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I am making a pipe in the shape of Tom Eltang's snail pipes (not the one that actually looks like an actual snail, just the curved horn type) and I embedded a piece of ivorite, where the stem will plug in, as an accent piece. Eltang uses a brass or metal insert for this but I have no way of doing that.

But, I did not think things through. It is nicely embedded flush in the briar now but it dawned on me that it is going to be almost impossible to keep stain off of the ivorite when I stain the wood.

In another pipe I got some stain on the ivorite shank extension and it did not seem to penetrate into it and I was able to sand/buff it off. But I'd rather not have to do that since this bit is flush to the briar.

Any ideas on how to keep the stain off? Masking with tape has not seemed very effective in the past.

Thanks,

George

I've had some luck with wiping it off with alcohol, but it's not perfect. Also curious.

Most important: use a light, natural stain. The least amount of color you can live with.

Mask with 3M magic tape---the frosted stuff, not the clear---as precisely as possible, as tightly as possible. Meaning stretch it right up to the point the stretchiness "lets go" and the tape delaminates like taffy. Practice & experiment. It's touchy stuff, but VERY useful when its properties are mastered.

Apply color with a Q-tip that's been dipped in stain and mostly blotted on a paper towel or similar so that very little stain remains before touching to the briar.

Use an application motion that avoids running "into" the tape edge. Sweep away from it, and at angles.

Thanks LL.

Unfortunately I utterly botched the stem and draw holes and ruined the plateau. First time (in 20 pipes) that I have ruined beyond repair a chunk of briar. Not sure where it went wrong. Must have been rushing. It pains my Scottish soul to throw away a chunk of briar.

A glass of Caol Ila will help.

I nearly always use a slice of darker material to contact the surface to be stained. Then I can allow the stain to bleed onto the darker piece unnoticed. If that’s not an option, shape everything and remove the inlays before staining, then glue up after stain is applied.


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I've found that as long as the stain doesn't sit on the ivorite for very long, it usually wipes right off. However, paranoia forces me to do as LL does. I also keep a rag and some denatured alcohol at the ready.

UnderShade wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 11:56 am I've found that as long as the stain doesn't sit on the ivorite for very long, it usually wipes right off.

Lots of "recipes" for fake ivory out there. Some absorb stain like a sponge, some don't.

If you're a pipe maker, testing on a scrap is all that's necessary. Repair & resto work, that's not an option.

fwiw, real ivory DOES absorb alcohol-based stain. How deeply depends on grain orientation.

The stuff from VF is fairly resistant. However, I just placed my first order with RawKrafted for some of their fake ivory, so I’ll definitely be doing some testing with stain. I’m still waiting for my stones to grow a bit before tackling real ivory

sandahlpipe wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 11:17 am I nearly always use a slice of darker material to contact the surface to be stained. Then I can allow the stain to bleed onto the darker piece unnoticed.

That is what I've done the other times I done this sort of thing.

sandahlpipe wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 11:17 amIf that’s not an option, shape everything and remove the inlays before staining, then glue up after stain is applied.


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If I had thought things through that would be the best way to do it. So apparently I rushed _everything_ with this one.

The trick is to not glue extensions until after staining so you can stain without the extension in place. If you've already glued the ivorite or whatever material you don't want stained, you can use a wax crayon or similar wax substance over top of the material you don't want to absorb stain. Masking tape over top of the wax is not a bad idea either. Wax is also useful to prevent stain from leeching through the little channel where tape overlaps itself when wrapped around a shank for masking.

That’s pretty brilliant Wayne. Never thought of using wax, but it makes total sense.