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The skills required to gracefully recover from flaws and mistakes come after you’ve learned how to not make the mistakes in the first place. Until then, the repair/recovery jobs look like band-aids. This is no exception. Sure, it will smoke fine. Technically, the repair job is fine, there’s a tight ...

On the second-to-last picture, you can see that the rim to bowl side angle is different on the right vs. left. The bowl/shank junction might just be a little bit too narrow a radius, but that’s more of a preference thing at this point. And I definitely would have blasted this much deeper with those ...

I would make the flare on the stem align parallel to the shank face. Then I would make the stem repeat the length of something on the Stummel. Either the bowl length, or the bowl height.


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I would say a set of pin gages is expensive here in the US, too. But worth it. This is intriguing, but I don’t know if it allows for small enough bands for what you’d put on a pipe. You can always turn your own out of brass for the sizes you need. Pin gages allow you to work on the end of the piece,...

The trick is thinking through how your tool is designed to work and which part of the tool removes material where. There’s plenty of room left on this to go back and shape the shank round. Focus on one line at a time. Make the top flat and parallel to the bottom line. Then flip the stem and make sur...

Next step is to turn the shank completely round from button to bowl/shank junction. If you’re in doubt, check with a straight edge. The bowl shank junction itself should be no more than 1/4” of a radius, and probably a little less, depending on the overall size.


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I put my findings on this thread here: http://pipemakersforum.com/forum/viewto ... s&start=60

It might be a bad batch of cumberland. I use mostly SEM, not NYH, but I haven't had this issue. If you can get rid of the ripples by sanding to 1500, that makes me think either heat buildup or perhaps something with the compound could fix it. If you're not already using Menzerna, I highly recommend ...

Ripples could be a few different things. The last step of sanding (for me, it's usually 400 or 600) should be in the opposite direction the wheel hits the spot. It could be grit or dirt stuck in your buffing wheel (try a buffer rake if that's the case) or it could be something in the compound itself...

McConnell Scottish Flake. I’m mainly a Virginia/VaPer guy, so I’d have to leave the Orientals to somebody else. I spent a great amount of time reading Tobacco Reviews on a few hundred blends while I was exploring the field, but now I just wait till somebody recommends something and pick up a tin. It...

I say keep trying new blends. Order some of what you like and some new ones to sample. Try a good Virginia like Orlik Golden Sliced, a good Virginia/Perique like Escudo, a good English like Presbyterian Mixture, and note the differences. Then move on to Burley, Dark Fired Kentucky, orientals, and th...

Thank you! And Merry Christmas to you, too!


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I use a dust collector when I'm doing larger cuts, but I think 10 TPI is fine. Fewer TPI blades are used for resawing and faster cuts. They go together with wider blades. Thinner blades with more TPI will let you cut curves more smoothly. 1/8" blades can drift more easily if you're not careful,...

That should be adequate for cutting briar. For setting up a bandsaw, watch this video here. You want to be sure the guides are brought to the place where the blade wants to be. They shouldn't actually touch the blade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU And if you're seeing things snap, that...

1. This is too general of a statement to evaluate reliably to true or false. I never promise a smooth, because I might discover a flaw that makes me sandblast once the shape is finished, but I'll give it a try as a smooth if the customer requests it. This is regardless of shape. I don't do rusticate...

The shank angle is a bit jarring. I tried marking it up, but I’m not good with my fingers there. I would thin out the sides of the stem blade as well. The top view of the stem is fine. It’s just the side view that I would change, and even that is mostly aesthetic. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20...

Wasting materials is inevitable, and part of the learning process. More so for those of us who came to pipe making with no experience machining. When I'm not sure about a new shape or design, I sketch it out on paper until I find something I like, then I usually make a template so I can lay it over ...

There’s no such thing as wasting time when you’re making pipes. Time spent planning out your work will save frustration later when the ideas don’t pan out the way you planned.


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The only possible reason I could think of would be that then the tenon, not the shank is the weakest link. But even then, 1/4" integral tenons seem like they'd be too flimsy no matter what. If I have to go that thin, I prefer the strength of delrin. I am curious how you manage workholding for a...

The pipe is fine, but I just wonder why Wallace hunting is the subject matter. I also wonder if Gromit makes an appearance on the other side.


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