What's Your Pipe Making Routine Like?

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:11 pm

Bah! You guys with one kid think its hard to get the time? Wait til number 2 and 3 come along! Or you could be like Tyler and have to retire after 9 kids.

Xped · Post by **Xped** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 7:27 pm

Nick wrote:Bah! You guys with one kid think its hard to get the time? Wait til number 2 and 3 come along! Or you could be like Tyler and have to retire after 9 kids.

Any more than one kid and one of my interests would have to go!

9 kids? OMG

With 9 kids, I wouldn't even dream of having my own life.

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:24 pm

I'm really enjoying this thread! Enjoy those youngster, guys. Keep after this as time allows, but Pipe making will be there when the kids are gone, or need you less, and one or two of them might be pipe smokers that can help you smoke the fruits of your labors....

On good weeks I have between 10 and 20 hours to work evenings and weekends, some weeks I don't get any time at all. During breaks I'll sometimes get a good full week of pipe making in, but that only happens a couple of times a year. I find once I start working I often loose all track of time. If I only have a short amount of time I'll look for something I can complete like getting a stem blank done and fit to a stummel, or a Delrin tenon and inserts ready and glued up to cure. I don't like working on the more creative aspects if I can't spend at least a couple of hours at it.

I always find the hardest thing for me is getting a new pipe started. Picking the briar, deciding on the shape, and laying it out. This must be like writers experience with writer's block. If I get stuck I pull out a template from one of the shapes I've already refined and try to find a block that will work well for that. Often that will break the ice. Getting several blocks layed out really helps me to get excited and motivated.

Like Trever, I like being read to (the best is when my wife will sometimes read to me while I'm doing hand work), or I listen to music (internet radio is great), NPR shows, or lectures on theology.

I started off working one pipe all the way through to the finish. Now I'm often working in batches. Lately I've tried batches of either drill first, or shape first designs as my set up and mind set is different. I don't work each pipe through each process, but I do tend to get all the rough shaping, drilling and lathe operations done first, then make stem blanks from rod and fit to at least a couple of stummels before I start shaping. If I'm using Delrin tenons, it's great to have a tenon epoxied in and curing while working on something else. Staining is another time when it's great to be able to let it sit while working on something else. The batches also help with hitting a tough spot on one, setting it down and working another for a while. Coming back to the first will almost always yield a breakthrough.

I have a good day job I enjoy, but I aspire to retire a little early and have more time for pipe making. Meanwhile, I really enjoy not having to make pipes for living. I love this, and I don't want it to become laborious. If for some reason I'm not enjoying it I set it down, take a break, enjoy smoking and jump on the forum here or just look at some of my favorite pipe sites. I also find looking at other art, painting, carving, drawing, nature. Any number of other life experiences yield progress toward my ultimate goal of being a better pipe maker.

ckr · Post by **ckr** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:02 pm

Yes, this was indeed a good thread where several perspectives and goals have come forward.

My prospective is it is a hobby, something that I enjoy doing. Some is spare time and every so often I get a couple of full days. I usually have two and occasionally three in the works as well as a couple of stragglers that may be months old. The latter are usually stumbling blocks where I need to come up with some recovery. The two or three going is mostly because I need to stop, look and think about how to proceed. My mind needs to accept the where it is point and determine how to proceed. It is still far from second nature thinking for me. The overnight and sleep on it mathod have saved a few blocks. If I am jammed up and push myself for a finish the block usually turns out to be a loser.

While I dream of a life amidst the sawdust, full of puffing and making pipes I try to keep it in prospective. It is also not feasible as long as I am working. There was a time the site had a chat room and Love happened to be taking a break and looking for some conversation/distraction. After chatting a bit he excused himself – he needed to get 15 pipes done for a Russian order. Now that is an eye opener, Hey, these guys are REALLY working – it is not some game.

Well that was just a confirmation to me. The last thing I would want is to take something I enjoy and turn it into a business concern. When the money gets into the process of something I enjoy it is the money that comes into focus and that, for me anyway, takes all the enjoyment out of it.

