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I'm working on my first bog oak or morta pipe. I don't have a sand blaster and I don't really like the smooth finish on morta. Is there any other finishing technique that works on morta? Do you wax morta pipes or just sand it until it shines?

You can always experiment with rustication or other finishes, but smooth or blasted (I saw Walt's suede blast on a scrap, but none of us have been able to figure out the secret yet...) are the two standard options. If you're finishing smooth, wax is a good option. If you're blasting, you'll need an oil or shellac-based finish as the texture will catch fuzz from your buffing wheels.

sandahlpipe wrote:You can always experiment with rustication or other finishes, but smooth or blasted (I saw Walt's suede blast on a scrap, but none of us have been able to figure out the secret yet...) are the two standard options. If you're finishing smooth, wax is a good option. If you're blasting, you'll need an oil or shellac-based finish as the texture will catch fuzz from your buffing wheels.

I will experiment rusticating on a scrap piece but unless I fervid results, it will end up as a smooth pipe. Thanks Jeremiah.

Smooth is the only other option really. You might be able to rusticate with a wire brush but I am not hopeful.

caskwith wrote:Smooth is the only other option really. You might be able to rusticate with a wire brush but I am not hopeful.

Thanks for the sujestion. It will most likely end up as a smooth pipe unless I get good results on a scrap piece.

caskwith wrote:Smooth is the only other option really. You might be able to rusticate with a wire brush but I am not hopeful.

What about 'blastication' with the texturing wire wheels from that other thread?

Thomas Tkach wrote:

caskwith wrote:Smooth is the only other option really. You might be able to rusticate with a wire brush but I am not hopeful.

What about 'blastication' with the texturing wire wheels from that other thread?

Haven't seen that thread. I left it smooth.

Thomas Tkach wrote:

caskwith wrote:Smooth is the only other option really. You might be able to rusticate with a wire brush but I am not hopeful.

What about 'blastication' with the texturing wire wheels from that other thread?

Turned out nice. As for "blastication", I tried it with morta and it did have some effect, but too much tearout and fuzziness. Without blast equipment, it seems smooth is the way to go with the bog oak, as suggested.

finster wrote:

Thomas Tkach wrote:

caskwith wrote:Smooth is the only other option really. You might be able to rusticate with a wire brush but I am not hopeful.

What about 'blastication' with the texturing wire wheels from that other thread?

Turned out nice. As for "blastication", I tried it with morta and it did have some effect, but too much tearout and fuzziness. Without blast equipment, it seems smooth is the way to go with the bog oak, as suggested.

Thank you. Is that a link you tried to add to the response?

For what it's worth, it looks like you have a bit of tearout on the bowl. I presume you turned it on a lathe. Morta is notorious for being prone to tearout. Keep tools extra sharp (you may need to hone them more than once per block) and do some sanding on the lathe to get it smooth. I haven't done many smooth morta pipes because of the amount of work it takes to get them uniformly smooth. Also, I find smooth morta to be less eye-catching than a blast, so he extra work doesn't seem to justify itself for me.

Having said that, the rest of this pipe looks decent. The bowl is a bit thick for my eye, but quite nice for your first morta pipe.

Keep up the good work!

sandahlpipe wrote:For what it's worth, it looks like you have a bit of tearout on the bowl. I presume you turned it on a lathe. Morta is notorious for being prone to tearout. Keep tools extra sharp (you may need to hone them more than once per block) and do some sanding on the lathe to get it smooth. I haven't done many smooth morta pipes because of the amount of work it takes to get them uniformly smooth. Also, I find smooth morta to be less eye-catching than a blast, so he extra work doesn't seem to justify itself for me.

Having said that, the rest of this pipe looks decent. The bowl is a bit thick for my eye, but quite nice for your first morta pipe.

Keep up the good work!

Hi Jeremiah, I did turn this pipe on a lathe. I love the way morta pipes look with the sandblasted finish as well. I have one more block and I think I will save it until I get a blaster. Thank you.

JuanPablo30 wrote:

sandahlpipe wrote:For what it's worth, it looks like you have a bit of tearout on the bowl. I presume you turned it on a lathe. Morta is notorious for being prone to tearout. Keep tools extra sharp (you may need to hone them more than once per block) and do some sanding on the lathe to get it smooth. I haven't done many smooth morta pipes because of the amount of work it takes to get them uniformly smooth. Also, I find smooth morta to be less eye-catching than a blast, so he extra work doesn't seem to justify itself for me.

Having said that, the rest of this pipe looks decent. The bowl is a bit thick for my eye, but quite nice for your first morta pipe.

Keep up the good work!

Hi Jeremiah, I did turn this pipe on a lathe. I love the way morta pipes look with the sandblasted finish as well. I have one more block and I think I will save it until I get a blaster. Thank you.

Find a pipemaker locally if possible or send it out to be blasted, totally worth it and the lathe tearout becomes much less of a headache.

caskwith wrote:

JuanPablo30 wrote:

sandahlpipe wrote:For what it's worth, it looks like you have a bit of tearout on the bowl. I presume you turned it on a lathe. Morta is notorious for being prone to tearout. Keep tools extra sharp (you may need to hone them more than once per block) and do some sanding on the lathe to get it smooth. I haven't done many smooth morta pipes because of the amount of work it takes to get them uniformly smooth. Also, I find smooth morta to be less eye-catching than a blast, so he extra work doesn't seem to justify itself for me.

Having said that, the rest of this pipe looks decent. The bowl is a bit thick for my eye, but quite nice for your first morta pipe.

Keep up the good work!

Hi Jeremiah, I did turn this pipe on a lathe. I love the way morta pipes look with the sandblasted finish as well. I have one more block and I think I will save it until I get a blaster. Thank you.

Find a pipemaker locally if possible or send it out to be blasted, totally worth it and the lathe tearout becomes much less of a headache.

I thought about that before but the only local pipe maker thinks he's a "god" (I praise him for his fine work but doesn't like helping others). I don't know any other pipe makers willing to help with that, for a fee of course.
Do you know of anyone willing to blast it for me?

Kurt Huhn advertises sandblasting services for a fee. : http://www.pipecrafter.com/pipes/tools/sandblasting.php

sandahlpipe wrote:Kurt Huhn advertises sandblasting services for a fee. : http://www.pipecrafter.com/pipes/tools/sandblasting.php

Thanks! You've been very helpful. I'll check him out.

JuanPablo30 wrote:
I thought about that before but the only local pipe maker thinks he's a "god" (I praise him for his fine work but doesn't like helping others). I don't know any other pipe makers willing to help with that, for a fee of course.
Do you know of anyone willing to blast it for me?

I have done a bit of blasting work for people on occasion, the problem usually though is shipping costs so it's mostly local/UK guys that I have helped.

caskwith wrote:

JuanPablo30 wrote:
I thought about that before but the only local pipe maker thinks he's a "god" (I praise him for his fine work but doesn't like helping others). I don't know any other pipe makers willing to help with that, for a fee of course.
Do you know of anyone willing to blast it for me?

I have done a bit of blasting work for people on occasion, the problem usually though is shipping costs so it's mostly local/UK guys that I have helped.

Thanks for the intentions. I've seen your work before but didn't realize you were on the other side of the pond. I think I'm going to avoid morta for now and concentrate on briar until I can get a sandblasted. Thank you,

Juan.