How to deal with this.

Sanding, rusticating, sandblasting, buffing, etc. All here.
caskwith
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How to deal with this.

Post by caskwith »

Working on a pipe, really nice grain and I would love to keep it smooth but it has these weird marks, kind of blotchy. Anyone seen this before? Aside from sandblasting I guess it's just going to be a case of a dark stain I guess? Such a shame, it would have been a lovely natural smooth.

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sandahlpipe
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by sandahlpipe »

I haven't seen those marks before, but you could always try a dark stain and see how it goes. Worst that can happen is it will be a dark stain. :-)


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baweaverpipes
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by baweaverpipes »

When harvesting burls, often donkeys are used to carry the burls. It appears that a donkey took a leak onto the burl prior to harvesting.
Who's briar? Looks like it wasn't boiled long enough.
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by caskwith »

Donkey piss, I knew it. Well we all know the cure for that is to coat it in donkey shit lol.

I believe it's Molina briar? I had a customer want me to make a set of pipes for him, he ordered briar and had it sent to me, I was told to make his pipes and keep the rest, this is one of those blocks, lovely grain, tight and clean, smells and taste good too so I am not sure about boiling, could it be something akin to spalting as found in other woods?
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by LatakiaLover »

You might be able to drive the mold/fungus/mineral deposit/etc. out of the briar with heat.

Put the bowl in a pottery kiln set to 2350 degrees F for 24 hours, shut the oven off so it cools slowly over several days, and check. Bet the marks are gone.
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by wdteipen »

LatakiaLover wrote:You might be able to drive the mold/fungus/mineral deposit/etc. out of the briar with heat.

Put the bowl in a pottery kiln set to 2350 degrees F for 24 hours, shut the oven off so it cools slowly over several days, and check. Bet the marks are gone.
You should use smileys after a post like this, George. Someone might take you serious and try it. :lol:
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caskwith
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by caskwith »

I've got a laboratory furnace, only goes up to 1100 C though, will that be enough?
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by LatakiaLover »

wdteipen wrote:
LatakiaLover wrote:You might be able to drive the mold/fungus/mineral deposit/etc. out of the briar with heat.

Put the bowl in a pottery kiln set to 2350 degrees F for 24 hours, shut the oven off so it cools slowly over several days, and check. Bet the marks are gone.
You should use smileys after a post like this, George. Someone might take you serious and try it. :lol:
You are exactly right, of course. My apologies. Besides, pottery kilns are much too heavy and expensive for a pipe carver to even consider. I don't know what I was thinking.

Much easier and cheaper would be to get a common, range top pressure cooker from Wal-Mart, fill it with gasoline and the briar, lock the lid, turn the heat on "high," and cook it at home. Just make sure the gasoline is entirely gone before opening the cooker (takes an hour or more). The best way to check, of course, is with a wooden match or Bic lighter since a lot of vapor builds up in your house during the cooking process. Also, because such a procedure should be constantly monitored, I find that sipping a cocktail of cyanide and industrial drain cleaner while playing a game of Russian Roulette with a .44 mag helps pass the time.
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by taharris »

But don't forget your gloves. Safety first!
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Tyler
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by Tyler »

Never seen anything like it.

In other news, I'm surprised you characterize that as nice grain. Looks like branch wood to me, and would be an automatic blast anyway. Maybe the photo misleads?
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DMI
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by DMI »

The dirty marks look like oil of some kind.

The briar looks similar to the Chinese stuff this guy uses:

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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by d.huber »

LatakiaLover wrote:
wdteipen wrote:
LatakiaLover wrote:You might be able to drive the mold/fungus/mineral deposit/etc. out of the briar with heat.

Put the bowl in a pottery kiln set to 2350 degrees F for 24 hours, shut the oven off so it cools slowly over several days, and check. Bet the marks are gone.
You should use smileys after a post like this, George. Someone might take you serious and try it. :lol:
You are exactly right, of course. My apologies. Besides, pottery kilns are much too heavy and expensive for a pipe carver to even consider. I don't know what I was thinking.

Much easier and cheaper would be to get a common, range top pressure cooker from Wal-Mart, fill it with gasoline and the briar, lock the lid, turn the heat on "high," and cook it at home. Just make sure the gasoline is entirely gone before opening the cooker (takes an hour or more). The best way to check, of course, is with a wooden match or Bic lighter since a lot of vapor builds up in your house during the cooking process. Also, because such a procedure should be constantly monitored, I find that sipping a cocktail of cyanide and industrial drain cleaner while playing a game of Russian Roulette with a .44 mag helps pass the time.
I tried this once. When I woke up, there was a hole in my wall and my kitchen was missing.
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Sasquatch
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by Sasquatch »

Strange cut of wood, a lot of heartwood in that piece.

That chinese "briar" is rhamnus I think, don't know much more about it than that.


No idea what the spotting is on that wood in the OP.
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sandahlpipe
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by sandahlpipe »

d.huber wrote:I tried this once. When I woke up, there was a hole in my wall and my kitchen was missing.
I'll bet your girl wasn't too happy about that.


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caskwith
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by caskwith »

Tyler wrote:Never seen anything like it.

In other news, I'm surprised you characterize that as nice grain. Looks like branch wood to me, and would be an automatic blast anyway. Maybe the photo misleads?
Ok the grain isn't $1000+ super high grade quality but it's clean, the orientation follows the shape and other side has nice flaming and the front and back are solid birdseye. It's nice to me, probably not good enough for some of you guys but it's probably a lot better than most English pipes have ever been made of ;) lol
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W.Pastuch
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by W.Pastuch »

I think it's probably bad boiling or mold that went deep into the wood during initial drying...
Boiling it again might help, but it will screw up your mortise and will require a couple of months of drying.
You could try boiling it in 75% alcohol - you won't be driving as much humidity into the wood and it might help clean the stains.

If that doesn't work I'd blast it :)
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by Vermont Freehand »

sometimes when the briar starts to rot in the ground, it will show marks like these. You rarely see it in blocks since most is chucked at the mill. I'd put my money on that or the damn donkeys!!!
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Tyler
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How to deal with this.

Post by Tyler »

Vermont Freehand wrote:sometimes when the briar starts to rot in the ground, it will show marks like these. You rarely see it in blocks since most is chucked at the mill. I'd put my money on that or the damn donkeys!!!
It's dead root briar!!

Maybe it IS $1000+ super high grade!!

:D :D :D
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by mightysmurf8201 »

Maybe it's actually 5000 yr old petrified bog briar! :mrgreen:
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caskwith
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Re: How to deal with this.

Post by caskwith »

Well a medium brown stain hid it very well.
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