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Yay! 4mm pilot hole it is then. Will let you know how it went.

Well, a few moments ago I went to test the bits on a scrap piece of briar, and I barely managed to scratch it. Do I need to do something special to them? Should I "sharpen" them a bit more? Do I have some special brand of super-hard briar, just like others have smelly ebonite?

Any tips?

Just got mine from Brad. Don't understand what's that relief you talk about.

Woooho! Just got my package. Them thingies look beautiful.

Now to learn to make pipes again...

Cheers!

The first thing that got my attention was the stem. Cannot say much about its profile since I don't have a point of reference, but I absolutely love it.

Is the stem handcut?

Oh, I see something I didn't at first. Is that a shark fin?? (between shank and bowl?)

Hay algo que no ví al principio: ¿tiene una aleta, como de tiburón? (en la unión entre la cánula y la cazoleta)

Félix,

Way to fix a stomach ache! Beautiful pipe, thought I'm not fond of the stem. The staining and finish is outstanding, as always.

¡Vaya manera de aliviarte del estómago! Hermosa pipa, a pesar de que no me gusta mucho la boquilla. La tinta y acabado maravillosos, como siempre.

Ow... that thing is so beautiful. So bad I live at the end of the world.

wmolaw wrote:Later I dreamed that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a tenon to fit, they kept breaking off in the mortise, time after time, after time.

I had that dream too!

Wait... no, it wasn't a dream.

I think Mike's pipes are well done from a craftsmanship point of view. I don't doubt its engineering is flawless, sanded all the way up to 1000's, and finished properly. But they still look amateurish*, and I wonder, what's the reasoning behind those prices?

*: It takes one to know one.

When I read this thread title I pictured a musical band composed by pipe makers. And a boy band at that.

Wouldn't that be a sight?

RadDavis wrote:Of course all of this is assuming you're using a two jaw chuck with pins in it that is built to hold a block of briar. I may have assumed too much.

Ah. It does makes sense now.

Do you have pictures of your restoration process? Love 'em.

(No, I don't plan to make an offer, so don't feel obligated )

Heh, somehow this reminded me of this ASP post by Frenchy.

Well, it is a functional object. Yes, they can be considered "works of art." No, I don't think there are many samples out there that can fit into this category.

Anyways, fuzzy topic. Shall we move on?

(I still think this is a really nice pipe.)

I don't sand the chamber after staining, I do have it as a habit because I there is a Plato philosophy and way to make things considered as art, long story, I would like to write sometime about it, but language is a problem. Unless you are going to install that pipe in an art gallery for display, a...

Mmm... curry...

Well, it's been years and I still struggle just like you with it. You can get a hacksaw blade and give it a fine profile using a grinder and stick it to a handle (cut a slot in a piece of wood and just epoxy it; I tried to drill through it, it didn't work.) Make sure the teeth cuts at the pull. This...

Having been raised in a wood shop in a third-going-to-second-world country, I only got familiar with "safety issues" by reading about it in the interwebs. Of course, with high aspirations to become a first-world country in the next 30 years or so, nowadays is quite common to hear about it....