the original shank, re-drill the bowl at a 45 degree angle, turn a new shank out of hardwood and fit the original stem. Here’s the result:
Anyone that has owned a cob knows this, and most of you who don't own a cob have probably read about it. I'm talking about getting rid of that stem wood lying at the bottom of the bowl... First of all, do you HAVE to or NEED to get rid of it? Of course not. You can take that bowl, pack it up, fire it up and enjoy. But personally I've found that the process of eventually burning it away takes several bowls to accomplish the task. And in the meantime, I'm getting that wood burning taste and smell while trying to enjoy my blends...
Based on the draft hole position, I sometimes use pipe mud to bring the bottom of the bowl flush with the bottom edge of the draft hole after inserting a pipe cleaner to block any possible pipe mud from entering. Anyway, old news to most, but possibly new news to some. So there you have it... 😊
@KA9FFJ I've heard of that before for sure, although I leave mine in my cobs. This mostly hinges on protecting the bottom of the bowl because I'll use a pipe daily for up to two weeks before I rotate it out so bottom burnout and moisture are always issues even with hardwood plugs. That said, after a while, cake builds up around the extra bit of stem because it's impossible to totally clean around it so the top of the cake effectively becomes the actual bottom of the bowl which leads to more even burning of the tobacco. It takes time to get to that point, but if I had to guess, probably 15 bowls would be enough to build that up.
I only take off the top ridges of the shank wood that extends into the bowl, then I pack pipe-mud in the spaces around the edges even with the bottom of the draft hole. The shank wood is still in place to protect the bottom. The thinner shank edges are gone and no longer burn. The pipe-mud levels out the heel. Like @vtgrad2003 said, I could just smoke it and the voids on either side would eventually fill. I add the pipe-mud because it is pretty quick and easy, and will always be composed of 100% ash, as opposed to possible unburnt pieces of dottle.
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You know I've never seen any European cob pipes, is this strictly Americana, I wonder.
WOW! Amazing job. How does it smoke? Wonder why MM won't do that?
I'm talking about getting rid of that stem wood lying at the bottom of the bowl...
First of all, do you HAVE to or NEED to get rid of it? Of course not. You can take that bowl, pack it up, fire it up and enjoy.
But personally I've found that the process of eventually burning it away takes several bowls to accomplish the task. And in the meantime, I'm getting that wood burning taste and smell while trying to enjoy my blends...
Anyway, old news to most, but possibly new news to some. So there you have it... 😊
I've heard of that before for sure, although I leave mine in my cobs. This mostly hinges on protecting the bottom of the bowl because I'll use a pipe daily for up to two weeks before I rotate it out so bottom burnout and moisture are always issues even with hardwood plugs. That said, after a while, cake builds up around the extra bit of stem because it's impossible to totally clean around it so the top of the cake effectively becomes the actual bottom of the bowl which leads to more even burning of the tobacco. It takes time to get to that point, but if I had to guess, probably 15 bowls would be enough to build that up.
Shhhhh 🤫 damn you VT