pipemakersforum.com

More swing is definitely better if you can afford it, but I would rather have a smaller high quality lathe than a large low quality lathe. I have done perfectly well making pipes on a 3.5" swing lathe. Are you suggesting that it would be a good idea to consider another options in the same pric...

I am looking at a few different metal lathes, and am curious what measurements those of you with metal lathes have for your swing over cross slide. What do you feel would be an adequate distance for swing over cross slide? I realize this is a subjective question, so I guess to clarify, I would like ...

I've got a Oneway with a set of Steve (Smokingdawg)'s aluminum jaws. It's a great setup if you don't feel like dropping close to half a grand on a dedicated chuck. I would have to agree! I have the exact same setup Oneway Talon with Smokingdawg jaws for my briar chuck. I have had great success and ...

I'm In. I have wanted to give this a shot for the last few years. This should be a lot of fun!

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. I greatly appreciate it. I am looking to purchase a set because I ran into an issue where using my forester bit to true up the shank of my pipe didn't do such an accurate job, and my stem fit has a gap. I used one of the chuck tightening pins i had, which conve...

I am in the market for a good set of pin gauges, and was hoping that you guys may have some suggestions as to what you have used and had success with, and what to look for in a good quality set.

I have a buddy here in the US that has some bamboo that he would like to give me to use. I notice that most of the stuff that VT Freehand sells is all Chinese. Therefore, I have a few questions that hopefully you guys can answer. Is there a considerable difference in the bamboo from China, or the ba...

Hey guys and gals!. Thanks again for all of the advice and tool suggestions. Here is a update on my trials thus far. I drilled another keyhole pipe using a mixture of suggestions from you all, and wouldn't you know, it worked perfectly. Tightest delrin stem fit I have had thus far. You all were righ...

I just realized that I know what dowel pins are, and don't know why I didn't consider that these chucking reamers were used for other woodworking projects other than pipes. Thinking with a closed mind can be hard sometimes...

Get a stub length bit in each of your standard tenon sizes and give 'em a try (after starting with a spotting bit) before messing with anything else. It might be all you need. Hey Adam, I have been using a stub length bit in 5/16 since I began pipe making. It may be time for me to just get another ...

So I have looked at drill bits, and reamers, as you have all suggested. I would like to focus on just working around the 5/16 size, as I will be using delrin for tenons, and not turning integral tenons, as I just have a wood lathe and the Pimo tenon tool, which isn't as accurate as a metal lathe. I ...

Thank you all for your advice and hints as to what my issue could be. I greatly appreciate your willingness to help with this issue, and all other issues I have had in the past. I will be taking all of this into consideration, as I go forward to purchase some much needed tooling, as well as implemen...

I am using a stub 5/16 bit that I got from Steve Norse. It may be time for me to purchase a new one. Should I be peck drilling a mortise hole? Or just drilling slow enough for the bit to clear the chips on its own? Im afraid that if i peck drill with my wood lathe, that I could end up causing the mo...

So from your collective advice and from tinkering with things last night, we have determined that the issue is with the mortise. I believe that for some reason the 5/16 bit didn't seat well in the wood when it began cutting, and made the mortise hole slightly larger than the normal 5/16. I don't kno...

Here are some photos of the issue. I wasn't sure if I counter sunk the mortise too much, like Sas said, making the mortise wider at the end, or because the tenon is short. Or like Jeremiah stated, caused by the drilling on the lathe. Jeremiah, do you drill the entire mortise with a chucking reamer, ...

I recently experienced an issue with stem fit on a pipe I keyhole drilled. The stem fits flush, but due to the keyhole, it rocks in the mortise, causing the stem fit to have a gap. Has anyone else had this issue? Is this caused by me counter sinking the mortise, or possibly because the mortise hole ...

I can by no means take credit for this idea, but wanted to share my results of a project I took on to make some birthday gifts for friends and family. After searching for a certain golf club head cover for my own bag, my fiancée found a link on Pinterest that showed how to make your own cover out of...

Ok here is another question I had regarding accent rings. Would it make more sense to cut say a 1/2 inch tenon on your initial piece of rod stock for your stem, then drill 1/2 inch holes in your accent materials and glue them onto the tenon. Then from there, face the entire thing down and drill your...

Thank you all for your insight. I really appreciate the help.

Jeremiah, that makes perfect sense. I'll give it a go on the lathe. My only question is after you cut it out, how would you secure it in the chuck? Would you screw it into a pre cut piece circular piece that you can clamp in a 4 jaw chuck with normal wood turning jaws?