calabash question...

[ND Pipes]

can anyone make me a drawing of a cross secition of a calabash pipe... i havee seen pictures but am not sure.. woudl be happy to see the technical drawing how one calabash has to look like....thank you
regards


p.s. it can be done by hand - no problem... just to see how everything fits inside the bowl and other stuff....

[baweaverpipes]

Todd did an excellent blog on the process. It can be found here: CALABASH
The title is: Evolution of a Calabash or Why High-Grade Pipes are Expensive
Making a proper calabash is extremely involved, difficult, exacting and very time consuming.
If I may be so bold, develop your skills in the process of making a pipe and with symmetry, before trying to tackle a calabash.
You don't want to move into brain surgery, having only dissected a frog.

[ND Pipes]

i absolutely agree - thank you for the link my questions are explained
best regards
daniel

[KurtHuhn]

I made three or four of these things about six years ago. I made one, and folks immediately lined up for their own. The problem lies in how much time and material it takes to make one of these things properly. I normally can bang out two or three pipes a day, but every calabash I made took me a day and a half. That's a lot of time investment, and at the time I couldn't charge what I needed to make it worthwhile. I don't know if I actually came out on top in those deals or not. I haven't made one since, mostly due to how much time is required.

I agree with Bruce - these things are a cast iron bitch to make. It's best to continue developing skills so you're not caught up trying to learn a bunch of stuff on one of the most difficult pipes to make. In a few years come back to it, and the process will go much smoother.

[Sasquatch]

[baweaverpipes]

I made three or four of these things about six years ago. I made one, and folks immediately lined up for their own. The problem lies in how much time and material it takes to make one of these things properly. I normally can bang out two or three pipes a day, but every calabash I made took me a day and a half. That's a lot of time investment, and at the time I couldn't charge what I needed to make it worthwhile. I don't know if I actually came out on top in those deals or not. I haven't made one since, mostly due to how much time is required.

Two or three per day? Gadzooks! Gee Wiz Gollywompers!
Regarding the day and a half, that's at the short end of the time curve! Todd, who I consider a master at the calabash, takes much longer.
Looks like I must be missing something in the pipe making process.

[KurtHuhn]

Time is money, after all....

I didn't think that timeframe was all that unusual.