#1 newbie Billiard (or turd?)

[Flygare]

Hello!

My name is Henrik and I come from Sweden. I’ll make one of those introduction post also but wanted to say that english is not my first language so if anything comes across as strange it might be some english-issues.

This is my first post here and I understand that a Billiard is the shape to start with. I have made a couple of ”newbie-have-fun-freehand-shaping”-pipes but I wont torture you with those.

So I tried to make a straight billiard. The stem is a premold blank acrylic and hasnt been shaped (yet?) at all except for the junction with the shank.

I have had a number of issues doing this one and I’ll list a few of the below.

1. I find it hard to get a perfectly round bowl rim without a lathe, is there any trick to it other then going slow and careful?

2. How is the transitions bowl/shank looking? Used my smallest round file but it is small enough.

3. Is the shank taper ok? It goes from 18 mm at the bowl to 16 mm att the stemface.

4. How does the bowl rounding look? It hard to get that perfect ball-shape all around without taking away a little bit to much wood...

I would be very grateful for any comments on the pipe, I would like to learn more and are not the sensitive type so please be honest.









Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

[Massis]

I'll offer my rookie opinion.

First of all, much respect, you've done an outstanding job at a "first" pipe. It seems like you've done your research and have applied much of that knowledge.

That being said, the most obvious "flaw" I'd say on this one are the sidewalls on the bowl. On a billiard they're not supposed to be flat, a billiard is not cylindrical, but should have a "belly" about 1/3rd up the sides:


Whilst you seem worried about it being round, I'd say that you've done a pretty decent job for not having a lathe. Same goes for the shank taper which looks more than adequate. There's a very slight wobble in the shank lines I believe, but much less so than I'd expect for a first pipe.

[Janka]

I agree with Massis, it looks good for a "first" pipe.

First of all, your shank and bowl junction looks pretty well defined. Especially for an early billiard. So we'll done there!

Second, the "chin" of the pipe should have a bigger radius, right now it looks kind of abrupt. But this can still be changed.

Also, the stem taper looks a bit "duckbill". Maybe this is because of the pictures. I think it should be a straight line from the button, till the point where it meets the shank. I would strongly recommend starting making your own stems as soon as possible, instead of using premolded ones.

But you are on a good path, so my advise is for you to go and make another billiard, and apply everything you have learned. It takes many attempts to make a decent billiard, and I think that only now I can make a "decent" billiard, after 4 years of pipe making.

[Flygare]

Thank you Massis and Janka for taking your time and helping me. It’s greatly appreciated!

So to sum up:

1. I should make the next one a bit more ”tulip-shaped” and take in the upper bowl-edge more.

Is there a rule of thumb on how much material to remove to get it right?

2. Make a bigger radius on the lower part rounding? (Is that what you meant with the ”chin” Janka?)

3. Make a proper Billiard-stem. This one is, like you observed, a duckbill premold. Played with the idea to whip out the files and make the taper straight on this one but think there is’nt enough material there to succeed.

Once again, thank you very much for helping me out.

Best regards /Henrik


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

[Janka]

1. I usually go for a 2 degrees slope to the prior angle starting from around 1/3 from the top of the bowl, and then I just round it off.

2. Yes, I have found out that most of pipe designs work better if you "push" the lowest part of the bowl a bit behind the center line of the bowl.

3. That's why you should be making stems. There is nothing wrong with using them when you start out. But hand cut ones are far superior. That premold could be made into a proper taper stem only for a pencil shank pipe (I think). Take that extra time to dial in the lines. I know the hype I had when I started pipes, and boy oh boy, I was so impatient.

4? I tend to make the shank axis and the bowl axis a bit over 90° apart eachother. Thou only hand shaping that would make if difficult.

The little things are the ones that make or break a billiard. I ain't no professional, but those are my thoughts.

Looking forward to your next billiard!