The dreaded word......

MitchG · Post by **MitchG** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 11:59 pm

....FILL! 8O

I'm working on a pipe which had the potential to be a nice, 1/2 bent Dublin (if there is such a thing). Loose straight grain on the bowl, running nicely up the shank. However, sanding has revealed a number of fissures in the wood. Even though I could deal with the 2 which are on the bowl using rustication, there's one on the shank that's reminiscent of the Grand Canyon. I'm not sure I can carve deeply enough to eliminate it without completely ruining the stummel. The cracks are narrow (1/32 or so) and I'm contemplating putting in fills rather than giving up and tossing the stummel into the trash. Problem is, I've never tried to fill a defect before. Anyone have any experience or tips on filling small fissures/pits?

BTW, I craft for my own use. I'd happily rusticate the bowl, but the stem problem doesn't seem to have an similar solution. I'd prefer to fill it than to give up.

Mitch

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 12:13 am

If you rusticate the part on the shank and stain it dark (black?) you might not even be able to see the crack anymore. I know the type your talking about, I had one go from the outside of the bowl all the way to the inside of the bowl (about 1/8 of an inch) believe it or not. It was nutz... disappointing too!

Nice, even rustication and a dark stain... that's what I'd try. Else, keep it for yourself and smoke it in the shop!

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 12:26 am

I'd probably finish it and keep it for myself - depending on how far along you are. Otherwise, it ends up in the firewood box.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 10:49 am

Good idea, Random. I hadn't thought of that. If it's smokeable, and you don't need it, and you're not worried about stamping it, send it to Bear (PIF) or Terry Davey (Project Kenny). Both those guys do good things.

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 10:55 am

I think that with putty fills you run into the law of diminishing returns. You can go through the work of putting in the fill and what you are left with is a pipe with a fill in it. If you can make the fill completely disappear that may be one thing.

But it may be just as easy to hide the pit itself with stain and/or rustication. Personaly I let the pits stand as part of the wood. If they are too unsightly I keep the pipe for myself to smoke.

marks · Post by **marks** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 10:16 pm

I had a pipe where there was a very deep pit in the shank, and in the mortise you could see a dark spot about the size of the ball on a medium point ball point pen. Since the tenon went past the pit, I just finished the pipe and smoked it. It happens to be one of the best smoking pipes I have made. I guess I got lucky.

If the pit is farther down the shank, and goes into the airway, it may very well be junk, and a fill may or may not save it (just guessing here).

I have never tried this, but one pipemaker told me to mix briar dust from the pipe with a tiny bit of epoxy and use that as a fill. Sounds like it will work, but again, I have no experience with this method.

TreverT · Post by **TreverT** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 11:08 am

If it's a shank flaw you will run a strong risk of "leaking" if you don't fill it somehow (meaning, if you try getting by just with rustication and dark staining). This is when the moisture in the shank seems to siphon straight out through any tiny pit or split during smoking. If you're just keeping it for yourself, try mixing some very strong 2-part epoxy, then thoroughly stir some real briar dust into it. Goop this into the flaw, rub it off level with the surface, and let dry. It will dry dark, nearly black, and you can then rusticate across it, stain dark, and you will be the only one who will ever know there was a fill there. I have a couple of "shop pipes" that I smoke that I've done this way and they're still smoking fine years later, without the usual putty problems of color change and raising and all that other crap that comes with using actual wood putty (which doesn't take stain, so it will just turn brighter and brighter as your fingers rub the stain off it over the years). I've also gifted a few close friends with freebie pipes with fills like this, and often they were unable to even find the spots. It is worth a shot if you don't want to throw the thing out as a potential trash pipe, and would like to either smoke it yourself or give away or whatever (and keep in mind, putty is regularly used on a LOT of pipes costing $200 or more, so don't neccessarily assume that you can't sell the pipe if it has a fill.... as I sit here in the shop looking at a display of $120 Savinellis that have fills the size of erasers...)

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 11:24 am

Is there a way to test if a sand pit on the shank is going to be a leaker?

Post by **Tyler** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 12:06 pm

ArtGuy wrote:Is there a way to test if a sand pit on the shank is going to be a leaker?

Smoke it?

TreverT · Post by **TreverT** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 1:24 pm

ArtGuy wrote:Is there a way to test if a sand pit on the shank is going to be a leaker?

Tyler's right, there's no real way to find out until it's too late. You could, I suppose, soak a pipecleaner and run it into the shank, but that doesn't produce the sort of "flow through" that smoking seems to in such areas, FWIW.

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 2:16 pm

Ok ok, stop twisting my arm.... I am going to keep this pipe and smoke it

That took a lot of convincing eh?

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 4:54 pm

Tyler wrote:
ArtGuy wrote:Is there a way to test if a sand pit on the shank is going to be a leaker?
Smoke it?

You can try pressing the palm of your hand tightly over the bowl and sucking air through the stem end of the shank. If it creates a vaccum and holds it, then you don't have a pit going through to the draft hole. If you're able to pull air through, no matter how constricted the "draw," they you've certainly got to fill it.

Best,

Todd

STOA Briars
www.stoabriars.com

marks · Post by **marks** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 6:11 pm

One other thing I read after reading the other posts. If the pit does leak after doing the test that Todd described, and you fill it, you may need to run a drill bit through the draft hole after the epoxy/briar dust mix dries. Just in case some of that goes into the draft hole.

MitchG · Post by **MitchG** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 6:51 pm

Thanks for the feedback and advice!

Oddly enough, as I was booting up the PC to log in I was thinking about posting a follow-up to ask if anyone had tried to rusticate over a fill......thanks for the confirmation and instructions, Trever!

I think I'll fill and rusticate the shank fissure to ensure that that the pipe won't leak and just rusticate the bowl.

This is a great forum!

Mitch