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I edited this from the original post. Initially, one of the photos was repeated half a dozen times. Hopefully, I have it fixed now. It’s been a few years since I last posted. I’ve made about 40 pipes at this point. This is my most recent billiard. Any critique or advice you could offer would be much appreciated. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No idea why the first photo of each post is repeated. I’ve tried several times to fix it. I apologize.
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From what I can tell, this is a huge improvement. We really need a side profile shot to give a detailed critique.

Oh nevermind. I see it.

Shape looks nice and well proportioned. The only thing from a shaping standpoint I see is the sudden flare of the end of your stem at the button and some flat spots that should be more rounded/tapered. The roughness of the tenon and faces of the stem and shank really only improve with better tools. You'll chase your own tail trying to get it perfect on the cheap.

wdteipen wrote:Oh nevermind. I see it.

Shape looks nice and well proportioned. The only thing from a shaping standpoint I see is the sudden flare of the end of your stem at the button and some flat spots that should be more rounded/tapered. The roughness of the tenon and faces of the stem and shank really only improve with better tools. You'll chase your own tail trying to get it perfect on the cheap.

Thank you for the feedback. I haven’t spent near as much time looking at the taper of the mouthpiece as I have pouring over the details of the profile. This pipe certainly gives me away. Is the stem too wide at the button? Does the “waist” or thinnest portion of the stem need to be farther forward? A combination of the two?

For facing, I’m using carbide inserts on a metal lathe and the results are quite literally lackluster. I realize I could get a much better finish with a properly cut HSS tool. I’m no machinist though, and I haven’t yet delved into the subject of tool geometry. Anything you could offer to point me in the right direction would be helpful.


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrDr4rYLiAk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__A2xtLF0AU

It's not as hard as it seems, and the results will be much much better...
I've had 0 luck with carbide and ebonite.

This is an attractive pipe. The stummel is well done, and the pipe is generally attractive.
I agree with Wayne on the stem, and to answer your question, yes, the waist is too far back. You have, in effect, created a stem that has a convexity (fatness) i the first 1/2 and a concavity in the second, as a result your line is lost. Continue the taper of the shank (maybe making it a tiny bit more severe)to the midpoint and then gently flare to the button.
As for carbide vs. HSS, I use carbide- both the cheap HF braised ones and the interchangeable ones from RawKrafted. I use a diamond hone to tune the HF ones.(about a 5 degree rake IIRC).
I think your problem is technique- I cut at the second lowest speed on my HF lathe, take small cuts, and try to get as smooth a feed as I can on the cross slide. I avoid the handle on the cross slide wheel and smoothly and continuously feed the rim of the wheel from hand to hand.
My technique consists of cutting the tenon with the lead screw feed to a couple of thousandths over my final tenon size, then cutting the face of the stem from the tenon outward with a smooth feed. After the stem face is cut, I test fit/cut the tenon for the final size, avoiding the face of the stem.
This tenon is cut from oversize Delrin and turned down, using the technique described. The face of the stem has not been polished. The stem is amber acrylic, but I get similar (even better) results with ebonite or polyurethane.

DocAitch

Thank you for the video links, Jeremy. Both were helpful. I love This Old Tony. That guy is hilarious. I’ve ordered a few HSS blanks. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Doc, thank you for the feedback and the the tips. On this stem, I made an integrated tenon. I realize that it has its disadvantages, but I enjoy making them and hate waiting for epoxy to cure. I think the same principles apply though. I’ll try slowing it down and taking thinner cuts.


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