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Ok thanks again Sas. My shellac does look kinda think. I will try cutting it in half with denatured alcohol to thin it out like you said i think that is my first problem.

I have been experimenting with the shellac flakes. Once its dry it has dust and crap stuck in it. Do you usually buff with tripoli once finished? to smooth out the shellac. I tried to use white diamond to smooth it out but it was just stripping off the shellac. Maybe i need to slow down the buff whe...

I just ordered some BT&C blonde shellac tiger flakes to aid in the shine. Something else to figure out i guess. And the dry lines bit me. I guess i must have heated one of the pipes a little too much and your right it left lines that were a bitch to sand out.

Sasquatch, Would danish oil be suitable as a "sealer" for a natural finished pipe to prevent the graying over time or would you lean more towards the shellac?

Thanks for the update Jeremiah. After reading your results i may just end up grabbing the coarse and the fine finish compounds to save a little money for now. I recently worked with the danish oil that i applied to one of my last pipes. I did 3 coats and let each coat dry for 24 hours before applyin...

Thanks for the responses guys much appreciated. Sandahl thats what i am going to do just get into it and experiment with it. This pipe got messed up a little earlier on in the process with some flaws so this is a good pipe to test it on. I have already done the black under stain in which i heated th...

Lest say im doing a contrast stained pipe. I put my darker undercoat on then sand it and then i put my topcoat, let say a medium brown on top which will not be sanded. Then i put the danish oil on? Once the applying of the danish oil coats are completed then you go to you white diamond and carnuba w...

[quote="sandahlpipe"]I went with Coarse (H0811), Fine (H0813) and Extra Fine (T28191) from the Grizzly catalog. I’ll post some thoughts once I get them and have a chance to try them out. Those are the exact ones i have in my cart but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Your sanding process is ...

Hi Guys.

I have found the Menzerna compounds on the Grizzly site. They are a bit pricy but here is the link.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Brown-T ... ound/H0811

Maybe we could rekindle this conversation a bit? I was just wondering which formula of the Menzerna people are using? On their website i see heavy cut, medium cut, and finish but there are many different kinds at each level. Which ones are you using for pipes?

Awesome thanks George. I am going to watch it now as i am working on a stem for my next pipe.

Ya i struggle with getting the stem all cut down evenly and to be proportional on all sides when i dont have a mark to go off of like on a pre formed stem. Cutting them down from rod stock i feel like i have trouble knowing were to stop the small curve on the top and bottom of stem and having the ed...

Thanks for the info and the heads up about the Yazid situation. Maybe i wont take the chance. I actually had already found the Calabria site like a year ago and have it bookmarked. Prices were kind of high for single blocks they had shown but man were they nice. Only thing is pretty much every bloc...

Pretty nicely done. A shot of the bottom for a look at the transition and some of the button and slot might allow some more comments, but this is an attractive pipe. A small bevel at the lip of the chamber would reduce ignition points for the briar. DocAitch Thanks for the feed back Doc. Here are t...

Hi guys, I had a small block and a small piece of acrylic rod left so i tried to make a small Dublin nose warmer but the shank doesn't really look like a true Dublin style to me almost more like a bent Billard. This is only my second stem made from scratch. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

Thanks for the info and the heads up about the Yazid situation. Maybe i wont take the chance. I actually had already found the Calabria site like a year ago and have it bookmarked. Prices were kind of high for single blocks they had shown but man were they nice. Only thing is pretty much every block...

In case anyone is interested i found this site today. They are Briar cutters located in Algeria. There prices aren't bad at all. They ship 20 block orders. They also guarantee for 6 months that there will be no deep pits or cracks inside the blocks or they will refund your money. Also you don't have...

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/13-BRIAR-PLATEAU-FOR-PIPES-PIPA-PFEIFEN-MADE-IN-ITALY-LARGE-SIZE-TOP-QUALITY/183443782233?hash=item2ab619fa59:g:E-0AAOSwNEdbo0VD I don't know what your price point is, but lots like this will have 1 junker, 1 or 2 real winners, and a bunch of pretty decent blocks. But again,...

I have a slightly different strategy for this. I've hand picked blocks at Chicago, from Mimmo, Manno and Makis. And had winners and losers from that experience. Like, you can get a XX grade plateau that just isn't very clean and won't make a smooth from ANYone! And hell, you can pick it yourself wh...

Unless you visit the carver directly, and pay big money, no-one is going to let you pick over a raw selection of blocks to find the best ones. If you visit the carver directly, depending on the carver, there's no obligation to pay big money for the privilege of choosing. Obviously you won't get $50...