Pipe #23 - Rhodesian

[brownleafbeardsman]

Hello, all!
I've recently wanted to venture out and practice other shapes.
The Billiard training has really helped me to get a good routine developed.
It feels good to have a routine to go through, and just change the shaping steps.


This is my first ever attempt at a Rhodesian shape.

The main thing that I was trying to get right on this pipe was the stem flare up to the button.
George had showed a picture of a very delicately flared stem, that I really liked the look of. I've tried to get something similar on this one.





Any comment or critique is welcomed.
Thanks for looking, guys!

[Ocelot55]

Your finish is inconsistent, especially around the rim. That probably means you didn't sand enough. Get all the tear out from the lathe and make sure you raise the grain between grits.

[brownleafbeardsman]

Your finish is inconsistent, especially around the rim. That probably means you didn't sand enough. Get all the tear out from the lathe and make sure you raise the grain between grits.

Thanks, Ocelot!
Yeah, I'm still struggling with leaving the bowl rim a little too sharp, and getting the proper angles while I am buffing. Even at a low speed, the finish just seems to come off sometimes. I'm working on it!

Because of this, I had to go over the rim a few times. I'll keep in mind what you mentioned about the amount of sanding as well. Thanks, friend!

[DocAitch]

I like this pipe.
It fuses elements of the prince and the Rhodesian
You did a lot of things right.The bowl is symmetric, the rim shape pleasing, the transition is crisp and the line of shank and stem continuous.
As for the finish, Jesse is the expert here. Sometimes hard to buff areas can be done with a Dremel type tool with small wheels or with felt bobs (after you get the sanding right). Try wrapping sandpaper around rectangular eraser. https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Hi-Polyme ... 85&sr=8-13
I do see sanding marks in front of the button, I suggest that you look at George Dibos’ video on finishing behind the button.
Lots of good info and techniques there. I think you cut your buttons with a radius, so you will have to radius your sanding bars.
DocAitch

[Ocelot55]

Smooth finishing is tricky. Everyone has their tricks, tips, and super secret techniques. There is also a big difference between a "good" smooth finish, and an absolutely excellent finish, ie no color bleeding or microtexture and a consistent shine. For beginners, I personally believe the best method is sanding to around 600, staining it dark, buffing off the excess, then add a coat of wax. It's not the best finish, but it's relatively quick, easy, stable, and achieves a good looking result. Once you're confident in the fundamentals of making a good pipe, then you can haul out the oils, shellacs, or other crazy chemicals to play with. I still experiment all the time.

[LatakiaLover]

Overall, not bad. Though the DESIGN isn't "there yet" (mostly regarding proportion), the LINES are held quite well.

This early on that's great news (so to speak), because a design sense only comes with time, while line-holding is something many---if not most---carvers never get right no matter how long they keep at it. Hell, the majority of Castellos are wonky in that regard.

Also lacking is evidence of having "climbed through the grades" when sanding.

Protip: Don't think of buffing as the final step, but something to be used as a tool along the way to expose scratches & line deviations. A way to take stop-action snapshots. Consider what the snapshot tells you, then choose your next action accordingly. Adjust a gleam line, tweak a high or low spot, remove scratches, etc. Then buff to a coarse compound shine again and repeat. Keep doing that until you have spot-on lines and a glassy-smooth finish literally everywhere.

Another handy bit: when you THINK you are finally finished with a stem, zap it with heat. Not enough to soften it, but to expose any "zombie scratches" that will emerge over time if you DON'T force them out now. (It's a rebound characteristic of hardened rubber and some acrylics) Usually a final pass with some 1000 grit followed by a final shine (starting back with green and going up through the grades) will lock everything in. The stem will be then be well and truly done.

[brownleafbeardsman]

Smooth finishing is tricky. Everyone has their tricks, tips, and super secret techniques. There is also a big difference between a "good" smooth finish, and an absolutely excellent finish, ie no color bleeding or microtexture and a consistent shine. For beginners, I personally believe the best method is sanding to around 600, staining it dark, buffing off the excess, then add a coat of wax. It's not the best finish, but it's relatively quick, easy, stable, and achieves a good looking result. Once you're confident in the fundamentals of making a good pipe, then you can haul out the oils, shellacs, or other crazy chemicals to play with. I still experiment all the time.

It is definitely a challenge. My routine for sanding and finishing is;
Shaping pipe and sand up to 400g, base coat, usually black fiebings, then 600 and base coat, then 800 and final coat, and then a very thin coat of shellac, and buff.
I've been wanting to try this, but buffing with Tripoli after last dye coat, then shellac and white diamond and carnauba.
I'll attempt one with your steps that you gave me as well.
For this pipe, I did have an issue with the tobacco chamber rim getting a few lights spots while buffing, so I hit it again with fiebings in that area, and decided I'd try to make it look like it was faded from dark at the top, to a little lighter down the bowl.

Thanks, Ocelot.

[brownleafbeardsman]

I like this pipe.
It fuses elements of the prince and the Rhodesian
You did a lot of things right.The bowl is symmetric, the rim shape pleasing, the transition is crisp and the line of shank and stem continuous.
As for the finish, Jesse is the expert here. Sometimes hard to buff areas can be done with a Dremel type tool with small wheels or with felt bobs (after you get the sanding right). Try wrapping sandpaper around rectangular eraser. https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Hi-Polyme ... 85&sr=8-13
I do see sanding marks in front of the button, I suggest that you look at George Dibos’ video on finishing behind the button.
Lots of good info and techniques there. I think you cut your buttons with a radius, so you will have to radius your sanding bars.
DocAitch

Thank you for the compliments, Walt. I'll try out the dremel buffing, I think I have a dremel buff attachment.
I'll keep working on not letting myself get impatient while in the last steps of the pipe.
Will definitely check out George's video on it.
Thanks again!

[brownleafbeardsman]

Overall, not bad. Though the DESIGN isn't "there yet" (mostly regarding proportion), the LINES are held quite well.

This early on that's great news (so to speak), because a design sense only comes with time, while line-holding is something many---if not most---carvers never get right no matter how long they keep at it. Hell, the majority of Castellos are wonky in that regard.

Also lacking is evidence of having "climbed through the grades" when sanding.

Protip: Don't think of buffing as the final step, but something to be used as a tool along the way to expose scratches & line deviations. A way to take stop-action snapshots. Consider what the snapshot tells you, then choose your next action accordingly. Adjust a gleam line, tweak a high or low spot, remove scratches, etc. Then buff to a coarse compound shine again and repeat. Keep doing that until you have spot-on lines and a glassy-smooth finish literally everywhere.

Another handy bit: when you THINK you are finally finished with a stem, zap it with heat. Not enough to soften it, but to expose any "zombie scratches" that will emerge over time if you DON'T force them out now. (It's a rebound characteristic of hardened rubber and some acrylics) Usually a final pass with some 1000 grit followed by a final shine (starting back with green and going up through the grades) will lock everything in. The stem will be then be well and truly done.

Thank you, George!
Yeah, I agree, I wasn't completely happy with the shaping.
I will keep in mind the tip you gave about buffing in between the steps. That is not something I would've thought of.
On my next pipe, I will definitely try that and adjust things as I see fit!

I will pull out the heat gun and try to get those zombie scratches as well! I will keep trying to pursue excellence in pipe making, the tips you guys give are an enormous help.
Thanks!