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Kirk, if may chime in on this. I have made four pipes to completion including hand cut stems. I had four in progress on the bench prior to packing up my workshop in anticipation of a move. When I started hanging out around PMF I could not understand everyone's love for the billiard. I had not really considered the shape at all really. I have tried about every other pipe to make a billiard, my skills have improved each time. Still don't have a good billiard to show. But, now I at least I recognize one.


Sent from my banana phone.

She's a tricky bastard, the billiard. You can hide a lot by sandblasting a kooky freehand. There's nowhere to hide on a smooth billiard. 100 little traps just waiting for you to make that one mistake. When I shape one perfectly, with great proportions, perfect lines, totally centered slot and contoured button sporting a Eltang golden contrast finish that shines like a diamond, then I have no reason to fear ANY shape. Until then I feel i have no business making an "artsy" blowfish. i will just end up disappointed. But i have ambitions to sell. If Kirk just wants to have fun and be creative i say go for it. good luck sir!

billiards can suck upon it.



What if he makes a kick ass blowfish his first try? I don't disagree with the advice, please don't mistake what I'm saying. Maybe people want to learn the hard way - I do it all the time.

I have only made one blowfish. I used a few different round dremel cutting/filing bits and then sand paper wrapped around my finger to get the convex sides. I don't know if there's an easier way, but it worked with a lot of time. I learned that taking your time with measuring each side (marking center, measuring radius, and marking the bottom of the chamber) helps to keep from going back and fixing stuff.

Well, I had a go at making a Billiard, whilst I quite enjoyed doing it in some ways I have to say I was bored senseless in too many other ways to even consider doing it again to perfect the style.

Out of respect for some of you folk here I did have a go at it.

I truly appreciate and value the advice I have been granted on this Blowfish subject, thank you.

For what it's worth Kirk, think of making a billiard (or any traditional shape for that matter) as a study of tool manipulation. The hardest thing to master in pipe making (from where I'm sitting anyway) is figuring out HOW to make the tool do what I want/need it to do. That's what so great about a billiard. You know what the final shape has to look like from every angle. The hard part isn't the shaping, rather manipualting your tools to the end result.

Make the blowfish and see how it goes. Everyone makes them differently so until you start there really isn't any easy way for anyone to tell you how to do it. It is really going to be trail and error as far as shaping goes. I have made 1 blowfish....probably won't ever make another. I don't have the imagination for it and really enjoy the "to the .001" aspect of making a classic shape. It's really easy to miss, but when you hit it and hit it well, man do you feel like a million bucks.

phmann wrote:billiards can suck upon it.



What if he makes a kick ass blowfish his first try?

I'll eat my fucking hat. There's a hundred ugly blowfishes in the gallery. Eventually, you have to make one if you are going to make one. But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish. Take whatever metaphor you like. Driving a F1 car after your first driving lesson, painting a Great painting after you buy your first supplies. Go buy a flute and play some Mozart on your first day, that's all fine. Except it doesn't work that way.

Yeah, you have to start somewhere.

If Kirk was bored by his billiard it shows. Now he can go make something he's excited about, and put more passion into it.

scotties22 wrote:For what it's worth Kirk, think of making a billiard (or any traditional shape for that matter) as a study of tool manipulation. The hardest thing to master in pipe making (from where I'm sitting anyway) is figuring out HOW to make the tool do what I want/need it to do. That's what so great about a billiard. You know what the final shape has to look like from every angle. The hard part isn't the shaping, rather manipualting your tools to the end result.

Make the blowfish and see how it goes. Everyone makes them differently so until you start there really isn't any easy way for anyone to tell you how to do it. It is really going to be trail and error as far as shaping goes. I have made 1 blowfish....probably won't ever make another. I don't have the imagination for it and really enjoy the "to the .001" aspect of making a classic shape. It's really easy to miss, but when you hit it and hit it well, man do you feel like a million bucks.

Thank you for taking the time to reply Scotties, I have great respect for people like yourself, I have admired your work for some time now as you will know, I appreciate your words, thank you.

Sasquatch wrote:I'll eat my fucking hat. There's a hundred ugly blowfishes in the gallery. Eventually, you have to make one if you are going to make one. But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish. Take whatever metaphor you like. Driving a F1 car after your first driving lesson, painting a Great painting after you buy your first supplies. Go buy a flute and play some Mozart on your first day, that's all fine. Except it doesn't work that way.

Yeah, you have to start somewhere.

