Pipe # 5 Ball/Tomato

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Fri May 23, 2008 2:57 pm

Here's my latest pipe. Any and all feedback/criticism/advise is welcome.

kkendall · Post by **kkendall** » Fri May 23, 2008 3:07 pm

Well done! Symmetry looks good.

The only thing that catches my eye - and it may just be optical gymnastics - is the stem/shank joint. Looking at the side shots, it doesn't appear to be perpendicular at the joint.

Tsunami · Post by **Tsunami** » Fri May 23, 2008 3:45 pm

Looks Great! I think the proportions are spot on. Well done.

Tsunami
www.kuzielpipes.com

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Fri May 23, 2008 4:40 pm

kkendall wrote:Well done! Symmetry looks good.

The only thing that catches my eye - and it may just be optical gymnastics - is the stem/shank joint. Looking at the side shots, it doesn't appear to be perpendicular at the joint.

Yes, you're right kkendall. I'm still honing my stem/stummel skills. The stem fits snug with the shank but their is a gap between the white lucite and stem that you can't see in the pictures. I didn't notice it until after the epoxy dried. I masked it some with epoxy filler but it's still noticeable on close inspection. I was disappointed to find two good sized and one smaller pits develop once I got the shape where I wanted it to be so I tried my hand at filling. The fills turned out better than I expected for my first time. The smaller one is tough to spot but the other two are easy to spot but blend in decent. I mixed up some wood glue, briar dust, and clear lacquer for a filler and am fairly happy with the results. I'm guessing that combination has been used before. I'm having fun experimenting and trying new things.

kkendall · Post by **kkendall** » Fri May 23, 2008 6:15 pm

wdteipen wrote:... I mixed up some wood glue, briar dust, and clear lacquer for a filler ...

Have you tried briar dust and CA glue?

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Fri May 23, 2008 8:38 pm

What's CA glue? I'm not familiar.

kkendall · Post by **kkendall** » Sat May 24, 2008 12:08 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate
aka Superglue

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Sat May 24, 2008 8:01 am

Ah, yes. I thought about that but was concerned that the superglue would dry too fast. What are your thoughts? Does a superglue/briar dust mixture dry quickly?

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Sat May 24, 2008 12:20 pm

wdteipen wrote:Ah, yes. I thought about that but was concerned that the superglue would dry too fast. What are your thoughts? Does a superglue/briar dust mixture dry quickly?

Don't sweat it, your method seems to have worked very well.
Very nice symmetry to the pipe.

Charl · Post by **Charl** » Sat May 24, 2008 5:04 pm

Nice pipe, wonderfully executed!

I might be wrong, but for me personally the stummel and shank meets each other too sharply. I know people say that you have to cut "to the bone", but for me there is a limit.

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Mon May 26, 2008 10:01 pm

Thanks for the input fellas. Great observations and advice. My dissatisfaction with the gap between the stem and white lucite keeps this one off the market. I haven't decided if I want to smoke it or gift it to a friend. I don't mind flaws in the briar since, in large part, that is out of my control but I have to get better at facing my stems and treatments squarely.