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I'm just working on another Lovat and am having difficulty defining the 'chin' area.
If you could comment on these two photos it would be greatly appreciated.
I'm thinking this falls into the area of NO chin but it still confuses me.
As always thank you in advance.

I would start by making the bottom line of the pipe absolutely straight. Do that, then post another pic

IAWS

I don't disagree about the bottom line, but I think where help is needed is actually a tighter radius on the bowl/shank transition. When there's too much meat just over the shank, it makes the chin look off.

Thank you! I will work on both and then post another pic.

No matter what is going on on the back side of the bowl the bottom line being straight just about fixes the chin problem. Is there a bit of extra at the bowl/shank junction? You betcha. BUT...one thing at a time. Fix the bottom line. Post another pic AND THEN we'll address the bowl/shank junction and the top line of the shank.

IAWEA. Tightening those areas up and dropping the front of the rim a titch would help a bunch.

Here are a few more pics. I used one of the small bits on my Dremel.





Rick, are you saying to file or paper down the front of the rim a bit?

Do you have any medium to large flat files? Your bottom line is still bowed from stem to chin. A flat file will show you as well as remove the high points. To help with the shaping of the bottom of the bowl, think of it as a sphere cut in half.

thanks Wayne. Yes I do. I will work on that tomorrow and post more pics.
Cheers

I have been using a round file which is probably part of the problem. After using the flat file on the bottom do I use a round file again to round up the edges?

Use a round file for the bowl/shank junction. Use a flat file for just about everything else. You've gotta be a wizard to keep a straight line from getting wavy with a round file. You can also use sandpaper on a flat surface to flatten the bottom line.

Thanks Jeremiah! For me anyway that's great information, and a huge step forward since I've been using a round file. Working on it now. I was just waiting more or less patiently to see if someone responded. I'll go back out and work a bit more and post some pics as I think it's coming along.

In general, I use a flat file for flat lines and a round file for curved lines. So, flat file on straight shanks and bowls like billiards and Dublins and round files on curved shanks and rounded parts of bowls like the transition between shank and bowl.

I use pippin and crossing files for curved lines, but that's just because I'm stranger than Wayne.

I like to use half round files on the chin and cheeks. I use a round file to define the bowl/shank junction. And I'm not weird at all

shikano53 wrote:Rick, are you saying to file or paper down the front of the rim a bit?

Yessir - for billiards and the like, you want that chamber to airway angle to be ~92-93 degrees, with the rim perpendicular to the chamber. It lends a more open appearance - right now it looks like the front of the rim is higher than the back, which is backwards.

Thanks folks for all your kind and instructive comments. Rick; I'm just heading out to my shop to turn the heaters on and make another coffee. I have been worrying the shank now and I think, and I stress the 'I' it is looking straighter but still can see daylight in a few places. I will address the rim and then post a few more pics.
Scottie, I define weirdness defined in my now 11 year old grand daughter but I think that's more because of her flaming red hair.
But that's a story for the general section, not in a serious discussion about chins.

Honestly, what's helped me most for that bottom line is putting a good long piece of 120 on very flat surface (I like my kitchen counter ) and scrubbing it lengthwise. I mark under the very center of the chamber with pencil as the no-no line (everything behind needs to be flat, everything in front is the chin), and then recheck with a straight edge (and mark high spots with a pencil). Lather/rinse/repeat as needed - but it gets that bottom line good and flat and starts the chin exactly where it needs to start. Advice above RE: flat files for straight lines is advice I've heard and heeded to (relatively) good effect.

Thanks Rick, that sounds like a good idea (not on the kitchen counter though). Here is a picture update of where it is at for the moment. I can see there is still a lot of material to take off of the sides. It appears to my eye that it seems like a wedge from the stem to the shank/bowl so lots of material still to take off there. The stem is my first attempt at an ebonite saddle stem but for now, I'm still just working on the stummel. Still need more work on the rim as well.
P.S. Is the chin more or less correcting itself?