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How to focus...Advice

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 11:57 pm
by pmbattles
So I am really really new to pipe making and I am participating in my first PITH. I have really been trying to focus on the classic Billiard shape here recently, with no avail. However, PITH is in July and I am stressing about it. I would really like to submit a pipe that is as far away from a piece of sh*t as I can manage. So how should I focus my attention? Keep making Billiards then make a Billiard with an oval shank? Make a few more billiards then make something different; like a brandy, egg, or tomato with an oval shank? Start working on oval shanks now? I am just not sure how to proceed to make the best pipe I can... not that it will be good, just the best I can.

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 12:33 am
by sandahlpipe
Depending on how much time you have, making a billiard (or as many as possible) and submitting them here on the forum for critique will help a great deal. An oval shank is a fairly separate challenge. Take a round dowel and try shaping it into an oval that is perfectly oval for the full length of 6" and then check your work by cutting it at several places in the middle. If it's oval, you should be able to rearrange the pieces of the dowel any which way and still have them line up. If you can make a billiard and can pass the dowel challenge, you're ready to just put the oval on the billiard. Keep it simple while you're learning and then get fancy.

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 1:57 pm
by seamonster
I think you might adjust the "lens" you are looking through.

What I mean is this:
In your post, you named a lot of traditional shapes, "I'm working on a billiard, should I keep working on billiards, or make
a brandy or an egg?"

To make those things, (the end product) there are a whole bunch of smaller details and steps that have to all work out
in order to accomplish the end product. Correct drilling, understanding proportions, creating straight lines in wood,
creating lines that flow, symmetry, and the list goes on and on.....

As a new maker, you might pick a smaller detail to focus on. For the next 3 pipes you're going to really work on correct
drilling. You won't lose sight of the end product, but try to focus on each of the smaller details. Then as you start
ticking off those boxes, you'll get closer and closer to the end product you want. AND those little details
will also help you with the PITH.

my $.02.....


cheers,
Jeremy.

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 2:55 pm
by Charl
Make a pipe. Look at the mistakes. Make another. Etc.

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:36 pm
by Ratimus
Here's an alternate idea to consider: find an oval shank pipe on the internet that has pictures available from every angle (ebay, smokingpipes.com, whatever). Make sure it's not so ambitious that you won't be able to reproduce it. Now make as many perfect copies as you can, paying attention to all the aforementioned details, and at the end pick the best one. Just another strategy to consider.

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:45 pm
by DocAitch
Remember that your PITH submission may not be perfect, it should be the best you can do. No one expects a new pipemaker to make a saleable pipe in less than about 2 years
Also, as pointed out by Jeremiah, a long oval is also difficult.
Relax a bit. I have been doing this for over a year this century, and did it for a few years back in the 70s. I work on pipes many hours a week (I'm retired), and am still screwing them up at an alarming rate. I try to make a billiard in every batch that I work ( my present queue has 15 pipes in it in various stages and two are billiards, and both have man made problems).
This is a matter of of small steps and patience. Each error is an opportunity to learn and improve. As Jeremiah s signature says" Fail early, Fail often".
DocAitch

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:22 pm
by mightysmurf8201
Charl wrote:Make a pipe. Look at the mistakes. Make another. Etc.
^This would be my recommendation. Don't forget to have fun while you're working. You will make bad pipes. Maybe lots of them, maybe not. The biggest hurdle newbies need to overcome is the fear to fail. This is the place you WANT to make your mistakes because not only will we show you what they are, we will show you how to fix them. PITH is not the end all, be all for your pipe making career. It is one step in your journey. Enjoy the journey.

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 2:26 am
by kamkiel
The best advice I got was, "don't be an impatient little (explicit content)." Even when I thought I was taking my time and going slow it was still to fast. Making a pipe is a lot of fun. It is easy to find yourself in a "rhythm" that is comfortable, but (in my case) that rhythm is often too fast.

I agree with Smurf that this should be fun. If it wasn't fun then what's the point?

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:56 pm
by pmbattles
Thanks to everyone who commented. I truly appreciate you giving your time and advice.

Re: How to focus...Advice

Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2017 4:12 pm
by E.L.Cooley
If it makes you feel better, I just flung my first oval shank attempt off the buffer. Sense no one will ever see it now. I will tell you it was one of my best. Wash rinse repeat.


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