Have briar, have rodstock, will make pipes.

Discussions of tools wether you bought them or made them yourself. Anything from screwdrivers to custom chucks and drilling rigs.
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Charl
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Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:03 pm
Location: South Africa

Have briar, have rodstock, will make pipes.

Post by Charl »

We're visiting the in-laws in Lithuania and I wanted to keep myself busy while being here. Luckily my father-in-law is a carpenter and this is the machine that I've taken over for pipemaking.
Image
It's a bit of a killer on the back, but who said pipemaking is easy?!
caskwith
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Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:00 am

Re: Have briar, have rodstock, will make pipes.

Post by caskwith »

Ha great thinking!

A couple of years back there was the possibility of my partner having to move away for work. Because the move wouldn't be permanent there was no way I could move my entire shop, plus she would have been renting a flat. So I could spend time there and keep travel costs down (fuel is insane here) I started designing a portable pipe workshop that I could take with me. No major tooling or anything, I would drill and rough shape in my own workshop and then mostly do handwork like filing stems and finish sanding, bit of buffing and staining etc. I figured if I had a large enough stock of prepared stummels then I could always keep myself busy and productive.
In the end plans changed and I never had to build it but I do plan to build the portable workshop one day as and when I have the spare parts and time, never know when it might come in handy!
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d.huber
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Re: Have briar, have rodstock, will make pipes.

Post by d.huber »

caskwith wrote:Ha great thinking!

A couple of years back there was the possibility of my partner having to move away for work. Because the move wouldn't be permanent there was no way I could move my entire shop, plus she would have been renting a flat. So I could spend time there and keep travel costs down (fuel is insane here) I started designing a portable pipe workshop that I could take with me. No major tooling or anything, I would drill and rough shape in my own workshop and then mostly do handwork like filing stems and finish sanding, bit of buffing and staining etc. I figured if I had a large enough stock of prepared stummels then I could always keep myself busy and productive.
In the end plans changed and I never had to build it but I do plan to build the portable workshop one day as and when I have the spare parts and time, never know when it might come in handy!
You could spend the week drilling and shaping then spend the weekends somewhere nice.
http://www.dshpipes.com

"Strive for excellence, not for what someone else accepts."
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KurtHuhn
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Re: Have briar, have rodstock, will make pipes.

Post by KurtHuhn »

Charl wrote:We're visiting the in-laws in Lithuania and I wanted to keep myself busy while being here. Luckily my father-in-law is a carpenter and this is the machine that I've taken over for pipemaking.
Image
It's a bit of a killer on the back, but who said pipemaking is easy?!
Nice! I firmly believe 75% of any undertaking consists of problem solving.

--K
Kurt Huhn
AKA: Oversized Ostrogoth
artisan@k-huhn.com
Charl
Posts: 1901
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:03 pm
Location: South Africa

Re: Have briar, have rodstock, will make pipes.

Post by Charl »

I took along what I thought I would need (chamber bits, airway bits etc), but was actually way underprepared. I'll get to drilling a stummel and want to countersink the mortise, then realize that I forgot to bring it. With stemwork I'll get to wanting to make the slot and then realize that I forgot the Dremel bit. And so on and so on. I like to scrape my stems with a knife after rough shaping, but left the knife at home. Where do I get a good scraping knife now? :roll:
It's amazing how many little "tools of the trade" that works only for you, you accumulate through the years that helps you to make a pipe. Most people will see it as rubbish and throw it away, but for you it is indispensable! :lol:
caskwith
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Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:00 am

Re: Have briar, have rodstock, will make pipes.

Post by caskwith »

What to take with me was always going to be the big problem. My plan to overcome it was to get a cheap tool box and put it beside me when I made a stem, every tool I used to make the stem would be put into the tool box as I was done with it instead of back on the rack etc.
Whether that would have worked in practice I don't know but it seemed a good idea at the time.
Charl
Posts: 1901
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:03 pm
Location: South Africa

Re: Have briar, have rodstock, will make pipes.

Post by Charl »

My plan was to do something similar, Chris. But then time got in the way and I ended up throwing bits and pieces together! :lol:
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