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Dagnabbit

Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 1:30 pm
by timberwolfer21
Sanding my first hand cut stem
Image
sanded thru the bit...
Image

Have since found a thread that mentioned using a thin strip of tape to show where the draft hole is from the side of the stem.


Bob
Midland, MI

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 1:58 pm
by sandahlpipe
Ouch! At least you're not the only one here who has sanded through the airway.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 7:18 pm
by pipedreamer
Goes hand in hand in the beginning. I like the shape of the stem. My first ones were total disasters!!!

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 8:17 pm
by kamkiel
Hate it when that happens

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 10:53 pm
by wdteipen
It was too long anyway. Handcut stems takes some practice. Keep at it.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 11:32 pm
by DocAitch
I did exactly the same thing on my first hand cut. LL uses tape or a 1/16 th plastic rod inserted in the airway.
I now insert a 1/16" steel rod when I check the side.
Kurt Huhn did a photo essay in the stickies above, check it out.http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/
Also check out a thread posted by George Dibos (Latakia Lover) viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8600 on shaping and finishing the button area.
It looks like you were going to run into a problem with your button. There a couple of other videos on shaping stems on Youtube by J Alan. There is also a nice photo of a stem in progress by Scotties22 on a recent post in this section.
DocAitch

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 5:46 am
by caskwith
It happens, the more stems you make though the less often it happens.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 6:52 am
by timberwolfer21
DocAitch wrote:I did exactly the same thing on my first hand cut. LL uses tape or a 1/16 th plastic rod inserted in the airway.
I now insert a 1/16" steel rod when I check the side.
Kurt Huhn did a photo essay in the stickies above, check it out.http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/
Also check out a thread posted by George Dibos (Latakia Lover) viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8600 on shaping and finishing the button area.
It looks like you were going to run into a problem with your button. There a couple of other videos on shaping stems on Youtube by J Alan. There is also a nice photo of a stem in progress by Scottie22 on a recent post in this section.
DocAitch
Thank you for the links. Very good stuff there.

I left the button long intentionally to trim back to 3.5mm when it was time to slot it.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 6:54 am
by timberwolfer21
wdteipen wrote:It was too long anyway. Handcut stems takes some practice. Keep at it.
Thanks Wayne. How much shorter? Struggling a bit with proportions.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 8:32 am
by DocAitch
timberwolfer21 wrote:
DocAitch wrote:I did exactly the same thing on my first hand cut. LL uses tape or a 1/16 th plastic rod inserted in the airway.
I now insert a 1/16" steel rod when I check the side.
Kurt Huhn did a photo essay in the stickies above, check it out.http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/
Also check out a thread posted by George Dibos (Latakia Lover) viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8600 on shaping and finishing the button area.
It looks like you were going to run into a problem with your button. There a couple of other videos on shaping stems on Youtube by J Alan. There is also a nice photo of a stem in progress by Scottie22 on a recent post in this section.
DocAitch
Thank you for the links. Very good stuff there.

I left the button long intentionally to trim back to 3.5mm when it was time to slot it.
I think that it will work better if you slot it first. The slot will help you to maintain your orientation for the rest of the shaping and there is less likelihood of cracking the button while working on this area.
DocAitch

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 8:38 am
by sandahlpipe
Yeah. Cut the slot first, then use the slot to orient your tape on the sides.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 9:47 am
by timberwolfer21
DocAitch wrote:
timberwolfer21 wrote:
DocAitch wrote:I did exactly the same thing on my first hand cut. LL uses tape or a 1/16 th plastic rod inserted in the airway.
I now insert a 1/16" steel rod when I check the side.
Kurt Huhn did a photo essay in the stickies above, check it out.http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/
Also check out a thread posted by George Dibos (Latakia Lover) viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8600 on shaping and finishing the button area.
It looks like you were going to run into a problem with your button. There a couple of other videos on shaping stems on Youtube by J Alan. There is also a nice photo of a stem in progress by Scottie22 on a recent post in this section.
DocAitch
Thank you for the links. Very good stuff there.

I left the button long intentionally to trim back to 3.5mm when it was time to slot it.
I think that it will work better if you slot it first. The slot will help you to maintain your orientation for the rest of the shaping and there is less likelihood of cracking the button while working on this area.
DocAitch
Thank you DocAitch! Will do. That makes a lot of sense.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 9:52 am
by timberwolfer21
sandahlpipe wrote:Yeah. Cut the slot first, then use the slot to orient your tape on the sides.
Thank you. It's a learning experience and I'm just getting started. Nothing made me more nauseous than hoping that line was a sandpaper scratch and not the draft hole emerging to the light of day.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 8:21 pm
by wdteipen
timberwolfer21 wrote:
wdteipen wrote:It was too long anyway. Handcut stems takes some practice. Keep at it.
Thanks Wayne. How much shorter? Struggling a bit with proportions.
I would say about twice the depth of the roughed button in the photo.

Re: Dagnabbit

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 8:22 pm
by wdteipen
Bear in mind that that advice is coming from a guy that tends to make his stems too long. :D