If Kirk was bored by his billiard it shows. Now he can go make something he's excited about, and put more passion into it.

What can I say Sas, thanks for taking the time to reply.

Kirk Fitzgerald wrote:
What can I say Sas, thanks for taking the time to reply.

Where did the pic of your billiard go?

Rad

But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.
But if a guy can't control the lines on a billiard, he can't control the lines on a blowfish.


The Sasquatch speaketh unto beginners the Absolute & Unavoidable Truth.

All else is self delusion.

Dear Rad, please get an avatar so we recognize you when you post.

I have scoured the interwebz and recommend the following:





Hope this helps
Todd

I DID NOT give anyone permission to post that picture of me on the internet!!

I would recommend this:

Dirty dirty girls

I promise I will read each and every post of yours, Rad, if you get Sas's avatar.
Really.

I'll eat my fucking hat.

Okay dude, pressure's on! Make a kick ass blowfish!

phmann wrote:

I'll eat my fucking hat.

Okay dude, pressure's on! Make a kick ass blowfish!

I really like Sas', even if I could make a kickass Blowfish, which I don't feel I could I wouldn't want Sas' to eat his hat, that would be horrid for him. My reasoning behind the Blowfish Buddy is that I'd love to own one myself but who in blazes could afford a luxury like that eh, so I thought if I could make a half way decent one myself for me then how could I lose out. I really only wanted to know if folk had other methods of forming the round bit which I hadn't thought of as this is the place to come for help and advice, or so I thought, when I have a piece of Briar suitable for attempting it I shall show you what I ended up making.

Rad get the
sas avatar
hope this helps!

Kirk Fitzgerald wrote:

phmann wrote:

I'll eat my fucking hat.

Okay dude, pressure's on! Make a kick ass blowfish!

I really like Sas', even if I could make a kickass Blowfish, which I don't feel I could I wouldn't want Sas' to eat his hat, that would be horrid for him. My reasoning behind the Blowfish Buddy is that I'd love to own one myself but who in blazes could afford a luxury like that eh, so I thought if I could make a half way decent one myself for me then how could I lose out. I really only wanted to know if folk had other methods of forming the round bit which I hadn't thought of as this is the place to come for help and advice, or so I thought, when I have a piece of Briar suitable for attempting it I shall show you what I ended up making.

No one was trying to dissuade you from making the blowfish. Even if it is for yourself you would be better suited to the challenge after having a handle on some more of the "basics" so to speak. A blowfish is a damned hard pipe to make because there are no rules. Make it and let us know how it went. Just be prepared for it to be a melted lolly on a stick.

Oh, and have a solid plan and LOTS of notes. Try to stick with it or you will get lost halfway through.

Kirk I'm going to actually directly answer your initial question, and you're going to see how unhelpful it is.

You could use a dremel with a large, ugly cutting burr. You could use the edge of a shaping disc. You could use a 1/2" carving gouge. All these things remove material. If you cut with them in a circle, you will leave a lump behind in the middle. That's how you carve out a lump, or anything else. You remove what isn't the lump.

Now you can make your blowfish, because you've been told how to carve it.


I don't think this answer is helpful at all, but there it is.

Kirk, I am a new pipe maker, and am just learning how all this stuff has to work together for a pipe to look good and work well. You asked a question, and you got the right answers right off the bat. They were just answers you did not really want to hear.

I am older than a lot of the folks here, and well established in my own field. As part of that I teach my craft. I get guys coming in my shop all the time who want to start out making some of the more advanced shapes right away, when they have no experience with what works and why. Like you, they don't even know the how of it yet. If you are not clear on how to shape an outside curve that is purely for looks, I can pretty much promise you that you are going to have serious problems with engineering the airway.

I happen to like a well made billiard, but that didn't really grow on me until after I started working out the problems of actually making one. It is a very basic shape, but it is also very hard to execute properly because there is no where to hide mistakes. It isn't just the shape. It is the engineering that goes into all the hidden aspects that make the pipe smokable. Hacking out a blowfish right off the bat when you aren't even sure how to go about it says you are going to have a lot of unhappiness in your endeavor, because stuff is going to go wrong and you won't know why, or how to fix it.

My own goal is to make some really nice freehand pipes. But, I want them to smoke well, and I want a body of work behind them that says I know what I am doing. That may not be your goal at all, but if your goal is to make a pipe that is good looking and good smoking, then listen to what people here are telling you - the ones who have demonstrated their own bona fides, that is.