Billiard #2

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Bniesen
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 11:22 am

Billiard #2

Post by Bniesen »

Good morning,
This is my second billiard (Second completed pipe). I chose the shape because the general consensus is to start with billiards, i am not particularly fond of the shape, but I am focusing on improvement and need feedback. I will make a third once I have some feedback. No.1 had too many flaws that were obvious to me so this one is result of my self critique.

I am a little uncertain of how thick the bite zone behind the button should be. I have taken this one down to 0.165 before sanding and polishing, the acrylic is translucent in this area, and I can see the funnel well. It feels fairly comfortable to me but how thin should it actually be?

I am pretty happy with the result, but have room to grow.

The problems that I see with the pipe:

The base of the bowl should have been taken down just a hair further, it is not perfectly in line with the shank, this makes the shank look like it isn't straight.

The button ended up a bit too shallow, result of never using a nut seating file before I think.

The slot needs work

Small flaw in my "dot inlay", need to work out the technique a little bit better.

The base of the bowl is slightly asymmetric, No.1 had the same problem but mirrored, I was unable to notice it until I got a little shine on the wood.

Could use a bit better polish, I do not have a carnauba wheel yet, its on my to get list.

I'm not all that thrilled with this particular acrylic.


Length: 142mm
Bowl width: 30mm
bowl height: 55mm
Weight: 31 Grams

Thanks for any and all feedback!
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No.2 Left.jpg (52.56 KiB) Viewed 1583 times
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mightysmurf8201
Posts: 712
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 12:44 pm
Location: Hudson, OH
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Re: Billiard #2

Post by mightysmurf8201 »

The bowl has a very cylindrical look to it. On your next one, try giving it a slight "belly", with the widest part being just below the centerline of the bowl height. Choose a picture of a very well done billiard, and try to emulate the lines and proportions. Here is a decent example: https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/esta ... _id=105414
#shellaclivesmatter

Emmanuel Atilano
https://www.instagram.com/atilanohandmade/
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RickB
Posts: 378
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:56 pm
Location: NC

Re: Billiard #2

Post by RickB »

So - let me start by saying that this comes with the world's biggest rock of salt, as I'm actually in the process of carving my first billiard - very much in the same boat you are, I don't love them but I know that doing them and getting critiqued will help me get better. That being said, in planning the one I'm working on now, I've looked at and read critique for so many billiards over the past few days that I'm seeing them in my sleep - so obviously I'm no authority, but here's what I see based on the researching and reading I've been doing. Hoping some more folks who know what they're doing will chime in, but I figured I'd take a stab at it.

Proportionally a lot of this looks to be on point - stem and stummel are the same length, bowl height is the same as the shank length, forward cant looks right at 3-5 degrees. What throws it off for me visually is that the bowl is about half as wide as it is tall, so even though it's okay in terms of relation to the shank height (though closer to 4x than 3x), my eye either wants that bowl wider, or it wants it shorter (with the shank and stem reduced in length to match).

Here's a quick and dirty PhotoShop hackjob:
Image

Compressing the bowl vertically actually makes that belly come out a bit, and tapering that top third of the bowl reduces the cylindrical look some (though you'd maybe want to go for a slightly smaller chamber diameter in that case?). Only other things that jump out at me are that you might want the stem taper to start right at the junction (and I'd swear that some of the Dunhills I've looked at look like they start it 1/4" into the shank), and that maybe you'd want to taper the shank a tiny bit more (I can tell you did it some because I measured it, but what I keep reading is that you have to do it just enough to trick your eye into making it look straight - not enough taper makes the junction look bigger than where it meets the bowl). I think pulling that bottom line at the mortise end up by even another 1/32" or so from my drawing would go a long way. Again though, I'm essentially a rank amateur at this stuff, so I could be way off.

And FWIW, I'm also not in love with the acrylic, but that's just a matter of personal taste. Finish looks good for no buffing apparatus - but you're going to have a blast when you get a wheel, it's amazing what a difference it makes.
Chronicling my general ineptitude and misadventures in learning pipe making here: https://www.instagram.com/rustynailbriars/
Bniesen
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 11:22 am

Re: Billiard #2

Post by Bniesen »

Excellent, thank you both very much. Ill work these suggestions in the next attempt as best as I can.
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