What's up with Jeff Gracyk (sp?) (the J. Alan guy)

LatakiaLover · Post by **LatakiaLover** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:45 pm

The dealers on his site are dead links, his stock is down to 2-3, and it has been months since he posted here. Anyone know if he's going to Chicago?

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:17 am

Haven't heard from him recently, but he was at the Kansas City show in November and seemed to be going strong. http://Smokingpipes.com has five of his pipes listed, two of which are sold, and also a good interview with Bear if you're interested...

Jeff is young and ambitious. No telling where that will all go, but I sure hope pipe making continues to play into it. He's absolutely brilliant!

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:35 pm

LatakiaLover wrote:The dealers on his site are dead links, his stock is down to 2-3, and it has been months since he posted here. Anyone know if he's going to Chicago?

Jeff makes many pipes that are spoken for before they make it to his website. I think that is the case with many of his silent periods.

Oh and not to mention the fact that he moved recently! All those that have moved since having a workshop know what a pain that is...

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:29 pm

Man, I am looking to possibly moving my shop (and the rest of my house too) soon, and I am not looking forward to it!

jeff · Post by **jeff** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:40 pm

Hey guys,

I'm still here.

We did indeed just move, so I've been setting up my shop and working on new pipes. Most of what I make is sold before it makes it to the site. Others will be posted to the site or go to dealers. Having 2 pipes in stock is actually high. Most of the time there's nothing at all available for general sale. You'll likely not see more than a small handful of pipes hit the site before the chicago show. I've got a ton of orders to fill and then I have to make pipes for the show. It's good trouble, for sure.

Thanks for the info on the dead links, by the way. I'll have to fix that.

Jeff Gracik

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 2:18 am

Great to hear from you, Jeff! Thanks for the update. Congratulations on the backlog orders, and how quickly you're selling them . No mystery there--your pipes are amazingly beautiful. Can't wait to see what you bring to Chicago this year!

What's your new shop set up like?

jeff · Post by **jeff** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:39 pm

Hey Scott,

Good to hear from you too. I look forward to seeing your new work this year in Chicago. And I'm sure some Woodford might play into the equation over the weekend too.

Oh, one other reason for the lag time between pipes on the site is my incessant obsession with high-end coffee. I've been working on some new things and should have a few new single origin coffees available for sale at Chicago this year.

The new shop is really great. I have a new build of the website underway that will have some great photos of it. (Who knows how long these things take, but I'm hoping to have a basic version (standard info, shopping cart system, etc.) of the site up by May with a "tricked out" version (webcams, video & audio features, a news blog, and a few other things) online shortly thereafter.) It's the best shop I've had yet--namely because I've finally asserted myself and have taken over the whole garage.

I've got a pair of lathes, 6 stationary variable speed buffs, 3 sanding wheels, 2 finishing benches, a new 14" band saw, a drill press, ample storage in cabinets and shelves, the requisite dust collection and air filtration appliances, and sundry other little points of pipemaking excitement. I'm pretty stoked about the whole thing. I'm also hoping to have a sandblasting setup in place and operational by the month's end. We'll see about that, but it's certainly a point of hope. If I don't have photos online by May, I'll try to get some together for the show.

I had a little trip down memory lane the other day, by the way. A neighbor of mine stopped by and was asking about how I started. In that moment I glanced over at a shelf and saw my first drill press--now cut in half and unusable. It was my first tool, and the only thing I used when I began. I drilled blocks and cut tenons with it upright, and then laid it on its side to disk sand, and buff. It really can be that simple. The other tools are nice, but are really about efficiency and work flow. I don't know if I'll ever be able to bring myself to get rid of that drill press.

Anyway, I've got a busy day ahead of me, so I better get going.

I'm sure I'll see many of you in Chicago!

Best,

Jeff

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:49 pm

Jeff,

How in the world do you cut a drill press in half?

Oh! Congratulations on the new shop!

Rad

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 5:31 pm

Wow, the new shop sounds fantastic, Jeff! It's great to hear you have completely taken over this time. The list of equipment sounds awesome! I'd love to see pics. I've still got a ton of family in S.D... If I can ever get out there I'd love to see that set up.

The new website sounds great too--looks like things are ramping up nicely for J. Alan Pipes!

I'm curious about the variable speed buffs. Are those using some sort of variable speed motor, or on sets of pulleys where you change the belts for the different speeds? I've got three buffs all at 1750, and would love to have at least two more, and would like to be able to mess with the speed somehow. I also need dust control (still using a shop vac), and I'm also working toward setting up my own blasting rig. Next step is wiring for 220. I have an old compressor, but I doubt it will handle the job. The one I'm using at the school is OK, but I want to play with media and different nozzles, plus enjoy having the thing here.

Stop it with telling us we don't need tons of equipment to make nice pipes. We know that, but we still want to hope there is magic in the next machine that will turn us into great pipe makers

How *do* you cut a drill press in half

Looking forward to trying out that new coffee. The stuff I got from you in Kansas City was great! Just the thing for the morning after Woodford exploits.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:48 am

Great to hear from you Jeff! Just picked up my third J. lan pipe this weekend. Well, I ordered it at least. Keep up the great work. You're an inspiration.

As an aside? How do you cut a drill press in half?

jeff · Post by **jeff** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:38 pm

RadDavis wrote: How in the world do you cut a drill press in half?

Sorry, Rad. I don't cut and tell.

jeff · Post by **jeff** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:45 pm

I told y'all I wasn't dead or inactive, and just to prove it I've added some new pieces to the website.

These are the last three that will be posted before the big show.

pipemakersforum.com

What's up with Jeff Gracyk (sp?) (the J. Alan guy)

What's up with Jeff Gracyk (sp?) (the J. Alan guy)

Re: What's up with Jeff Gracyk (sp?) (the J. Alan guy)