So for now, if I light up a pipe, sit back in a rocker and spend an hour figuring out how to un-dork this stummel, I am in the zone and life could not be better.

To all you full-timers, my hat’s off to you.

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:24 pm

Hey ckr,

You're right that it's not some game, *BUT* pipe making is the most enjoyable way to make a living that I have ever experienced.

I've been self employed for my entire working life, and I've done other things that made a lot more money, but I've never had as much fun or been as satisfied and fulfilled with an occupation as I have with pipe making.

"It's good to be a pipe maker!"

Rad

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:00 am

RadDavis wrote:Hey ckr,

You're right that it's not some game, *BUT* pipe making is the most enjoyable way to make a living that I have ever experienced.

I've been self employed for my entire working life, and I've done other things that made a lot more money, but I've never had as much fun or been as satisfied and fulfilled with an occupation as I have with pipe making.

"It's good to be a pipe maker!"

Rad

Yep. I'm not at a point where I can take the risk of giving up any of my other employment to devote more time to pipemaking, but at the end of the summer I had a couple of weeks where I did nothing of consequence other than make pipes, and I was happy.

ckr · Post by **ckr** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:25 am

Hey ckr,

I certainly hope my post and opinion was not misunderstood. It is just my own feelings of what could come about if I went into this full time. I love this hobby too much to risk placing it in a position (just me) where my feelings and perceptions towards it might change. Yes that is a might - but I feel the risk is there. So I work in a cube and yearn for more shop time - it is a pleasant yearning, an itch that feels good when scratched, an escape from the toils and drudgery of my normal workday.

I tip my hat to you guys, as my progress has been paid for by your dues, so to speak.

Things can so easily be screwed up on the net. I hope it did not come off like I think you guys have been chained to a life of drudgery.

Think I better shutup and cut my loses while I am ahead.

Fume in Pace, ckr

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:06 pm

Rad, you have worked yourself into a great position that I'm trying hard not to envy. Congratulations, you've certainly earned it, and I'm very thankful the World has recognized that and is making it possible!

Jack, though you're way ahead of me, I'm with you on this. A solid week pretending to be a full-time pipe maker was part of my "vacation" this year, and it was fantastic! Best vacation I've had in a long while.... I made a lot of progress on skills, made a few nice pipes, and had a really great time!

Chris, I'm hearing you on this, and I've been thinking on it a lot lately, because I'd love to transition into more pipe making time and that is going to mean less of something else I value because I've already cut most extraneous things out, with the possible exception of pipe related computing like this! I've done several things for a living that many consider great hobbies and when they became a significant part of my income, and I started to do them for financial reasons in addition to wanting to do them for the sheer joy of them, they also became work at times, but they didn't stop being fun and rewarding.

Please forgive me, this is a digression folks... This thinking was inspired from a lecture by one of my favorite writers, Dorthy Sayers, called Why Work, a transcript of which can be found is this great collection: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/084994 ... 63?ie=UTF8

Some of this is semantics, but "work" has become a bad thing in our society. Most people only work because they have too. They make money so they can do the other things they like to do better or buy things. If they had the money they would just do those other things or nothing at all, so the carrot becomes weekends or vacations, or retirement, or buying stuff. We think that's when life is good, but is it ever good enough?

I'm convinced that this kind of thinking is a result of marketing, materialism, and of the industrial revolution. We've all been encouraged and tempted to "raise our standard of living" not as defined by us, but as defined by the marketing of mass produced consumer goods and services. We are now working for money so we can buy the stuff that advertisers want us to buy, instead of working because we love the work, and the work needs doing. Most people no longer work because they have a passion for it, and are good at it, but work to make money, and they decide what to work at based on how much they can make doing it.

The way I look at this, or at least want to look at it is different. When I'm doing my work, I no longer want to work to survive, but want to work because the work itself is fulfilling a desire I have to do it, and is really needed or wanted by others. Then I'm paid for it, not because it is laborious, and I must be compensated for that labor, but because people value it and want to make sure I can survive while doing it.

