pipemakersforum.com

Blinkyrocket wrote:How much work do you think would go into a churchwarden like this? I find myself really ONLY wanting churchwardens, for some reason any other style doesn't attract me, although I may see the light someday.

it's easier to make a straight stem, instead of a curved one, right?

This actually looks like it might not technically be a churchwarden, just a pipe with a long stem.

sandahlpipe wrote:

Blinkyrocket wrote:How much work do you think would go into a churchwarden like this? I find myself really ONLY wanting churchwardens, for some reason any other style doesn't attract me, although I may see the light someday.

it's easier to make a straight stem, instead of a curved one, right?

This actually looks like it might not technically be a churchwarden, just a pipe with a long stem.

I would consider this a churchwarden, though technically the longest part is the shank, not the stem. It's hard to say how long something takes, because there are too many variables. What might take a beginner 30 hours can be done by a pro in 5. If you're going to make pipes, you need to adjust your expectations from "This project will take me X number of hours" to "I'm going to take as long as I need to make this look right" and don't stop until you've achieved the desired result.

As for whether it's easier to make a bent (curved isn't usually the word we use) stem or a straight one, it's initially more difficult to do a bent stem, but with practice, bending a stem can be a matter of a couple of minutes extra. The harder part is doing a bent stem properly by making the mortise and airway at different angles from each other. Beginners also tend to struggle to keep their lines straight when shaping stems and shanks. Churchwardens will emphasize those tendencies.

If you're only interested in churchwardens, by all means go ahead and try it. But I think you may find the learning process less frustrating if you start with something simple and work your way up to churchwardens once you're confident in the basics. The other alternative would be to grab yourself some churchwarden stem blanks where you don't have to worry about the drilling.

Blinkyrocket wrote:Im mainly wondering what the potential problems with drilling the airway would be. I'm kinda confused about how you would drill it in a bent stem, or shank. I have absolutely NO woodworking experience....

sandahlpipe wrote:

Blinkyrocket wrote:Im mainly wondering what the potential problems with drilling the airway would be. I'm kinda confused about how you would drill it in a bent stem, or shank. I have absolutely NO woodworking experience....

Ok. Well you drill a bent stem the same way you drill a straight stem. Then you heat and bend it. You want to make sure and heat the stem evenly so you don't get kinks.

If you don't have woodworking experience, your learning curve is going to be long like mine. Tooling isn't generally set up for pipe making, so you've got to buy or make custom tools for many of the operations. The good news is that learning how to work with wood isn't terribly difficult. You can often visit local woodworking supply stores and take classes on working with various machines from lathes to jigsaws.

The other thing you may want to do is figure out which pipe makers live near you and see if you can set up a shop day to come watch them make a pipe. If nothing else, it will give you a framework for when you read things on the forum.

Blinkyrocket wrote:

sandahlpipe wrote:

Blinkyrocket wrote:Im mainly wondering what the potential problems with drilling the airway would be. I'm kinda confused about how you would drill it in a bent stem, or shank. I have absolutely NO woodworking experience....

Ok. Well you drill a bent stem the same way you drill a straight stem. Then you heat and bend it. You want to make sure and heat the stem evenly so you don't get kinks.

If you don't have woodworking experience, your learning curve is going to be long like mine. Tooling isn't generally set up for pipe making, so you've got to buy or make custom tools for many of the operations. The good news is that learning how to work with wood isn't terribly difficult. You can often visit local woodworking supply stores and take classes on working with various machines from lathes to jigsaws.

The other thing you may want to do is figure out which pipe makers live near you and see if you can set up a shop day to come watch them make a pipe. If nothing else, it will give you a framework for when you read things on the forum.

Ahhhhhh! You bend it after you drill it, that makes so much sense that it makes me look stupid *facepalm*

Thanks for the info, hopefully I can get by on simple tools though for now.

Blinkyrocket wrote:What material would I need to buy if I wanted to make a churchwarden with a completely wooden stem?

sandahlpipe wrote: ↑Mon Aug 17, 2015 1:30 pm

Blinkyrocket wrote:How much work do you think would go into a churchwarden like this? I find myself really ONLY wanting churchwardens, for some reason any other style doesn't attract me, although I may see the light someday.

it's easier to make a straight stem, instead of a curved one, right?

This actually looks like it might not technically be a churchwarden, just a pipe with a long stem.

I would consider this a churchwarden, though technically the longest part is the shank, not the stem. It's hard to say how long something takes, because there are too many variables. What might take a beginner 30 hours can be done by a pro in 5. If you're going to make pipes, you need to adjust your expectations from "This project will take me X number of hours" to "I'm going to take as long as I need to make this look right" and don't stop until you've achieved the desired result.

As for whether it's easier to make a bent (curved isn't usually the word we use) stem or a straight one, it's initially more difficult to do a bent stem, but with practice, bending a stem can be a matter of a couple of minutes extra. The harder part is doing a bent stem properly by making the mortise and airway at different angles from each other. Beginners also tend to struggle to keep their lines straight when shaping stems and shanks. Churchwardens will emphasize those tendencies.

If you're only interested in churchwardens, by all means go ahead and try it. But I think you may find the learning process less frustrating if you start with something simple and work your way up to churchwardens once you're confident in the basics. The other alternative would be to grab yourself some churchwarden stem blanks where you don't have to worry about the drilling.