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Kool deal
When I read back over the initial post, I barely even understood my own $@#! question
Damn South Carolina/Georgia mis-education...

Thank you Kurt! I've gotta learn how to ask questions the right way
But you pretty much hit the nail on the head there

No one is trying to give you grief about using alternative woods, I believe the intent of the post here was to elaborate the title. A lot of people come here asking about different woods one week, and the next week claim to have found a pipe wood superior to briar. Believe you me, I was all about Wa...

That's kinda it. Think Walle, the end of the shank won't be completely faced, BUT, where the stem pushes in will have a flush surface to mate up to, if that makes any sense? My main question (which I'll just have to play by ear) was what would be the most efficient way to achieve a flat surface on t...

Briar is the "Beez neez" in other words?
Just to echo what you and others have already said, and I'm sure will have to say again; BRIAR IS NOT THAT EXPENSIVE!
Walnut IS however, except the japanese company that's selling them literally by the thousands for less than $10 a pop!

Basically, my stems are a "one off" size and I'm debating whether I should attempt to sand the stem down to a size that I can face the block so they will match up, or if I should just add a shank cap for a typical "military" style mount. In hindsight, it's a dumb question, I'll j...

I'm still going through some "practice runs" with my drilling since I'm being forced to do it freehand. The mortise drilling I've got spot on, the draught hole... gonna try a shorter bit to start it :oops: My facing, is actually satisfying even with my mediocre forstner bits. Now to the is...

Hey Thanx I am going to stick with the above mentioned apple, maple, cherry, pear, ash, mesquite untill I think I am good enough for Briar. Thanx for the Info. I am always thinking OUTSIDE the box and trying to save a buck..... What about Walnut?? Walnut is used sometimes in pipe making. It does ha...

I'm in about the same situation as this fellow here, looking to start out, not sure which direction pipe making will take. And to be quite honest, as far as the actual tools go, of course a big A metal lathe would be great. But so would a butterscotch pond with chocolate lily pads, but neither of th...

Thanks Sas! That sounds like a purdy good plan to me :thumbsup: The odd part here really is taste, I have a certain affection for birds eye and SOME flame grains. I have one semi-small flame grain pipe that I may size up for the churwarden apple pipe. That whole "following the grain" thing...

True dat, true dat :lol: I think fear of flubbing up is my biggest issue. So when I get home around 3:30am, I believe I'll throw on a pot of coffee and start hackin away for at least the rough shape :) Besides that, I have to monk up somewhere, so why not go ahead and get it over with? :lol: I will ...

Thanks, but it's not birdseye that I'm thinking of. It's only right at the "plateauax" point bout 3/4" inside or so.
I would post pics, but my shoddy camera does it no justice even when wet with alcohol

Few more "slap in the head" questions; Drilling with the chamber bit, is it normal to see some "tear out" around the rim? Nothing that a chamfer wouldn't take care of, just wanna make sure I'm not screwing up already. I lack the dozuki saw recommended, any suggestions for a hacks...

KurtHuhn wrote: In nature, things that are brightly colored are typically poison. For this reason, I shy away from those things.

So the tie-dyed hippie living next door may be poisonous? Eh, it would explain the smell

Google it and see what all you can find out about it, I have no knowledge of this wood other than the fact that it is used to make a yellow dye, is hard to find and that's all I found. Maybe some more seasoned wood workers could tell you more about it, but I would THINK (and I have been habitually w...

Hello, and welcome! :) If I remember correctly, oak is usally too porous for pipes. Not sure if any certain breed of oak is an exception to that rule, but I haven't heard of any. Fruit woods usually make a decent pipe, but whatever the wood, it must first be properly cured, dried and basically aged ...

Thank you both kindly! Kurt, thanks for the relativity there! Makes a lot more sense now why it's called an apple :) Bruce, thanks for the link! That helped as well. Is that link somewhere in pipedia? If not, I bet it would help answer a lot of questions for many just starting out. Thanks again guys...

Not having a very keen eye as many here do, I'm at a quandary with what subtle differences define as "apple" as opposed to an egg and other similar styles. My thinking is the bottom 1/3 is pretty much a ball, the middle is like an egg only a bit straighter, and the top 1/3 is like a brandy...

Nah, I had an order of 3 "Ben Wade style" freehand stems come in today. On the website, at the top of the column it has the price per stem, the lucite freehands worked out to be $7.50/per after having the tenons turned if I remember right.

One other thing that may help for future reference, J.H. Lowe sells lucite stems at a good price, and for $3 per stem, Tim will turn the tenon to size for you. And they come ready to simply tweak the airway, bend and polish. Very little if any sanding necessary