pipemakersforum.com

At what point does a succession of CNC-like processes "erase" the hand made label? That question has been asked many times.

The consensus is that precision-of-shape is the acid test. Like fingerprints, a dozen Eltang cuttys look exactly the same on a table, but prove to all be slightly different when examined closely. BriarWorks' CNC-made pipes, though, are dimensionally identical from piece to piece.

In practice it doesn't matter, though. Individual artisan carvers can't "go there" as a categorical thing for money reasons, and details like how a slot gets cut or a hole gets drilled are irrelevant. (Example: Imagine someone insisting that "hand made" meant no power tools of any kind be used: no lathe, no drill press, no French wheel, no belt sander, no motorized anything... They'd be wished luck on their aspirational journey of enlightenment, given a wave, and promptly ignored.)

In short, as long as the power tools used are applied (so to speak) by hand, all is well.

n80 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 08, 2019 10:12 am I'm finding that stem making is the most challenging and least gratifying part of the process to me...

It's the most challenging because the "range of allowable accuracy" (for lack of a better term) is an order of magnitude smaller than the stummel in most cases, and fewer shaping mistakes are recoverable than when working with wood.

To overstate it absurdly, stummels are like sandcastles or snowmen while stems are like mechanical watches. Not only are the materials different, the tools used manipulate them different, and the approach different... the degree of accuracy/precision required is different. It's more demanding.

(None of that applies when talking about utilitarian tobacco access devices, of course, where whatever gets the job done on either half of the pipe is good enough by definition.)

As for gratification, keep in mind that besides looking better, a truly well-cut stem is markedly more comfortable than a mediocre one so plays a significant role in which pipe a collector reaches for consistently. And that, in turn, plays a dominant role in choosing what pipe to buy next.

n80 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 08, 2019 10:12 am Philosophical question here. When does a process go beyond "hand carved" or "hand made"? Is there a certain point at which the process can get so automated that it isn't much different from buying a cast stem?

Defining an exact point would be difficult and tedious but I'd guess it's somewhere just before the point that any ole Shmo could do it.

Just a quick note about that first option above (the simple one). I no longer use it because it was too easy to get out of the plane of the funnel and foul up the internal geometry.
I am back to cutting with a funnel and saw and can report that it does become pretty routine to do a funnel these days. It just takes a method and practice ( about 2 year’s worth of practice and 150 or so funnels ).
DocAitch

LatakiaLover wrote: ↑Sun Dec 08, 2019 6:17 pm As for gratification, keep in mind that besides looking better, a truly well-cut stem is markedly more comfortable than a mediocre one so plays a significant role in which pipe a collector reaches for consistently. And that, in turn, plays a dominant role in choosing what pipe to buy next.

I think that represents another part of the challenge. I don't have customers and my 'needs' as a pipe smoker are modest since for the most part a basic tobacco delivery device is all I need and having never smoked....or even held....a quality pipe.....well, I don't know a good stem from a mediocre one in terms of comfort and performance. I can certainly see the difference though, particularly when I look at yours and some of the well known makers.

So for now, what drives me as I make a pipe is to try to make one that I would post on the gallery here without being ashamed. So far that has been a total of one. But, for now that motivates me in terms of stem and stummel goals.

Doc, using some of the techniques you explained to me I am finding that I can cut a decent funnel. I recently did one in acrylic where you could actually see it through the acrylic and it is pretty good. The current issue is the same as the OP's. I just can't get the opening perfect, either round or squared. Lots more practice needed.

Take a look at the airway in the last photo in this series. This estate sold for $525
https://www.pipestud.com/product/tobacc ... ck-perfect
DocAitch

Lee can get away with a lot of the same stuff Jimmy Cooke and Baldo Baldi do, and for the same reason. 100% original shapes, rusticity, one-off home-brewed acrylic stems, and decades in the game. They are living legends and have a rock solid collector fanbase who doesn't WANT change.

Stem shaping and finishing expectations have changed while they've stayed put, is all.

I don't recommend that newcomers measure their stem shaping or finishing against that obsolete standard.

The stem in the link is a pre-mold acrylic, I recognise the pattern and the shape of the funnel.

I have a small pile of pre-made stems. Most of the acrylic ones have a slightly deepened slot hole but no actual funnel. The outsides of them are often finished fairly nicely. Some of the vulcanite ones actually have deep, nicely tapered funnels but require a lot of finish work.

Having spent a few hours over the last couple of days roughing out an acrylic rod and then botching the slot, I'm about ready to go back to pre-made stems and modifying them for some basic improvements (narrower button, deeper funnel where needed, thinner bit area etc). My "clients" would never know the difference since they are friends or family who ask me to make them a pretty tobacco delivery device to sit on a shelf.

Part of me wants to get better at stem making just so I can say that I've done it. The amount of time and the amount of wasted rods is frustrating though.

I understand the frustration n80. The thing that helped me make the transition from preforms to rod stock was simply taking things slowly. I tended to get in a hurry toward the latter part of the process and that's when mistakes and cursing would occur.

n80 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 9:54 am Having spent a few hours over the last couple of days roughing out an acrylic rod and then botching the slot, I'm about ready to go back to pre-made stems and modifying them for some basic improvements (narrower button, deeper funnel where needed, thinner bit area etc). My "clients" would never know the difference since they are friends or family who ask me to make them a pretty tobacco delivery device to sit on a shelf.

Cut the slot while it's still round, then there's no such thing as crooked (and if you botch it real bad you can chuck it back up and reface it as a shorter stem) - or at the very least you won't be hours of work in if you fuck it up and have to throw it away. Honestly, it might even be worth sacrificing some cheaper acrylic or Japanese ebonite to just cut a bunch of slots and practice by getting some reps in.

Thanks Rick. I do cut the slot while the rod is still round. Its the first thing I do after drilling the draw hole. And I actually saved one today doing just what you mentioned. I marred the outline of the slot. Took it to the band saw and shaved off the marred surface, extended the funnel a little and went back to work on the edges of the slot and salvaged the piece.

Stem work is frustrating and tedious but fairly gratifying when it works out. The few I've finished are fair-to-poor in the overall scheme of things but better than a couple of low end production pipes I own.

Good advice on practice slots. Most 5" rods are longer than the stems I make so there are a few short ends lying around that I can practice on. And I can work on both ends. I'm glad I kept them.