Reamers

[wrapper23]

I think my Sav needs reaming already. The cake is building up unevenly and I don't want it to go too far.

Should I get this reamer or should I do the salt/alcohol treatment? Or both?

[RJpuffs]

Originally Posted by wrapper23

I think my Sav needs reaming already. The cake is building up unevenly and I don't want it to go too far.

Should I get this reamer or should I do the salt/alcohol treatment? Or both?

Reaming is to remove/trim cake. Salt/booze is to remove stinkies. Different things.

I use the senor Senior reamer. Circular thingie, works great. Smooths out and shapes the cake perfectly - just takes a few turns to bring overgrown cake under control. I avoid the "flat" things, I had cracking cake syndrome when I tried using a knife to ream - and it didn't exactly make a round cake.

[wrapper23]

Got Senior Reamer today. It does a fairly good job. The bowl is now more circular. I should've taken pics but oh well.

I'm afraid of taking too much cake out of the bowl. How much should I take out? Maybe I'll take a pic tomorrow in daylight.

[spsurfin]

Originally Posted by wrapper23

I'm afraid of taking too much cake out of the bowl. How much should I take out?

The general rule of thumb is the cake should be the thickness of a dime.

[RJpuffs]

Originally Posted by wrapper23

Got Senior Reamer today. It does a fairly good job. The bowl is now more circular. I should've taken pics but oh well.

I'm afraid of taking too much cake out of the bowl. How much should I take out? Maybe I'll take a pic tomorrow in daylight.

Less is more, is less, not more ... uh. Don't overdo the ream. Its almost hypnotic, spinning blades, crunching of carbon, the aroma of ghosted tobacco flavors, before long all you're left with is naked wood and a pile of finely ground carbon on the desktop. Just give it a whirl or two - aim to just "shape" it. Cake grinds off real fast with a good reamer - don't get carried away or else

I like to keep cake at about a dime width. It often grows to a nickel thickness before I get around to reaming it out. Then I go just at or under a dime's thickness before stopping myself. The hard part is shaping conical bowls, and even the rounded heel. But it gets easier with practice. Just be sure your're turning the reamer in the correct direction (sharp edge of the blade).

[wrapper23]

Ha. I did not notice the dull/sharp edges until now. I thought they were sharp both ways.

Thanks RJ. Senior Reamer can be a tricky little bastard.

[DubintheDam]

I'd just like to throw in here that I find once the cake HAS been built it rebuilds after reaming very quickly, so I usually ream back quite hard.

[MarkC]

I just got my first reamer in the mail today, a Castleford T-handle set. I took it to my Dr. Grabow and was shocked at how easy it was to use. I've also figured out why it had become a 'fifteen minute pipe'; I didn't realize how much cake had built up in there...

[MarkC]

Okay, I went crazy and got all of my pipes reamed. Um, it doesn't matter for me, but if any other newbs out there are doing this for the first time and you happen to be married, the kitchen table isn't the best place for it...

[slyder]

who bought the table?

[MarkC]

Good point!

[Davetopay]

I haven't really thought much about it, but I should probably get a reamer. With only 10 pipes in the rotation, I'd think it might be a problem by now, but it isn't, which I find odd.

[RJpuffs]

Originally Posted by Davetopay

I haven't really thought much about it, but I should probably get a reamer. With only 10 pipes in the rotation, I'd think it might be a problem by now, but it isn't, which I find odd.

It could take months for the cake to get to the point of requiring a trim. As the 'dub pointed out, once it starts - there's no stopping the cake, it grows back faster than nosehair.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by RJpuffs

...The hard part is shaping conical bowls, and even the rounded heel. But it gets easier with practice. Just be sure your're turning the reamer in the correct direction (sharp edge of the blade).

I like my Sr. Reamer (wouldn't give it up) but it doesn't play well with conical or small-diameter chambers. Fortunately, a slack-ass dull penknife, the Czech multi-tool scraper/de-dottler or a 3 1/2" drywall screw* (with the point rounded off) all do fine for shaping and removing cake if you're patient. Many swear by requisite-diameter dowels wrapped with a lick of sandpaper.

* haven't found anything else that does the job as well for the stacks and their deep, skinny chambers.

[Crazycoonass]

Ive actually been useing a dremel with a pencil attatchment and a small cone shaped grinding bit, works in seconds with no effort and you can use it on any bowl, just keep it on low rpms and watch what your doing with a flashlight.