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Fellow Pipe Makers, I received the briar today and as Love stated it is wet and moldy. I found a temporary home in the garage until the mold dies off. The order was never shipped at the time of payment but was shipped 22 days ago so that explains the delay. I sanded one of the sides of a block and t...

Thanks David. Everything seemed like it was on the up and up but there's always the language barrier to deal with so maybe something got lost in the translation as they say. They appeared to be great people to deal with so perhaps they may be on one of those European holidays without access to email...

Hi Guys, I feel like a dumb-ass asking this question, but here goes; this past Feb. 14th I ordered 50 large briar blocks from La Radica, SRL in Calabria, Italy and have yet to receive it. Supposedly it was shipped on Feb. 21st and I was told it would take 10 days to the USA via ship. I've done the o...

Hey Chris, About 2 years ago I decided to cast my own stems from polyester thinking it would be more cost effective than buying rods or blanks and for the most part it worked out fairly well. Kurt is right that it must be done outdoors unless you have a very large exhaust system in your workshop and...

For what it's worth, I converted an 8" slow speed grinder (1725 RPM) to a dual sanding disk arrangement or it can be setup as a dual buffer. I purchased mine at Farm and Fleet for $86.00 on sale and they had them at Woodcraft also for the same price. I couldn't have asked for a better setup in ...

Both you and Rad are correct, they are essentially the same thing. There is one thing to be aware of however, some of the pen blank manufacturers use different formulas of acrylic resin for casting and the smell of some is very "plasticky" beyond the normal smell. The cast acrylic rodstock...

Apple pipes have some very interesting grain patterns and look very cool. The finish (smooth) acts alot like Olivewood but not as bad as Cherry. You can buff it to a high gloss but it doesn't last very long. I've sandblasted both with excellent results and that's the way to go if you have the equipm...

Hey Bob, Sorry to hear about your troubles. Perhaps you just received a bad batch of product. Sounds to me like you've followed all the correct guidelines so it must be the epoxy. About a year ago I tested T-88 24 hour epoxy against the 5 minute and also against a generic brand and tried a little de...

Tom, You may want to check out a Wecheer Rotary system which closely resembles the Foredom but is considerably less $$$. I used a Dremel Advantage for several years with a flexshaft and it gave out a month ago. No replacement flexshafts were available so I went with a tool with some oomph. Tradtiona...

Fellow Pipemakers, I have a small quantity of Ebonite and Cumberland rod for sale that may interest some of the new guys. Here's what I have: (3) 14mm x 12" Lg. Ebonite rods (could be used for Churchwardens) (4) 22mm x 8" Lg. Black Ebonite rods (1) 22mm x 8" Lg. red/orange and black C...

Although I don't have any photos of blasted Cherry pipes, they sandblast very well and look very similar to blasted olivewood. Of course this also depends on the grain of the wood. A spit coat of shellac after staining to set the stain and the matte finish looks great on the blast. Having made dozen...

Thanks guys for all your input. I have heard that Yazid has ramped up the service as well as the briar by offering only Tassili grade on his website in box sets. I don't know if I'm ready for Mimmo quality briar because I keep thinking about the statement that Todd J. once made that he wouldn't wast...

Fellow Pipemakers, It's about that time to order another load of briar and I was wondering if I could get some input on the various sources outside the USA. I've purchased the vast majority of briar from PME as of late but would like to explore different suppliers this time and for future purchases ...

In the past I've used the same dremel bit that we use to cut the slot in stem rodstock only it is ground on each side to form a V. A flexible ruler is used as a guide to get the straight vertical effect. Light touch required.

Kevin

The easiest way I found to tighten up a loose mortise is to apply a few drops of CA glue or super glue to the smooth end of a drill bit and run it around in a circular motion inside the mortise. Let it dry for about 20 minutes and see how it fits. Re-apply if neccesary. Works for me every time.

Kevin

I knew that was coming. You win this time Rad!

Kevin

Very good Rad but my tenon slides in easier!

Kevin

You can use either depending on your personal preference. There is a Mr. Davis that stops in here from time to time that uses integral tenons exclusively on his pipes if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps he will chime in with first hand knowledge for you. To answer your question, Cumberland and Ebonite teno...

Cumberland is colored Ebonite. The brown and red variety is to the left of the blue at PME.

Kevin

My first question would be what type of Cherry are you using? If its American Cherry it sounds like it may not be dried out enough and your blades are burning. If its Brazilian Cherry good luck. I ruined a number of blades and rotary tools trying to carve this type of wood. It's like trying to cut g...