First pipe - billiard #1

[mcdavies]

Hey all...

I changed my mind a dozen times about posting this but decided to take the plunge. Here is my first pipe...

Now, my experience is more in realistic wildfowl carving (that I have been doing for longer than I'm prepared to admit) like the one below:



I spent a lot of time going back through the gallery and comments on billiards as a learning exercise. Amazing commentary and lots of things to make note of...and also help me realize I'm a LONG ways away from being competent at this. Regardless, here is what I came up with (excuse the bad pics...will do up some better lighting and background next time):















As far as this pipe goes, I'm OK with it but have a bunch of things that bother me. Unfortunately, as I was working it, I discovered it had a really bad, boring grain to the wood so found myself uninspired to fix a bunch of things, including:

- The finish (there are a few places where some more sanding would be needed)
- The fit of the stem to the shank. The shank seemed too long (just me eyeballing it) and I shortened it but that screwed up the fit of the stem. I could have worked it better, but...
- The bottom of the bowl does not flow straight to the shank. Again, I decided not to fuss it
- The stem is a bit crooked...I decided not to adjust it and redo all the pics too!

Would appreciate any comments you could provide...anything you point out is all good learning!

Mark

[sandahlpipe]

For your next one, focus on a few things.
1. Get the stem fit right before you even finish the shaping. Then leave the stem in while you're working on it.
2. Keep your shank lines straight. Use a small flat board with sandpaper wrapped around it and give yourself a reference, or use a flat file and keep it flat that way. Only move up the grits once you can hold a straight edge to the shank all the way around and not see any gaps.
3. Don't let the bowl dip below the shank line.
4. Work on the top of the bowl/shank transition. Make the curve a sharper angle.
5. The bowl is too wide in proportion to the overall pipe. You could probably take 1/8" off all the way around the bowl and it would look about right.

[DocAitch]

Not too bad for a first effort.
I would recommend that you finish each pipe that you start like it was a potential $500 pipe, unless there is a fatal flaw. Stopping or skipping the final stages isn't going to teach you those steps.
There is also no law that says you can't go back and reshape that shank and transition.
It may help to look at your shank and bowl as if they were 2 separate geometric shapes- a tapered cylinder for the shank joined to the lower part of a sphere (the bowl). They should join with a smallish radius which is uniform all the way around except at the 'South Pole'.
As it is, the line of the shank starts to 'expand' too far from the bowl. The lower line of the shank/bowl also dips, as Jeremiah has pointed out. This is a major, visible from 20 feet, error.
As Jeremiah said, a harder sanding backer will help maintain your lines, as will shaping with a file. A firmer sanding backer will also help with the round over at the top of the bowl.
One of the tricks that I have learned to do is to periodically rotate your stem 90 and 180 degrees to show where you are getting out of round. George Dibos also recommends a coarse nail emery board for the minor final shaping, and I find this to be helpful.
I think that you did a good job with the shape of the bowl, although, as Jeremiah points out, it is a little 'fat'.
A piece of card stock (3x5") will provide a straight edge to check your lines.
Is this your first pipe and was it from a kit?
DocAitch

[pmbattles]

I have to know...how long does it take to make that duck, man thats awesome! Lesser Scaup?

[mcdavies]

Thank you for taking the time to give such detailed comments...I hugely appreciate it!

Jeremiah...love the idea of the flat sanding board. I was trying to eyeball it with a file and that obviously didn't work. Definitely doing that on the next one. Will try to get the transition sharper as well...intuitively, I keep wanting something more gradual (just where my eye takes me) but will be more aggressive next time.

Doc...looking at the two shapes with a sharp, consistent transition clicks with me. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm hoping that between the two critiques I can do better on the next one. Oh, and the pipe was drilled and carved from a briar block, no kit...but I picked up the stem from a local carver who is getting out of the hobby. I tried carving one from ebonite and really enjoyed it (but didn't put it on this pipe). Again, something for the next effort.

PM...thank you, yes it is a lesser scaup. It takes me about 200 hours to carve it and another 80-100 hours to paint it. A labour of love...

[sandahlpipe]

Here I thought you had a real duck sitting on your desk...

[DocAitch]

I also think that duck is magnificent. We have a number of wildlife carvers in the Chesapeake Bay region and that would take a prize in any contest. Great work.
That would go for big money around here. (Maybe as high as $2-3/ hour for you )
DocAitch

[DocAitch]

Also, excellent job not starting from a kit. You jumped right in and did well.
I am still processing the whole proportions thing ( the height of the bowl=the length of the shank). Right now I am ignoring that particular rule because I would rather have that briar on the pipe rather than in the dust collector. I think that the length of the stem = the length of the stummel over rides except for a Prince, and the Canadian/Lumberman/Lovat group. It gets trickier with a bent and the modern shapes.
DocAitc