In regards to pipe making. At this point, I'm just afraid my family would starve or at least hate the cut backs it would take if I leaned on it financially at the expense of other income sources. I don't mind my other work, in fact, I find it is very re-warding most of the time, but I'm loving pipe making more now so I want to be able to do it more. It's hard to be really good at something unless you dedicate a significant portion of your life to it, which means for most of us, it needs to be helping us survive financially. I really want to get good at this. In terms of the work aspect, I'd rather be good, and have to do it, than be mediocre, and keep it strictly as a hobby.

So, if I thought I could pull off full-time pipe making I'd go for it. I have four sources of income right now including pipe making, but it is in distant last place, and has a long ways to go to make up for what I've spent on it! My next step will be to start cutting back on a couple of other side ventures I use for income (and enjoyment), and do more pipe making with that time. And I hope I can eventually take early "retirement" from my main work, and keep all the benefits and a little of the income from it, maybe shifting to doing it on the side because I know I'll still like it, and dedicate the reclaimed time to pipe making. The bottom line is I now want this equation to change, not because I don't like my main work, but because I like this better.

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:20 pm

Things can so easily be screwed up on the net. I hope it did not come off like I think you guys have been chained to a life of drudgery.

Not at all. I took your post as a compliment to full time pipe makers.

I can totally understand your feelings about your fun becoming burdensome if you became financially dependent on it.

I just thought I'd share my perspective on working at it full time. It's a fantastic feeling to make a living at something I'm passionate about.

It's pretty obvious that Jack and Scott feel the same way, but leaving a steady paycheck to go full time is a risky proposition. At the time I went full time, I was a fishing guide in the summer and tied flies all winter, so I wasn't giving up much in the way of financial security.

Rad

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:42 am

sethile wrote: Some of this is semantics, but "work" has become a bad thing in our society. Most people only work because they have too. They make money so they can do the other things they like to do better or buy things. If they had the money they would just do those other things or nothing at all, so the carrot becomes weekends or vacations, or retirement, or buying stuff. We think that's when life is good, but is it ever good enough?

I'm convinced that this kind of thinking is a result of marketing, materialism, and of the industrial revolution. We've all been encouraged and tempted to "raise our standard of living" not as defined by us, but as defined by the marketing of mass produced consumer goods and services. We are now working for money so we can buy the stuff that advertisers want us to buy, instead of working because we love the work, and the work needs doing. Most people no longer work because they have a passion for it, and are good at it, but work to make money, and they decide what to work at based on how much they can make doing it.

You've hit the nail on the head there, Scott.

I've been railing against the marketing machine ever since I attempted college many years ago. I went to college "because you're supposed to". I left college without a degree precisely because I wasn't supposed to. I didn't see the value in it for the types of things I was interested in at the time - even later on when I decided to go back for the field I'm working in, I left in disgust again because nothing was current and timely about their curriculum.

I don't own a big screen TV. Hell, I don't even *watch* TV except for about 4 hours a week of truly stimulating stuff from the TLC or DSC networks. My vehicles are a Jeep, a beat up pickup, and a small little commuter vehicle to get me back and forth from the day job. I live in the woods away from all the "modern conveniences". I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart. I make a lot of my own furniture, and I have a nice big garden that supplies us with veggies all summer long - and partway through winter. In short, I don't subscribe to the marketing ideals of modern life. I actively reject them because they mean nothing at the end of the day.

My day job is as enjoyable as it gets. I work for a great company, with an awesome collection of people. The "work", if you can call it that, is incredibly satisfying and very rewarding. It's part of why I spend anywhere from 3 to 4 hours commuting there every day. The fact that I'm rewarded financially for it is simply the icing on the cake.

