pipemakersforum.com

Hi, my name is Ben i am 30 years old and live in northern California. Started smoking pipes when I was 17 and like many of you I am sure, made a pipe from a 2x4 when i was probably 14. I have been making pipes for around 8 @ years but most of that time it has been whenever I have an hour here or there. I did sell some pipes a few years ago and had good reception but soon got married and got busy with work and haven't had enough solid time to make anything consistent. I stopped selling also because I wasn't happy with my quality and also had a lot to learn. It has actually been for the better that I have had some time to really study pipes and figure out how things work.When it comes to making it is hard for me to ever be satisfied, I am kind of a perfectionist. Not that anything I make is perfect but I sure do want it to be. It is a goal of mine to be able to eventually make at least 5 pipes a month and see where that takes me.
A little about my life... I have always worked in the trades. I worked in a machine shop for a while but for the most part have been self employed in commercial and industrial construction and maintenance. The job in the machine shop, although short, gave me an eye for quality control and manufacturing and has given me a better mind for making and also solving problems. I am very thnkful for that.
I have been reading on this forum for a long time now and haven't made any posts but thought it would be fun to chime in and join the fun. I love the more experienced tutorial posts. To see how other people solve problems and do things in general is why I am here. Honestly it's not so much about learning to make pipes like someone else but to add to my knowledge from other people's ideas. There are many ways of accomplishing the same goal and I like to see them all.
Thank you all for your generosity in sharing ideas and closely guarded secrets.

Welcome.
The problem solving is fun, but it is also extremely interesting to hook up other pipe makers and learn how they approach a problem. Sometimes you are chagrined to find that someone else's solution is way simpler and more elegant than your own.
Looking forward to seeing your work.
DocAitch

DocAitch wrote:Welcome.
The problem solving is fun, but it is also extremely interesting to hook up other pipe makers and learn how they approach a problem. Sometimes you are chagrined to find that someone else's solution is way simpler and more elegant than your own.
Looking forward to seeing your work.
DocAitch

Yep you are right. I hope that I have time soon to complete something and post it for honest critique. It seems like there hasn't been much activity on pmf lately, am I wrong? Maybe the storm of interests in pipemaking has died down a little.

Welcome to the forum.

I do think part of the forum has migrated to Facebook for most people. However, the knowledge base on the forum is second to none. And pipes posted for critique usually get some action if there's a serious intention to improve.