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MrGuy

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:46 am
by MrGuy
Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve been getting lots of great info from the forum for a while now and figured I better join in to thank all of you, and of course maybe one day return the favor and share something that could help someone someday.

Real name: Andy
Age: 39
Location: the Black Hills of South Dakota
Years a pipe smoker: On and off since I was about 23, but consistently for about 3 years now.
How you got into pipe making: My budget kept me pretty much saving antique shop estate pipes for restoration projects. I figured if I can bring back those from the dead I might as well skip the middle man and make some of my own. I’ve been making, mostly kits, for a while and recently ventured out to drilling my own blocks, and even more recently attempted making stems.
Other interesting facts: I have a wife and 1 daughter. The kid takes up most of my time, she’s a special needs kid with physical and mental disabilities, but I wouldn’t ever have it any other way.

Re: MrGuy

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:29 pm
by oklahoma red
Welcome, Andy.

Re: MrGuy

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 3:11 pm
by LatakiaLover
Hi Andy --

Welcome.

This site used to have a dozen or more new threads a day, but after 15 years most subjects had been covered in enough depth that interaction dropped a lot.

It is definitely the best source of pipe making information on Planet Earth, though---all but about a year of those exchanges are still here (there was a data crash that blipped a slice of it)---so even though it might SEEM like tumbleweeds, here, that's not actually the case. Whatever you might want to know is either "look up-able" or can be answered by true experts. Those guys are just in lurk mode these days, is all.

Re: MrGuy

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:59 pm
by MrGuy
oklahoma red wrote:Welcome, Andy.
Thank you!
LatakiaLover wrote:Hi Andy --

Welcome.

This site used to have a dozen or more new threads a day, but after 15 years most subjects had been covered in enough depth that interaction dropped a lot.

It is definitely the best source of pipe making information on Planet Earth, though---all but about a year of those exchanges are still here (there was a data crash that blipped a slice of it)---so even though it might SEEM like tumbleweeds, here, that's not actually the case. Whatever you might want to know is either "look up-able" or can be answered by true experts. Those guys are just in lurk mode these days, is all.
Thank you! I’ve been lurking enough to know the pace is, well, what it is, but I think that’s one thing I like. I could give some sort of deep, philosophical metaphor about how it’s like crafting a fine pipe, but I don’t want to look too much like a bozo with only my second post. I’ll save that kind of bozosity until I break 3 digits :lol:

Re: MrGuy

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:09 pm
by LatakiaLover
I used to live in Bowman, ND, up the road a bit.

Are you in Wild Bill Hickok-land? (a.k.a. Deadwood)


Image

Re: MrGuy

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:04 pm
by MrGuy
LatakiaLover wrote:I used to live in Bowman, ND, up the road a bit.

Are you in Wild Bill Hickok-land? (a.k.a. Deadwood)
No, but I’m only about 30 minutes drive away. Good for when, you know, I get worried I might have too much money and need to let the casinos have some :mrgreen:

Re: MrGuy

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 12:35 pm
by Rbraniganpipes
Welcome Andy!

Glad to have you with us. There is a plethora of pipe making knowledge here, and lots of willing folks who guide you through the process.

It takes someone with a large loving heart to care for someone with special needs, and I am happy to say that you are not alone. My wife and I both care for adults with disabilities, both mental and physical. I worked in direct care for the last 5 years in a home with 4 gentlemen in their 60's, all with varying disabilities. My wife has worked in special education for over 10 years, and is currently working as a Senior Program Manager for a local organization that places individuals in private residential services, and ensures that they have all of the services that they need, as well as ensure that the homes they are living in meet Licensure regulations. I can honestly say that I have learned more about life, and what is important in this world from my years working as a care provider than I have in any other life experience that I have had. I still visit the guys on a regular basis, as my mother-in-law cares for gentlemen in her home. The guys that I cared for have taught me patience, persistence, gratitude, selflessness, kindness, friendship, and many other character traits that help me continue to progress in this craft. Pipe making for me became my place to decompress from the sometimes extremely stressful days of giving everything I had to care for someone else. I was able to sit back for a few hours, and get lost in the craft.

I hope that pipe making can provide a respite for you during stressful times, and hope you continue to enjoy the process.

Re: MrGuy

Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 12:21 am
by mightysmurf8201
Welcome!

Re: MrGuy

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:49 pm
by MrGuy
Rbraniganpipes wrote:Welcome Andy!

Glad to have you with us. There is a plethora of pipe making knowledge here, and lots of willing folks who guide you through the process.

It takes someone with a large loving heart to care for someone with special needs, and I am happy to say that you are not alone. My wife and I both care for adults with disabilities, both mental and physical. I worked in direct care for the last 5 years in a home with 4 gentlemen in their 60's, all with varying disabilities. My wife has worked in special education for over 10 years, and is currently working as a Senior Program Manager for a local organization that places individuals in private residential services, and ensures that they have all of the services that they need, as well as ensure that the homes they are living in meet Licensure regulations. I can honestly say that I have learned more about life, and what is important in this world from my years working as a care provider than I have in any other life experience that I have had. I still visit the guys on a regular basis, as my mother-in-law cares for gentlemen in her home. The guys that I cared for have taught me patience, persistence, gratitude, selflessness, kindness, friendship, and many other character traits that help me continue to progress in this craft. Pipe making for me became my place to decompress from the sometimes extremely stressful days of giving everything I had to care for someone else. I was able to sit back for a few hours, and get lost in the craft.

I hope that pipe making can provide a respite for you during stressful times, and hope you continue to enjoy the process.
Thank you! I don’t really think I do anything special except care about my kid, but maybe I’m spoiled because she’s my only one :wink: I worked in mental health for quite a long time and know the stress involved with caring for “strangers”, strangers for only as long as it takes to learn each persons’ individual situation. Then they’re more like old friends. I started in on quite a few hobbies during those years to keep my sanity, for sure!

mightysmurf8201 wrote:Welcome!
Thank you!