First 2 Pipes

[Smoky Bear]

Subject: First 2 pipes

Hi Everyone! Brand new pipe maker here. I just finished my first two. The first is the rusticated piece. The second is maple wood. There’s A TON wrong with both pipes, though I think the second piece is actually smokable. The first I would have thrown away early on, but I wanted to use it for practice and thought I might as well go through all the steps.
The tools used for these pipes are a drill press, belt sander, Dremel tool, sandpaper, leather dye, Shellac (on the rusticated one), and denatured alcohol…Oh, and a handsaw (which was terrible. Bandsaw coming shortly).
Again, I know there are a lot of problems with both pipes. Comments and feedback are welcome and encouraged. I’ve tried to list the problems for each as I see them. I am sure there are many issued I’m missing. Please feel free to point these out. Any tips for how to avoid the same shortcomings on pipe number 3 are most welcome. Sorry for the long post.

…BTW I just set up my Jet1221vs lathe. Hopefully, this will make life easier moving forward.

Pipe 1
The Bad:
• I didn’t really plan this pipe out. Just lined up the airway and chamber and went to town. Not the best strategy. I think with better planning I might have gotten a billiard(ish) shape. Hopefully next time.
• This thing stinks of shellac so badly and has so much stain inside the bowl that I don’t even want to try smoking it.
• Horrible shank stem fit (used a forestner bit on the shank and countersunk as an afterthought to improve fit)
• Bowl out of round
• Over drilled chamber
• Bowl walls way too thin
• Stain on inside of the bowl
• Side of Shank has a cut from a handsaw
• Stem beat up from belt sander marks

The Good:
• Kind of looks like a pipe
• Air tight
• I kind of like the rustication and the stain

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[Smoky Bear]

For some reason it's not letting me post the rest.

[Smoky Bear]

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[Smoky Bear]

Pipe 2
The Bad:
• Bad stem shank fit
• Bowl out of round
• Bowl uneven
• Shaping issues in general. I can specifically see these where the shank meets the stem and on the bottom of the pipe.
• Bad finish on stummel and stem after buffing
• Cut mark on bowl
• Not happy with the finish. I guess it’s lacking the nice shine I was going for.
The good:
• Air tight
• Drilling was good
• Nice smoker (I’ve run two bowls through it)

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[Adui]

For your first two I say they arent bad. Keep trying!

[Smoky Bear]

Thank you Adui. Hopefully the lathe, bandsaw and some good files will make a big difference on number 3.

[Odissey]

Thank you Adui. Hopefully the lathe, bandsaw and some good files will make a big difference on number 3.

I don’t think this will make your job easier. With a tool, even a very good one, you still need to learn how to make smoking pipes. Pipes are not made by tools, but by your hands. On the first smoking pipes, I would focus not on their appearance, but on the correct drilling of the holes and on the correct joining of the wooden part of the pipe with the shank. This is a much more important part of the job than the appearance of the tube. Read the forum and look for the information you need. You will still learn how to draw the shape and correct lines. Good luck!

Best regards, Odissey.