My first shot at pipemaking

[sakrin]

Im new to pipe making so i decided in some researching and some experimenting.
How do you think im doing?


Is a very bad piece off wild pear eaten by parasites, that i found lying in the shop, but trainig is training. Worked on this about two hours, given the fact that its my first shot. Not polished just rough shaping.
I have a walnut piece, but i read its not really good.

[Mark B.]

There might be a pipe in there. You'll need to remove a lot more material to see it though.

#1 rookie move, not removing enough wood. Better to go a little too far than not far enough. That's how you learn where the line is.

Just my opinion of course. I'm still a noob myself, so take it for whatever it's worth.

[Oakbear]

There's not a pipe in there. There is some practice sure, but not a smoke-able pipe.

The wood you have chosen includes the pith (the central part of the trunk) which is soft and where those radial cracks come from. Drying a piece with the pith in is tough without cracking, and most blanks will not include it.

I used pear wood for practice to start with, but dry stable blanks, not logs. Most seem to advise starting with briar.

[RadDavis]

Jesus Christ.

Hope this helps.

Rad

[Joe T]

Looks to me like it will have a pleasent shape, but needs to lose some weight. Looks like it would turn out as a Bent Tomato. I just did a quick forum search, this is a good example:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=10163&p=100155&hil ... to#p100155

I'd slim down the shank and try to keep the bowl shape going. Then sand it, starting with 80 grit, then 150, then 320... and so on.

It will crack (I've learned this from experence), but you'll be able to say "now I want to do it in Briar!"

By the way, it looks a heck of a lot better than my first pipe.

[Alden]

I think what Rad is trying to say, perhaps you should have a clearer vision of what you are trying to make, and choose a material better suited for that vision.
Start with a solid piece of wood and a picture of a pipe you like, and shape the wood so it looks like the picture.

[sakrin]

Jesus ain't helping at all.
As for taking of more material, probably i should have, because its a massive thing, the bowl is just below 75mm in diameter. Its a complete freehand made on the sanding machine. I'm going to practice a while longer with some other blocks and eventually make the thing. I'm considering in making a custom shaping bit for the drill press, it will give me better precision, and speed up the work greatly, but we will see. Nevertheless thank you guys. As for finishing. Actually, small grit sandpaper is not really needed. This one is rubbed with sawdust. You can get a near glass finish on wood in a lothe just by pressing sawdust on the thing while it rotates.

[wdteipen]

IAWR.

I feel like I'm being punked. TJ is this your sock puppet?


Just in case I'm not, it's a good start, keep practicing. When you feel like your ready have a go at making the whole pipe with cheap briar. There really is no good substitute to get a feel for working with it. Also, do some research here on the forum. There's tons of good info to get you off to a good start. I'm curious though what your definition of a "near glass finish" is because rubbing sawdust on your pipe isn't gonna get you there. Do a little search and see what the standard in the pipe community is for a glass finish. I think you'll be surprised. Anyway, glad your here. Keep on keeping on.

[RadDavis]

Are you saying you regard the finish on this pipe as a glass finish? I've never tried using sawdust as a sanding grit.

Also, you should resize your pics before posting so that we can actually see them all at once.

Rad

[sakrin]

@ Red
Hell NO, its a pice off junk wood, and kind off saying hello to the forum. Gauging my starting point, as from very bad to bad-ish. LOL
Yes, woodchips and sawdust can be used as sanding and or polishing abrasives, depending on granulation, it gives average and slightly above average results on big pices of already formed wood, helps you reaching tight spots on lathe rolled stuff as balustrade posts and such, and is not to agresive on the material. Basicaly you kill two flies in one blow if the form is good. For glass finish its only one thing safe to do, nanometrical diamond dust polishing powder, you can sharpen Tungsten or Titanium carbide tools with that and also polish things shiny. As for my pics, sorry, uploaded straight from the phone.

Now i have been thinking on the things that Alden mentioned above, about knowing what i realy want to do, and here it is, a rotten straight tomato.

I have done some research(stolen the dimensions of a nice looking pipe), and this will be the rough dimensions, but i have a dillema about the draught hole and mortoise dimension. And, im not totally confident about the position of the draught hole, maybe, lower to the center of the pot. Or some extra material on the lip of the pot? What say you people? Cant shake the feeling that Wayne is going to yell at me again?


And yes i know, Briar
By the way, whats a sock pupet?

[Ratimus]

I know it probably sounds boring, but you should probably start by making a few billiards. That will teach you a lot.

The standard finishing method involves sanding through all the grits up to 600, then using a 3-step buffing process. This is how a "glass-like" finish is usually achieved. Lots of info available on this if you use the search feature.

[sakrin]

Nothing is borring to me my friend except tenis, carling and golf. About reading, im doing it in every spare moment, maybe my mistake is posting.

PS
Like your sig

[PremalChheda]

The design you have drawn out looks fine except for the angle the mortise is coming in.

[sparkyspipes]

Its a start, just keep going at it, the drawing looks except for the angled mortise like PremalChheda said, it is possible but VERY hard to have a flush fit on a angled mortise.
Be careful using scrap wood tho, (or wood species you don't know if harmful or not), as tannins, oils and other resins in the wood can make a unpleasant smoke to a dangerous one.
Just take your time and keep going at it. Time, practice and persistence.

[d.huber]

Lots of good notes here.

For your next submission, please include smaller photos. It's really tough to get an impression when the photo displays larger than a computer monitor. If you need help with that, please ask. There's also a really good guide stickied at the top of the gallery.

[RadDavis]

My name is not Red.

Hope this helps.

Rad

[LatakiaLover]

My name is not Red.

Hope this helps.

Rad

Hey, it's close.

Also, MUCH easier to remember than your full name: Radney Pablo Diego Jose Francisco De Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria De Los Remedios Cipriano De La Santisima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruiz y Davis.

[Alden]

That could be the knockoff overseas version, like a genuine Rolox.
"Red Davis - Abalama USA " Gots a ring to it.

[sakrin]

Red is a cooler name, and besides, try going to Romania, with my surname, everywhere i checked in or out, from airport to hotels, i got weird looks from people. Apparently my surname, Sakrin, means burial casket in their language. I half expected to wake up one morning and stumble across some bad luck voodoo charm protection nailed or glued to my ass, or forehed

[The Smoking Yeti]

Hey man!

Some great advice has been given on this post!

I think you'd find it much more productive to start with a pipe kit or two. Steve at Vermont Freehand is an excellent resource for them, along with many other things pipe-making related. A helpful way to start shaping is either a sanding disc, or just a nice set of rough rasps and sandpaper. Most of us learned this way. As far as your first pipe being bad, yes it is. But the truth is, every one of our first pipes was bad. That's just how it works!

Take some time to read the forum, absorb the information, and most importantly, keep making pipes!