2015#12 Reverse Calabash Dublin with a Plateau rim

[Massis]

I've been reluctant to post for critique lately, most likely for fear of being burned to the ground.
Then again, the only way to learn is through critique from people who know their stuff.
So here goes:















Points seen/heard so far:
- the button is a bit long front to back (around 5mm)
- the slot's edges are a tiny bit jagged (only noticed it in the pictures...)
- the shank is a bit too fat for the stummel, even though it's a R.C.
- the shank is thin near the end of the mortise
( mortise = 14.9mm, shank is 19.5mm, so there's 2.3mm of wood all around)
- there's a few sandpits left, but honestly I took them for granted with this amazing grain.
- there are one or 2 small scratches left in the stummel that I can see

I personally like the curved line on the stem, which allows a nice long bite zone (just under 4mm thick), but I've also had people severely dislike this shape of stem.

On the upside:
- I love this grain, it's by far the best grained piece I've had to date, nice straight grain all around the stummel and birdseye on top and bottom of the shank.
- It's also the first time I've done a plateaux top, something I clearly need a bit more practice with.
- I feel my stems and especially the airway/funnel and button are getting better and more consistent from one pipe to the next.

[sandahlpipe]

Overall, not terrible. I think the shank is a bit on the thick side, but I kinda like it.

The fit of the stem is going to be an issue. Anytime you have moisture and two different materials together, you're going to have a fit issue unless you have a military (tapered) mount. The moisture is going to cause the briar walls of your mortise to expand and contract at a different rate than your tenon, making for either a loose or really tight fit. There are plenty of ways to engineer a reverse calabash to solve this problem, but the most common is to use a tapered mount.

Aesthetically, the stem is plenty thin behind the button from what I see, but I think it would look better if the line were straighter from the bite area to the shank face. It's at least worth trying to see if you think it looks better.

Objectively, when viewing the stem from the top, the stem bulges out a bit too much. If you're going to do a fishtail, make the fishtail closer to the button. This is something that affects the comfort of a pipe in one's mouth.

The button is also a bit thick from slot to bite area, and it doesn't look like there's an even distance from the top of the button to the bite area. Take some time to make that symmetrical and it will take your stems to the next level.

Keep up the good work!

[Massis]

The fit of the stem is going to be an issue. Anytime you have moisture and two different materials together, you're going to have a fit issue unless you have a military (tapered) mount. The moisture is going to cause the briar walls of your mortise to expand and contract at a different rate than your tenon, making for either a loose or really tight fit. There are plenty of ways to engineer a reverse calabash to solve this problem, but the most common is to use a tapered mount.

Hm, a good point.
Although currently I have no idea how I would make a precisely tapered mortise. I assume the only way is a tapered drill with the correct shape?

Would it be a solution to have a fixed acrylic shank cap to be a sleeve/mortise (evenly drilled so there's no step in the chamber) , so that the tenon and mortise are both acrylic?

Objectively, when viewing the stem from the top, the stem bulges out a bit too much. If you're going to do a fishtail, make the fishtail closer to the button. This is something that affects the comfort of a pipe in one's mouth.

Something I've noticed myself, and now see confirmed. The topdown profile of the stem is the part I'm struggling with the most right now. Do I understand it correctly you would keep the stemlines straight for a longer time, and only bulge out in the last section near the button?
Surely going to keep that in mind!

The button is also a bit thick from slot to bite area, and it doesn't look like there's an even distance from the top of the button to the bite area. Take some time to make that symmetrical and it will take your stems to the next level.

Keep up the good work!

Not sure what you mean here? Do you mean the button is too high as a whole? (I believe it's just under 6mm and the bite area is just under 4mm)
I tried to draw it out in paint in hopes of getting it clear, is this what you mean?
Red= top & bottom of button, being too high and not symmetrical
black = slot

[sandahlpipe]

Hm, a good point.
Although currently I have no idea how I would make a precisely tapered mortise. I assume the only way is a tapered drill with the correct shape?

Would it be a solution to have a fixed acrylic shank cap to be a sleeve/mortise (evenly drilled so there's no step in the chamber) , so that the tenon and mortise are both acrylic?

This is likely something you'll have to experiment with either way. Acrylic on acrylic or ebonite on ebonite both tend to get sticky. If I'm doing a tenon out of one material, I like to make the mortise out of another. Having a step in the expansion chamber is one possible solution. If you want to make a military mount, you would typically drill a straight hole the size of the smaller part and then either use a military mount bit or lathe tool to make the taper. On the tenon, you'd match the taper to the mortise taper, typically between 1 and 3 degrees. If you have thin walls, you'll need something to reinforce the shank so someone doesn't jam the tenon in too far.

Something I've noticed myself, and now see confirmed. The topdown profile of the stem is the part I'm struggling with the most right now. Do I understand it correctly you would keep the stemlines straight for a longer time, and only bulge out in the last section near the button?
Surely going to keep that in mind!

