Trever Talbert's Drilling Method

Trever Talbert's drilling method is a workshop practice describing on which machine and in what order the three holes in a briar body — mortise, airway, and tobacco chamber — are opened. By his own account, Talbert has been making pipes since the mid-1990s; after a stretch of seven years working on France's west coast, he returned to the United States.

The routine described below is understood to reflect the practice settled on at his workshop in Brittany, as recorded. The brand's overall history is covered in the Talbert Pipes entry.

Why the Lathe

Drilling is considered the least forgiving step in pipe making: once the bore drifts off axis, the body usually can't be saved. The reasons for preferring a lathe over a drill press cluster around this risk. A bit fed by the tailstock keeps feeding information to the maker's hand continuously; this is how a crack inside the wood, or the moment the bit breaks through into the airway, is sensed by feel rather than sight. The wide, flat bits used to open the chamber tend to bounce and oval out the hole on a drill press, while they run true on a lathe; the reduced vibration also leaves the hole's surface smoother. On the other hand, the lathe needs to be set up anew for every body: the headstock takes a heavy, two-jawed chuck forged specifically for pipe making, and the tailstock takes a drill chuck. The lathe's general use in the workshop is detailed further in the metal lathe and drilling on a lathe entries.