Marking out a block

[restever99]

Hello everyone,

Thanks again for all your help. I have made a few pipes now and they are definitly starting to look better. However I am having difficulty finding a good way to mark out a block for drilling. I am using a small combination square when I do it, but I can't seem to get that awesome drawing of a pipe on the block the way I want it. Any advice on tools and techniques I can try?

[RadDavis]

Some folks use a template if it's a repeat shape, and some just draw the shape on the block.

A set of French curves is very handy.

Rad

[Sasquatch]

I find I get a better stummel if I draw out the pipe on a piece of paper. That way, I'm viewing the piece as a whole, and can make determinations about stem length, and that kind of thing. Once I have a drawing I like, complete with drilling angles marked, I simply cut out the stummel part and trace it on to a block. Then copy the angles etc and it is pretty easy from there.

The other thing I do that I don't think others here always do (or ever do?) is cut the relevant angles on the block before I drill. If I want a 5 degree canted bowl, i simply cut the block at 5 degrees on both ends (this cut is OPPOSITE to the direction of the cant) and in this way, when I'm drilling, the thing stands nicely in the press and all the angles are perfect. It can be a bit dicey cutting a little chunk of plateaux on the miter saw though, and if you aren't experienced with that, I would say forget it.

[KurtHuhn]

If you use a lathe to drill, with decent chuck jaws, you don't need to worry about trimming your block to 5 degrees or whatever. I do trim the block on the bandsaw, but only to remove excess wood and make drilling more convenient.

I almost never try and transfer from paper to block. I just draw directly on the side of the block, taking the wood into account for the particular pipe shape I'm considering. on the rare occasion that I want to transfer from paper to block, I use a template as Rad mentioned, and just trace the outline and mark the drilling lines.

[Sasquatch]

The block cutting method is for sure only useful on a drill press, and is not strictly necessary by any means. But it does do some of the thinking (only SOME) for a guy. I am also assuming that someone who is working through how to mark a block is probably not fully tooled up. I think there's a big split between "the best method" and "the best method for a newbie/guy-with-limited-tools". I'm not saying my method is better by any means, but it limits errors in a way that working "in the air" doesn't.

Maybe.

[Nick]

I almost always do sketches, but they are rarely the right size to trnasfer to a block. I've seen alot of folks use sharpies to mark their blocks, but damn, I can never get that drawing right the first time. I usually sketch all over the block with pencil until i get it right. Then i might use a marker, or might not. Collored pencils work well on blocks too. Green really stands out.

[pierredekat]

I'm reluctant to tell you this because I tend to get ridiculed by those guys who can make an awesome pipe, simply sketching on a block, but I use TurboCAD to do my drawings.

Then I print them out, glue the drawings to a block with white vinyl glue -- thanks, Frank -- cover them with a few strips of Scotch tape to protect against smudges, and start making chips.

Along the lines of what Rad was saying about the French curves, TurboCAD does really nice spline curves that you can tweak and tweak and tweak some more, until you have them just the way you want them.

Here's a pipe that I'm calling a "Snail". It's in .pdf format, and you'll have to scroll down to the second page to see it.

But you're welcome to use this drawing to see what you think. It's a fairly simple pipe, except that it likes a 1/2 inch Forstner bit to set the stem a little ways down into that curve on the shank.

That was the only way I could figure out how to avoid having a gap there.

And I've started using more 3/8 inch tenons, but you should be able to make this with a 5/16 tenon, except that you will have to notch the mortise slightly to make room for the airway bit.

This one's been a fairly popular design because, not only does it sit, it rocks and spins too.

[caskwith]

If that what works best for you then go for it. Im certainly not gonna ridiculae you, and the qulaity of your work shows that you work well using this method. In reality its only the same as when i use a piece of graph paper to sketch out a 1:1 scale drawing of desing that needs to be closely followed, then i do pretty much the same as you and glue it onto the block (i do then scribe through the drilling lines just in case the paper falls off etc.

My main method of pipe making however doesnt really involve any designs or sketches, i just pick up a block, draw a few intersecting lines, make some marks for turning etc then set to it. This is how a lot of my danish style pipes arise, i just sand and shape by eye until im happy with it.

[Nick]

Very Cool! CAD would be great. I messed around with a Google sketch for a while, and man was that fun! With some practice, i bet it'd be great for pipe making.

[pierredekat]

Very Cool! CAD would be great. I messed around with a Google sketch for a while, and man was that fun! With some practice, i bet it'd be great for pipe making.

Thanks. Yeah, if a person has a tiny bit of computer experience -- open, save, copy, paste, etc. -- and a very basic understanding of geometry -- line, circle, parallel, square, etc. -- they can totally do CAD.

[Alan L]

Very Cool! CAD would be great. I messed around with a Google sketch for a while, and man was that fun! With some practice, i bet it'd be great for pipe making.

Thanks. Yeah, if a person has a tiny bit of computer experience -- open, save, copy, paste, etc. -- and a very basic understanding of geometry -- line, circle, parallel, square, etc. -- they can totally do CAD.

Yeah, and if you have a 5-axis CNC mill you can turn out a finished stummel needing only final sanding without ever touching it with human hands.

I'll stick with my pencil, square, and ruler, thanks just the same.

Damn, I sound like an old fart of a luddite and I'm only 40-ish. To each his own, I guess.

[pierredekat]

I'll stick with my pencil, square, and ruler, thanks just the same.

Absolutely. For practical purposes, there's very little that a person can do with CAD that he can't do with pencil-and-paper.