12-12 Freehand Dublin

[Ocelot55]

Well folks, I haven't had time to make a pipe in a long while. This post is waaaay overdue. Something about getting married, honeymooning, starting a new job, and dealing with a lot of funerals really takes away all the pipemaking time. Imagine that.

At any rate, it was good to make another at long last. The stem was a pain. I made four stems for this pipe. I sanded through into the airway twice and the drafthole was misaligned on the other. The stummel itself turned out pretty good, a few shaping irregularities. Of course I always notice them after I get close to done.

Any and all critique is appreciated. Thanks for looking.

[oklahoma red]

I'd darn sure smoke it.
Is it just the lighting or is the finish a tad on the dull side?
Good job.
Chas.

[Ocelot55]

I'd darn sure smoke it.
Is it just the lighting or is the finish a tad on the dull side?
Good job.
Chas.

Yeah, its a pretty dull finish. I sanded down to 1200 and then buffed it with tripoli, white diamond, then carnauba, but my "buffing system" is an old hand drill with 6" buffing pads. Not ideal. I haven't really figured out how to give it a good shine yet. But hey, that's why I post these things: to get critique. Any advice on buffing?

[oklahoma red]

I would say you're going to have to get the buffing rpm up. I use the Beall wheels and spin them on my lathe. I don't go over 1000 rpm. They are large diameter and the surface feet per minute zips right along. Don't over load the wheels or you'll have a smeared up mess. Very light touch, particularly on the wax. I have one very soft wheel and use nothing on it at all for a final polish. It can be frustrating. Like anything, practice. There are many posts here on buffing. Do some digging for other opinions.
Chas.

[Ocelot55]

Thanks Chas. I think if I want a good buff I'll have to find an old motor to use with the pads. A drill just isn't cutting it. Matter of fact if I got a motor I could get a better sanding disk too. I just have to find somewhere to set it up.

[Growley]

To add a comment on your buffing, if you're sanding to 1200 and then buffing with red tripoli, you're most likely going backwards and undoing some of the work you put in to get it to 1200. Red tripoli (from what can tell) is equivalent to around 400 or 600 grit. If you're going to sand that high up, I'd skip the red and go to the white.

Give it a try and see how it works for ya.

Brian.

[bandkbrooks]

What Growley said. I think somewhere on here TJ said brown trip is around 800. I've stopped sanding past 600 to 800 on the stummels because of this. Just make sure to sand thoroughly. That was (still is) one of my biggest errors.

I like the shape. Something about the back of the bowl to top of shank transition I can't place. The bottom of the pipe has a nice continuous curve. On the top transition it seems more abrupt. It may just be the lighting or my lack of sleep.

Brandon