How many "file-made pipes" before upgrading to lathe?

[Kooky]

I am currently working on my first pipe and it's a doozy with only some files and rasps. I have a Japanese dovetail saw but briar is pretty tough. I really don't want to overshoot some cuts and screw myself.

One thing it has taught me is that mistakes that take 1 millisecond to occur take and extremely long time to fix. Once you fix the damaged bit you pretty much have to adjust the entire rest of the pipe... so, go slow and carefully.

I'm not sure how many of these I could do. I don't expect to finish them in a day, but when I have an idea in mind I'd rather do it quickly and efficiently than slowly and somewhat inaccurately.

So, did you make any "file pipes" when you started, or did you jump right into a lathe?

[LatakiaLover]

Interesting question

It's tempting to assume that NOT going straight into doing things the way you'll end up doing them is a waste of time.

Old School uber-craftsmen would probably argue that doing so will give you an understanding of the material(s) and processes that nothing else can, though.

I'm sure Sas will have something to say about this...

[Sasquatch]

A lathe won't help a bit. Removing excess stock quickly from odd shapes is what we are talking about, and you need a power sanding setup for that, and a band saw is hugely helpful too.

Most makers run some kind of "French disc" setup, a spinning disc mounted on an arbour/motor setup. Many also use a stationary belt sander. In both cases dust collection is an absolute must - the belt machines have ports for shop vacs so they are a nice easy step in the right direction.

https://www.amazon.com/RIKON-Power-Tool ... 112&sr=8-3


This kind of thing is a cheap way to remove a lot of material, it's handy for stems etc, will cut hours and hours of filing.

If you buy a lathe and fit it out for pipe making, you'll be spending thousands of dollars. For 1500 bucks you can buy a good drill press, a sanding station, a vacuum, a bandsaw that also fits the vacuum, and probably a 1/2 dozen better files and sandpaper and stuff. That is the direction I would go. You can only take so much material off with a lathe. And you are left with a big ugly block of wood that has a 1/2" of round whatever sticking out. Stock removal is what pipe making is all about. Lathe is handy, but a limited tool in terms of what it can do for you.

[caskwith]

6" sanding disc on a motor (a bench grinder is a good source for a cheap motor) and a vacuum (or do it outside weather permitting) is the cheapest and fastest way to remove material.
Belt sander is good too but cheap belt sanders are much slower at removing material and belts are a lot more expensive than sanding discs. Useful for stems though.

[Kooky]

I have enough tools for normal woodworking, the less I have to invest the better, lathes plus all the gear was indeed thousands when I checked.

Thanks for the recommendations for removing material, it’s what I wish I could’ve done 90% of the time I spent 6+ hours filing on Sunday, I will promptly be searching for some used gear then.

[Pillichody]

I found used motors on local for rale sites. I payed $15 to $25 each. Then had my son wire a switch and plug to them. They have worked great for the past 5 years.

[Kooky]

Thanks, I’m not really a mechanical type of guy and don’t have anyone to help with it so belt sander/drill press it is. I found an old Craftsman drill press that works. If I could restore its aesthetics I’d be ecstatic if I find out it was made in the US.

[dogcatcher]

A drill press is like a verticle version of a horizontal lathe.
I am in no way great pipemaker strictly a part timer. But I use an old drill press and disc sander and files and sandpaper to get good results.

[Kooky]

A drill press is like a verticle version of a horizontal lathe.
I am in no way great pipemaker strictly a part timer. But I use an old drill press and disc sander and files and sandpaper to get good results.

This is the path I am now taking. I don’t predict I’ll need the drill press for a while but it’ll be nice to start learning. I need to focus on shaping with the sander. I found a US made vintage Craftsman. Will probably be worth paying for a refurb but it already works.

I actually have a Dremel I completely forgot about even after someone mentioning it on here… really would’ve saved me some time…

[JMG]

First pipe I made was drilled on an old Craftsman drill press that was probably about 70 years old and completely shaped with rasp, files and sandpaper...and not nice ones. May not be the easiest place to start, but the important thing is that you do just that...start. Learn from it, and press forward.