That being said, it's not nearly as rewarding as finishing a pipe for customer and having them go on and on about how much they love it. Given the choice, I'd drop the day job in a heartbeat and go full time in pipe making - if only the house were paid off and the kids were older and moved out. Thing is, the risks associated with dropping the day job are too great at this point. However, I'm making steps to take early retirement with no debt load so that I can go full time - we'll see how that goes. Part of that reaches back to what I started typing way at the beginning - not buying in to the marketing ideals of success and modern life. When you start to eschew all that stuff, life becomes far less expensive, and a lot more enjoyable on a spiritual level.

ckr · Post by **ckr** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 12:16 pm

Rad,

tied flies all winter

Good move, doin' #22's and #24's are are just plain killers on the eyeballs.

I do hear ya, there are mornings I dread going in to work. 25 years ago I worked full time, after work I programmed software from the time my kids were tucked in till the wee hours. Total enjoyment (yea I was weird). Now having been professionally developing software for twenty years the initial passion that took me there is gone. Retirement could be another story but I would still strive to keep the coin as a by product and keep puffing and sanding center stage.

Different strokes .....

976 to go - watch out I'm catching up to ya.

Scott, I am probably close to getting a Dorthy Sayers award but it is not quite that bad. The "A" types are the worst part.

TreverT · Post by **TreverT** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:58 pm

It always tickles me when people think pipemakers spend all their time making pipes. You know, eight hours a day every day. Granted, if you don't sell direct and simply turn everything over to distributors, this is partially possible (minus all the business recordkeeping time), but otherwise it's a fantasy. Yesterday I pulled an eight hour day at the computer, building all the graphics, taking pictures, and setting up my new Goblins website pages. And then answered emails into the night. Today, my "pipemaking working day" has consisted of:

Answering 29 emails on various topics

Receiving and transferring several Paypal payments, and running some credit card bills

Prepping and packing two pipes for shipment, and taking them off to the PO

Building and burning an archive DVD of various files that needed backing up

Adding new emails to our mailing list

Resetting some changes and tweaks to my server email setup

Talking with two potential distributors

Studying the results of experimental staining on six test stummels, and comparing them to each other and previous results

Talking over the details of two special-order pipes

And that's it! Haven't even touched a block of briar today. And now it's 9:55pm, and I still need to do other chores like changing our aquarium water and filters, sanding down one more test stummel, cleaning a pile of dirty pipes, rebooting the computer into Puppy Linux to try an internet fix, and maybe sitting down to scribble some basic details of a logo design for a friend.

I need more to do in my life.

In some ways, getting to actually go out into the shop and just make pipes is still as much a fun escape from work as it is for the hobbyists.

kkendall · Post by **kkendall** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:09 pm

In terms of the work aspect, I'd rather be good, and have to do it, than be mediocre, and keep it strictly as a hobby.

I choose the third option.. I'm hoping in 10-15 years, I'll be good at my hobby.

Like a lot of you, pipe making time is precious & limited. Wife and 2 teenage girls at home chew up a lot of my time.

I usually get a few hours Saturday mornings set aside for it. I just finished a pipe this weekend that I've been looking at on the shelf for probably 2 months! (I have to admit, I've started working (no...playing) on a couple more while it just sat there)

But I can see myself making pipes for additional retirement income. By then, I might be pretty good at this hobby.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 8:34 am

Wow Trever, that makes my schedule sound pretty easy!

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:12 am

TreverT wrote:It always tickles me when people think pipemakers spend all their time making pipes..... I need more to do in my life.

In some ways, getting to actually go out into the shop and just make pipes is still as much a fun escape from work as it is for the hobbyists.

Yes, I was self-employed for 20 years before taking my day job in the same field. It is amazing.... One simply never gets away from it. Now I've got the best of both worlds (and also the worse of both world's). Back at the peak of my private clientele, even when I was not doing it (front end, back end, or pain in the rear end), I was thinking or worrying over it!

But.... In your case, your simply having to suffer, not for being self employed, but as penance for all the great tools and machines you got with that shop! When I grow up, I want to be like you, only maybe in Italy....