I'm a newbie

[sethruiner]

I am brand new to pipe making and have finished my first one. I would like some advice on it and my process. I started with a pre-bored ebuchon kit from PIMO so I could focus on the shaping and finishing for now and move on from there. I used a scroll saw to get a rough shape (very rough) and a coarse rasp to shape it further. Then I sanded with 100,150,220,400,600. In between each sanding I wiped it with a damp cloth to clean the loose dust away and raise the grain a little. then I finished with a 1500 grit and put a coating of a mixture of beeswax and linseed oil on that my friend makes. I had a fun time making this pipe. It is far from perfect and I know I need some more experience and advice so i'm hoping you all would be willing to help me in my journey. Will post pics soon after I figure out how.
Thanks

[Growley]

Welcome. You'll definitely learn a lot here. A PIMO kit is a great way to start. From the brief list of things you mentioned about your process, I'd say, if you don't have a lot of money for tooling but have some, a Dremel could be a great addition. They can do a number of things on a pipe from shaping to rusticating. Rasps and files work too, but a Dremel is not a bad investment if you can swing it. They can come in very handy.

Your sanding process is good if you don't have a buffer and buffing compounds. Otherwise, I find that you only need to go to about 600 grit before you hit the Red Tripoli and then White Diamond polishes.

Looking forward to seeing some pictures. If you can't figure it out, PM me and I'll walk you through it.

Brian.

[Blueb3]

Pimo kit's are great, it's a pipe already so you don't have to worry about drilling, fitting stems, etc. Just make it your own. I used a Pimo kit for my first pipe, and then went crazy and did raw block for my second one (just finished shaping it). I don't have much coin, but a belt sander and a dremel (both can be found cheap on craigslist) make a world of difference when shaping.

Good luck, and hope to see your pipe soon.

As far as photo's go, try photobucket.com free photo hosting, and dead simple to use.

[sethruiner]

Thanks for the tips, and i have the pictures on my facebook right now but i'll have to set up a photobucket, that would be better. As far as tools go, i don't know how everyone feels about this, i realize the benefit of power tools, but i think i'm going to stick with hand tools. my goal, eventually is to use only hand tools so my pipes would be as close to 100% hand made as possible. what's attractive about that for me, as well as the making of the pipe its self, is the patience involved in the process. so much of my life is busy busy busy i need something to slow me down. just like smoking the pipe, it doesn't take 5 minutes. it's a time to sit down around a fire with friends and just talk and chill.

anyway, i'm here to learn from the masters. i am brand new at this as well as smoking ( maybe 3 years?) i have a couple estate pipes that def. need to be cleaned up good but smoke okay, but i enjoy it. as time goes on i hope to learn how to enjoy smoking and crafting more and share my experiences in this process.

thanks guys-like i said, i will try to get the pics up to this forum but if you want to check out my facebook for now, they are there. http://www.facebook.com/sethschaefer

[sethruiner]

okay, here are the pics. i would like some feed back too. things i might have done wrong, things i need to work on for the next one, etc. be brutal if you have to, i know it's not good but i'll work at it.