pipemakersforum.com

I have a (I hope) a simple question about stem length on bent billiards. Is there a general rule for the length of it, or does it very between Italian, Danish, and British schools? I have a bent pipe that I just started, but every time I go to cut a rod for the stem I keep thinking it is either too short or too long. Should I cut the length like I would for a straight billiard?

If all the other proportions are right, the stem should be roughly the length from the end of the shank to the middle of the bowl.

Thanks. I thought it was probably measured this way, but I wasn't positive. I haven't made enough bent pipes to confidently know the "exact" length. Many times when the pipe is in its rough stages the stem really looks too small.

I think it depends on the pipe, how fat, how bent, etc. I literally just hold things up and "eyeball" the stem length. Get it wrong every time, but hey.

I draw out a sketch of my shape before I start. Then when I go to make the stem, I just go by my sketch. So somewhat how Sas describes. I usually make the stem about half the overall length of the pipe. I would start there and see whether you want to make the next one shorter or longer.

Sasquatch wrote:I think it depends on the pipe, how fat, how bent, etc. I literally just hold things up and "eyeball" the stem length. Get it wrong every time, but hey.

This^

If you have some cheap blanks laying around, cut the tenons off and use them to get an idea of the length before you prep the stem material.

I'll go invest in some blanks, start using my eyeballs, and take up drawing classes. If the length is messed up I'll just say it was how I designed the pipe and give it a clever name. Who knows, maybe one day people will be asking if you guys can make them a "Kiel's Favorite" or some other mutant pipe.

Thanks for the advice. I want to take a slight break from making straight(er) pipes and try some bent ones. To know how you guys do things hopefully will get me started in the right direction.

IIRC, a lot of the Dunhill straight billiards have stems that are the same length as the briar part of the pipe, so the stem/shank junction comes in the dead center of the pipe, but many of the bent ones seem to be about 60/40 briar/stem in terms of total length.

Best thing to do is to find some pictures of pipes you really like and take a pair of dividers (or a compass) to them and see what the most visually pleasing proportions are.

To give you an idea, here's a picture of a bent Dunhill billiard that I did some (literal) cut-and-paste with:

Literaryworkshop wrote:IIRC, a lot of the Dunhill straight billiards have stems that are the same length as the briar part of the pipe, so the stem/shank junction comes in the dead center of the pipe, but many of the bent ones seem to be about 60/40 briar/stem in terms of total length.

Best thing to do is to find some pictures of pipes you really like and take a pair of dividers (or a compass) to them and see what the most visually pleasing proportions are.

To give you an idea, here's a picture of a bent Dunhill billiard that I did some (literal) cut-and-paste with:

That stem is measured from the middle of the bowl which is what I do for most stems on bent pipes. If you measure all the way to the end of back of the bowl your stem will almost always be too long. Dunhill is dead on with their stem length on this pipe.