[Massis]

I always say: if you have to choose 1 tool to start with, let it be a stationary motor. With a jacobs chuck mounted to the axle, this is a perfect sanding setup and polishing setup but also a decent drilling setup.

Granted, it's harder to face a shank for example than it is with a drill press, but the motor will handle the lateral forces much better than a drill press which isn't made for lateral force.

[Sasquatch]

I've buffed 675 pipes on a 50 dollar drill press. At what point should I start to worry about the lateral forces?

[JMG]

I've buffed 675 pipes on a 50 dollar drill press. At what point should I start to worry about the lateral forces?

703.

[DocAitch]

There are lots of ways to shape briar. I have seen one of the Italian makers do most of the shaping of a freehand with a band saw- gave me the willys to watch.
I do my shaping with a rough disc and then my drilling with a drill press. If there is one indispensable tool for shape first pipe making, its the rough disc. You will still need one for shaping the bottom of the chamber and the transition when lathe turning a pipe.
I do take off some briar with a saw- I used a Japanese saw before receiving a free bandsaw, but I am careful to leave plenty of briar to shape around flaws. Cutting too close with a saw drastically reduces options to shape around stuff or to shape for figure.
I cut my stems on a smallish HF lathe. initially I used a 7x10” metal lathe, moved up to an 8x12”. I have since developed a technique to shape the tops of bulldog/Rhodesian bowls on my 8x12”.
In the 1970s, I did my drilling with a hand drill and enlarged the chambers from a pilot hole with a die grinder. We had a small 6” Atlas lathe in the shop I used for stems.
My point is, is that there multiple options for removing briar and stem material to arrive at a pipe, and lathe turning is only one of them.
DocAitch

[Kooky]

About to buy a Rikon 1x30 belt sander...

Is the extra $120 worth variable speed?

[DocAitch]

A 1” belt sander is useful for stem shaping, less so for general stummel shaping.
I think variable speed would be good to match your material and grit, because you could cut more efficiently and the belts would last longer.
That said, my 1x30 HF works fine in a very limited role, and I would spend my money elsewhere.
DocAitch

[Kooky]

A 1” belt sander is useful for stem shaping, less so for general stummel shaping.
I think variable speed would be good to match your material and grit, because you could cut more efficiently and the belts would last longer.
That said, my 1x30 HF works fine in a very limited role, and I would spend my money elsewhere.
DocAitch

I prefer to buy US made when I can, for personal reasons not to be expanded upon, and the only real belt sanders still made in the US are Ickler:

4 inch x 60 inch belt sander... Would this be able to fill a variety of roles?

I have already skipped the 1 inch belt, because I need this sander anyway for making guitars.

If you have anymore guidance here so I don't waste money having to buy multiple things when I could've purchased one, I would appreciate it.

[LatakiaLover]

4 inch x 60 inch belt sander... Would this be able to fill a variety of roles?

Good to square up blocks and some initial block edge rounding, but that's it.

Any belt grinder that's used for stummel shaping or stem work must be narrow enough that the two main "parts" of a pipe---the bowl and the shank + stem---don't interfere with each other when "rolled" and moved during shaping.

I use a belt grinder with three different width belts/wheels: 2", 1", and 1/2", and also has variable speed from zero to crazy (7000 sfps?) and it is HUGELY useful and fast. But if there wasn't all three adjustable things---width, grit, and speed it wouldn't be worth the floor space.


https://www.burrking.com/catalog/p-1000 ... lt-grinder

[DocAitch]

Whoa, George!
That is a very pricey piece of machinery
DocAitch

[LatakiaLover]

Whoa, George!
That is a very pricey piece of machinery

Indeed.

I've had a lifelong rule: buy the best and cry only once.

The only time I broke it was that POS lathe I inflicted on myself a decade ago. I talked myself into it and am now stuck with the damn thing for reasons too tedious to go into.