First Pipe Finishing advice

Sanding, rusticating, sandblasting, buffing, etc. All here.
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Hudson
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Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:24 pm
Location: Greenville, SC

First Pipe Finishing advice

Post by Hudson »

I received my first pipe kit a few days ago and have had great fun shaping it with a belt sander, a palm sander, various rasps and files and some hand sanding to 150.

https://picasaweb.google.com/PhilipH.Go ... directlink

But several issues have reared their ugly heads so I have a few questions as to how to proceed.

I had hoped to leave it smooth but several pits/blemishes have become apparent so I'm wondering at what point do you stop trying to make them disappear and commit to rustication?

I did have a belt-sander user malfunction and took too much off the end of the shank. I would assume there's no real fix for it short of adding a cap of some sort. (maybe it should cover the whole shank)

The photos highlight both the grain and the scratches I've yet to get out. If I were to rusticate it, I'm guessing it's okay to go from here. But if I want to leave it smooth, would I go back to 100 grit and then go from there? I guess I'm wondering at what point the shaping ends and the rest is scratch removal (it looks pretty good but I can still feel that it's not quite round).

I welcome any advice you might care to share. Thanks in advance.
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"Creativity is the residue of time wasted."

Albert Einstein, famous pipe smoker
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Ocelot55
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Re: First Pipe Finishing advice

Post by Ocelot55 »

In my limited experience you can still do some subtle shaping with as high as 150grit. If I decide to rusticate or sandblast I usually stop at 150 except for the spot I put the nomenclature which I sand down to 600.
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Growley
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Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 12:46 pm
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Re: First Pipe Finishing advice

Post by Growley »

Hudson,

Nice job so far. You've got a good shape going there. There are a lot of different answers to your questions depending on what's important to you. You can definitely leave pits, fill pits, rusticate, blast...and so on. You could easily find a solid argument for all. There is plenty of controversy around filling pits and leaving them there.

In general, if I find pits, I'd rusticate. For my smooth pipes, I shoot for pit free and quality grain. On this particular block it looks like your grain is a bit bland. That in itself could lend to rustication or a very dark stain. On a very dark stain you really want your shape to be precise and it will show everything. I'd say rustication is the most forgiving approach you can take.

I do most of my final shaping with 220 and 320 grits if I'm going for a smooth finish.

I'm not sure any of that will help.

Brian.
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