Yes. Either make the lines straight from the shank face to the button or a slight taper the last 1-2cm from the button. Tom Eltang told me to keep my buttons no wider than 16-17mm, so I would generally stick to that as well.

Not sure what you mean here? Do you mean the button is too high as a whole? (I believe it's just under 6mm and the bite area is just under 4mm)
I tried to draw it out in paint in hopes of getting it clear, is this what you mean?
Red= top & bottom of button, being too high and not symmetrical
black = slot

[/quote]
The symmetry issue may be illustrated in the picture, but I was referring to the width of the button, not the height. There are three dimensions. The height should be around 6mm (so you're good there) and it should be about 16-17mm from side to side of the stem. But the third dimension is from the front to the back of the button. And that dimension on yours looks about twice as thick as it should be. Then if you look at the back side of the button, you'll notice that there isn't an even height from the bite area to the top of the button. Take a look at George's videos on shining the crease behind the button if you want to see how to make things even.

[Massis]

Yes. Either make the lines straight from the shank face to the button or a slight taper the last 1-2cm from the button. Tom Eltang told me to keep my buttons no wider than 16-17mm, so I would generally stick to that as well.

The symmetry issue may be illustrated in the picture, but I was referring to the width of the button, not the height. There are three dimensions. The height should be around 6mm (so you're good there) and it should be about 16-17mm from side to side of the stem. But the third dimension is from the front to the back of the button. And that dimension on yours looks about twice as thick as it should be. Then if you look at the back side of the button, you'll notice that there isn't an even height from the bite area to the top of the button. Take a look at George's videos on shining the crease behind the button if you want to see how to make things even.

The width side to side is around 18mm on this one I believe (need to double check), so that's a bit on the wide side (I'll gladly take advise from Tom Eltang )

As for the thickness as we'll refer to it, that was one of the points on my list, so that's been spotted. Any pointers on general preferred size? This one is about 4.5mm. My first few buttons were only 2mm or near that dimension, which I found too thin.
But then again they were rounded front to back so that might've been the cause.

[sandahlpipe]

I'd go between 2-3mm, certainly no more than that. Otherwise it starts looking like an unmodified stem blank or a p-lip.

[Massis]

So I spoke to the new owner yesterday, and we agreed I'd tackle this button with my new insights.

An hour later, this is the result (The black one is a Savinelli linea artesan I was smoking and used as a reference for dimensions):







The button front to back was 4.5mm, it's now 2.8mm.
The bite zone was 4.1mm, and is now down to 3.8mm.
Also as far as I can tell, the button is no longer lopsided, but I don't have a decent picture to prove it

I'm going to go back (again) and do some resanding at the higher levels because some small scratches are still visible, but I think it's an improvement so far.
What would you say?

[caskwith]

New button looks much better. The shank walls would worry me, I would probably have sleeved it personally but overall a nice looking pipe. Would have been better made on the old super 7 though

[Massis]

New button looks much better. The shank walls would worry me, I would probably have sleeved it personally but overall a nice looking pipe. Would have been better made on a brand spanking new super 7 though

Fixed your post. That old piece of garbage wasn't worthy of the name "super 7", there really was nothing super about it left. Or have you forgotten about chuck jaws flying across the room?

[sandahlpipe]

The button now looks much better. If you're going to sell this pipe, at least tell the buyer you'll remake the pipe for free if the tenon comes loose or the shank cracks. Personally, I would keep such a thing for a shop pipe.

[Massis]

The button now looks much better. If you're going to sell this pipe, at least tell the buyer you'll remake the pipe for free if the tenon comes loose or the shank cracks. Personally, I would keep such a thing for a shop pipe.

Thanks! As for possible repairs, you make a valid point.
However, the pipe was already sold, and I sold a similar pipe last January (this one: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=10213)

Both owners I know and keep in touch with - they're kind of my top customers, and they know that if anything should go wrong with a pipe I've made, I'll provide a fitting solution if it's caused by my (lack of) craftmanship.
Same goes for all my pipes I've made so far: if anything happens, owners can contact me and I'll see what I can do for them, in which the worst case is they'll get a new pipe or a refund.

I've only been selling pipes for more than material costs for just over a year, so I have no idea how my pipes will hold up over the course of many years of smoking. Simply for that reason, I feel people who buy a pipe from me deserve to know that I'll stand behind my products.

After your remarks about the possible shank issues, I inquired the owner of the last pipe about his experiences over the last 7-8 months as I got a bit worried.
So far he's smoked it plenty, loves it, and has had no issues with the fit of the tenon changing so far.

For the future I'll drasticly alter the design if I end up making R.C. pipes, until I'm confident the possible issues have been resolved.

[caskwith]

New button looks much better. The shank walls would worry me, I would probably have sleeved it personally but overall a nice looking pipe. Would have been better made on a brand spanking new super 7 though

Fixed your post. That old piece of garbage wasn't worthy of the name "super 7", there really was nothing super about it left. Or have you forgotten about chuck jaws flying across the room?

Good point