pipemakersforum.com

OK, I've seen thread discussing this before about how to cut them, but I want to ask a slightly different question.

Is there an "appropriate" or acceptable depth and width of the ring grooves on a bulldog/Rhodesian? Obviously it could be ridiculous at a certain point being too far away or too thick relative to the diameter of the pipe bowl. But is it more a ballpark number?

Are we talking width of 1mm or 1/32" or .05" or...? On a big pipe is 1/8" too big? (Seems like it would unless the pipe was huge.)

What about depth then? Shallower is better relative to the width? I've seen many different takes on this: Petersons seem to be on the shallower side, Tsuges are deeper. Everything in between really, so I feel like it could be pretty relaxed on the carver's part. How do you judge this?

Probably just depends on the look your going for... I cut mine a little under 1mm wide and about 1mm deep ..

I've seen deeper and it fit the overall look the maker was going for...

Hope that helps


James

In my experience, you want your rings thin but relatively deep. Probably a depth at or a little more than 1/16" of an inch. That should give you a little breathing room. Nothing is worse than accidentally sanding through your rings. A little extra depth will also allow you to shape it down if somehow you get chips in the ring edges. Ultimately, there is a lot of room for subjectivity. Find a style you like and emulate it. The more you make the more your process will get dialed in.

I tend to cut my rings on the deeper side, pretty close to what Jesse is describing and for the same reasons. One catch is that if you get your rings close together the chance to break something goes up.

Ok, trying this idea out. I'm sure some of you are familiar with abrasive cord. It's not too aggressive since it's meant for more finish sanding. I'm going to try it out on a bulldog project one of these days and see if that is an adequate method of getting those hard-to-reach angles on bents.

I have a dental scraper like this but a little more bent that works great. Nice and slim to get in the tight places. I think I got it for a buck at a woodworking show but maybe ask your dentist.