necessary tools for shaping...

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 1:40 pm

Hi, I'm new to the forum.
My name's Ben Scofield and I live in St. Louis, MO. I got a belt/disc sander for Christmas for the purpose of making pipes. Currently this is the only tool I have. What other tools are a MUST for shaping the pipe stummel?

Also, where's a good place (online preferrably) to buy some briar?

Another question, what are you other favorite types of wood and where do you purchase them?

marks · Post by **marks** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 8:30 am

Hi Ben, welcome to the forum.

In addition to the belt/disc sander, you may need various files in different configurations (round, square, etc), cuts, and sizes. You will need sandpaper in various grits, as well as lots of time.

Regarding sources of briar, Tyler has some good links on his site in the Materials Sources section.

I have only used briar for pipes, so hopefully someone else will have a good suggestion for your last question. Good luck in your endeavors.

Post by **Tyler** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 11:24 am

Welcome Ben!

As Marks, said, hand files are probably the key thing that you will need in addition to the belt sander. Sandpaper is also a obvious, but is a very nice finesse shaper. I like 220 grit for this pupose.

As for briar, you will find several links in the "Materials Sources" in the left-hand margin.

Alternate woods? Well, for the stummels themselves, I have only used briar, and really, that is all I plan to use at this point so I don't know of sources for other stummel materials such as olive wood. I do buy other woods for ornamental reasons, and I like Berea Hardwoods for that. (www.bereahardwoods.com)

Again, welcome to the forum, and we look forward to seeing your work!

Best,
Tyler

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 12:51 pm

Ben,

I have a handful of tools that are I find absolutely necessary for stummel work:
- belt sander
- drill press
- hand files
- sandpaper
- Fuller counterbore on a 5/16" bit
- PIMO tennon turner
- rounded spade bits (for boring tobacco holes)

You can get around a lot of that by going with alternate tools. Use a lathe instead of a drill press - which can also take the place of the belt sander with the addition of a sanding disk. A ball-end mill is easier to find than rounded spade pits, and chatters less, in my experience.

The only tools I haven't found a good replacement for are the fuller counterbore (for squaring the end of the shank), and the PIMO tenon turner. You could turn your tenons on a metal lathe, but the PIMO tool is less expensive, and can be used on a drill press or a wood lathe.

Which leads me to a question:
Does anyone else prefer a belt sander over a disk sander? Or maybe I just haven't been using the right disc?

marks · Post by **marks** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:35 pm

Hey Kurt, I too use the belt sander for a lot of my rough shaping. I have a delta (doesn't everyone?) belt/disk combo and I find that the belt is better for shaping contours than the disk on that machine. However, I see why many pipemakers use disks. I just don't have one that isn't surrounded by all that machinery, so I use the belt a lot. I use the disk for squaring blocks and doing a lot of the sanding/shaping on panels.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 10:54 pm

I have a MultiTool attached to a Jet bench grinder:
http://www.multitool-usa.com/Item/MT362P8J.htm
It didn't cost me anywhere near that price, so don't fall down yet.

I originally bought it when I though I was going to go into knifemaking. Well, it turns out I kinda suck at knifemaking. The shop got populated from there.

It does have a disk sander, but I rarely use it. The one thing that I wish was that the grinder was variable speed. It's great for rough shaping, but finish sanding is not possible on it due to the 3840RPM speed. For that I have a cheap Harbor Freight 1x36 belt sander, and a bunch of trays full of sandpaper strips for hand-snading.

I think I'll hit Lowes in the morning and see what I can find in the way of sanding disk setups. I have one now and the backing pad is a hard plastic. It also has quite a bit of run-out, and it's frustrating to use.

Any suggestions?

Post by **Tyler** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 9:54 am

Kurt,

I just use the discs that are foam-covered plastic by 3M. I have the type that require adhesive-backed discs, but I think the velcro type might be better. (I don't know that from experience though.) I use a spray adhesive on the adhesive backed discs for extra stick. Otherwise the heat from the shaping will loosen the discs long before they are too worn. The adhesive I have is for gluing carpet into the trunks of automobiles. (At least, that is the photo on the can.)

For those that have tried to shape using the disc on the Delta belt/disc sander, let me say that that disc is not well suited AT ALL for shaping stummels. The reason being that the disc is too hooded and set in to the housing of the tool. You need a disc that is suspended out away from everything so you can twist and turn the stummel without it bumping into the tool, thus restricting the shaping motions. Also, that disc turns way too fast for anything but rough shaping.

I would love a new belt sander eventually, and my desire is for something more like this:
http://www.cuttingtoolmall.com/catalog/ ... lyID=2FS72 .
Outfitted for variable speeds, of course.

Tyler

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 12:47 pm

I was this far (holds up fingers showing 1/2") from getting a craftsmen version of that... I may get one still. I could see it being VERY useful for getting in nooks and crannies because it has next to no hardware around portions of the belt so that you could do anything with it.

I had the problem of feeling restricted with the disc sander while making a chess set that I'm working on so I took it apart and removed some of the upper housing for it so I could get the pieces closer in and still be able to see what I was doing. I have the craftsmen belt/disc sander:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... 0921536000

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 4:42 pm

Well, I went to Lowes and Sears, and didn't find a foam-covered backing plate for drills. However, I did find a 7" foam (neoprene, actually) covered backing plate for random orbit sanders. I was -><- this close to buying it until I realized it didn't have an adapter in the box for drill use. Otherwise, this probably would have been perfect. It had a tapered edge so you could really get into the tight spots. The shaft on it was only about 3/8" long, and threaded - not enough for the chuck to effectively grab it.

My Google-fu is failing me, and I can't find an adapter that looks like it will fit those. But I'm not giving up yet. One of these would be perfect.

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 5:06 pm

I use a 5 or 6 inch (can't remember which) padded 3m disk with velcro. I bought mine at Wal-Mart for about 6 bucks. The Wal-Mart on one side of my town sells them but the one on the other side does not. Go figure.