Blinded by the light

For discussion of fitting and shaping stems, doing inlays, and any other stem-related topic.
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LatakiaLover
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Blinded by the light

Post by LatakiaLover »

I've mentioned using reflected light several times here on PF as a way of fine-tuning shape.

Tonight it occurred to me to try and capture the concept on film (so to speak).

The subject is an original and replacement stem made for the same pipe, with the same length, angle-of-bend, and so forth. Both are acrylic.

Here's the replacement from several angles, so you can see the light blob move around a bit. (A single-point source is always best for this, btw.)

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And here's the original stem from several angles. Ignoring the chatter and wear caused by use, notice the how the blob of light is distorted in the first three shots, and actually divides into two separate spots in the last one.

(Also notice the tool marks in the crease, because it's one of my pet peeves. Especially on an $800 famous-maker pipe. :doh: )

The point? Light never lies. No matter how straight & flat & even your eye says your stem is under normal conditions, use a desk lamp in a dark room to check your work. One TEN THOUSANDTH of an inch off creates a detectable distortion in the reflection.

A pain in the ass? At first, definitely. After a while you'll hit the bullseye 50% of the time on your first attempt, though, and be one "touch-up" pass away from it the other 50%. The payoff? Call one of the uber-grade pipe dealers and ask them to name the first thing they check when a new carver auditions his work. Or, if you prefer a more direct approach, whether less-than-perfect stem work will get your stuff bounced.

You know what they're gonna say, of course.

You do the math. :lol:



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d.huber
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Re: Blinded by the light

Post by d.huber »

Lol! I didn't realize that the first one was the replacement at first. The contour looks totally normal to me. ;)

The original stem looks like mirrors in a fun house.
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The Smoking Yeti
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Re: Blinded by the light

Post by The Smoking Yeti »

You uhh... have a couple sanding marks in that there stem.
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LatakiaLover
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Re: Blinded by the light

Post by LatakiaLover »

UberHuberMan wrote:Lol! I didn't realize that the first one was the replacement at first. The contour looks totally normal to me. ;)

The original stem looks like mirrors in a fun house.
Yeah, sorry, I wasn't very clear.

The first example is a stem that was made "using reflections" to determine when the shaping was finished.

The second is a stem where (presumably) no attention was paid to what the reflections showed. The surprise being that #2 was made by someone who gets significantly big bucks for his work, and WOULD care if he knew how it looked when "put to the test" in this way.

I figured I'd show you guys so you could get a leg up on the competition by learning and using the method from the start. ("You guys" not meaning Rad, Walt, Premal, and the several other pros who drop by PF from time to time and have already discovered their own way to make good stems.)
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d.huber
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Re: Blinded by the light

Post by d.huber »

LatakiaLover wrote:
UberHuberMan wrote:Lol! I didn't realize that the first one was the replacement at first. The contour looks totally normal to me. ;)

The original stem looks like mirrors in a fun house.
Yeah, sorry, I wasn't very clear.

The first example is a stem that was made "using reflections" to determine when the shaping was finished.

The second is a stem where (presumably) no attention was paid to what the reflections showed. The surprise being that #2 was made by someone who gets significantly big bucks for his work, and WOULD care if he knew how it looked when "put to the test" in this way.

I figured I'd show you guys so you could get a leg up on the competition by learning and using the method from the start. ("You guys" not meaning Rad, Walt, Premal, and the several other pros who drop by PF from time to time and have already discovered their own way to make good stems.)
Actually, I totally understood. I was just confused which order the stems were displayed in until I saw the second stem. Just another example of my needing to read posts in their entirety. The shaping on the first stem looks great, the second, not so much.

Thanks for sharing! I think this is a valuable tool for sure. :)
http://www.dshpipes.com

"Strive for excellence, not for what someone else accepts."
-Tyler Beard
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