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Well the maker said somthing like he would not make full bents because he felt that the ovid shape of the draugh hole as it meets the bowl produces a less that satisfactory smoke. Constriction in the airflow? Make the airway a bit bigger. A pipe gurgles in part because the airway is small enough th...

Remember always to place the same side of the block against the same jaw of the vise. If you were to drill the airway, then flip the block around before drilling the bowl (or let the opposite chuck jaw present itself if using a lathe), any error present in your vise or setup will show.

FWIW, a slow speed grinder (Woodcraft has a Delta for $75) runs at 1725 rpm and the right hand side has a normal 5/8-11 thread. This is the size that many threaded arbor-mount grinding/sanding wheels use. Auto body tool supply shops carry a wide range of pads and sanding discs that will spin right o...

Yep, I keep no less than three drive belts for my lathe in stock at all times. They're usually drop shipped from Washington state, so the first time I snapped one I was out of business for a week. Todd If you're in a jam for parts like that, check out McMaster-Carr. MSC's older brother, I guess -- ...

Just got my box of JH briar today. My first impression is that the blocks were fairly accurately represented on the net. There are one or two really nice blocks, a couple of pretty junky ones, and a couple that are sort of okay, clearly destined for rustication, but not horribly flawed. They are, as...

Two makers have separately, given me the single best piece of advice on shapes, in different words. Kent Rasmussen told me that he wanted his shapes to be "cut to the bone." Tom Eltang told me that to make great shapes you have to have the courage to keep cutting even when the grain looks ...

If you use resin backed disks like I do, you can do the same basic thing with the actual disks each time you change them to make certain they're turning true. Todd, the discs you use have the stub? Would you mind elaborating on what sort of disc you use? You said fiber backed and resin backed -- ar...

Fanged Dypoes. Why do they alvays smeak in on uz? Hate it whed tat hapens. Heh, heh, thought maybe you had put your tongue on it. What kind of disc? There are wood lathes that come with a sanding disc attachment on the off end, but those discs are, I think, pretty specific to those lathes. There ar...

One thought. You may be able to cut a plug and somehow cement/epoxy it in place, and at least salvage a pipe for yourself. I have never attempted this, and I am not sure if it will work or not, but it might be worth a try. You could coat the bowl when completed to offer some heat resistance. Boy, I...

Jack, please please please let us know your thoughts on Jaume's XX. I'm somewhat gun-shy on JH briar at the moment, and I would love to hear experiences with the XX. Will do. I didn't think all of the blocks pictured in the package I bought looked like XX -- frankly, it looked like a one or two pre...

I use a Midi lathe, too. Whatever brand of chuck, and however you create the two jaws, I'd recommend buying one that tightens with a key. The less-expensive versions of the 4-jaw scroll chucks usually use a couple of levers to tighten, and I don't think that allows you to torque down enough.

Jack

Neil Flancbaum (smokinholsters) made some beautiful buckskin leather bags for me, cost was around $150 for 20. Beats the snot out of the time it took to make bags myself. Which is why we have things like money and commerce, after all.

Jack

Anybody else have any interest in silver fittings for military mounts? It's on my list of things to do, and I have lots to learn about silversmithing in general, but I do have a friend with a Haas CNC mini-mill in his garage, and it must be possible to make dies to press the fittings out of sheet. I...

I just ordered a "package" of extra-extra plateaux from Jaume, and I guess we'll see how it is. The curing issue is the most critical to me, so the comments about his briar being too lightly cured concerns me, but I'll give it a shot. Most of the pipes I've made for sale aren't from the ba...

I assume Silver & Deming are spiral bits -- to which I agree that the results are far superior to spade bits. I reshaped my own spiral bits freehand on a bench grinder, and the rigidity of the bit makes all the difference in the world. Don't know how I ever got anything done with spade bits. Jack

Just a note to emphasize Trever's advice. Not all drill bits are exactly on, and the Delrin can vary more than the nominal +/- .001 or whatever. I've had 5/16" that fit beautifully on one end of the rod, but was tight on the other, and had some 3/8" rod that was sloppy in a 3/8" hole....

Kurt, I would rather not say, because the fact is that there was no misrepresentation on the seller's part, merely ignorance on mine. Not that someone is going to SAY, "look, a lot of these blocks will have cracks, and those that don't will either be bald, have flaws the size of lima beans, or ...

Hello All, When I talk to Tom or Jess or Lars or Peter about pipes and about briar I don't ever hear the same sort of stories about the notorious "pit from hell." Point being, there are levels of quality when it comes to briar and unfortunately, you guys are probably getting some of the w...