Slit and bit..

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:09 am

Alright.. I'm working with acrylic and have read over Tyler's excellent tutorial on getting the bit right. I'm just curious(and maybe Marks can help me here?) are there other methods? I was messing around with a scrap of acrylic last night and was having a problem getting anything that looked right.. or course, this could be a function of my hands being clumsy with something new or perhaps I'm not working the material properly. Any help is appreciated!

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:20 am

Which part are you having trouble with? Shaping the buttton, cutting the slot, connecting the slot and airway? How are you going about it, and what tools are you using?

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:27 am

oops.. sorry.. posting prior to morning coffee is a bad thing

I'm having problems cutting the slot and shaping it up to meet the airway properly.

I have the dremel bits Tyler mentions in his tutorials. I cut in the slit and cleaned it up.. that part worked fine. Now, I can't seem to get much accomplished in shaping out what's left and making it look clean.

josh_ford · Post by **josh_ford** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:51 am

I just learned the answer to this the other week, so if I may pass on my shiny new trick to you. I cut my slit and my airway and it was so sloppy and messy, very discouraging. I figured it was the best I could do and so brought it down to Iwan Ries here in Chicago to ask for advice before shipping it off. A guy named Rex was there (I didn't get his last name but he's a VP at the CHicago Pipe Show any help on his name would be appreciated).

Anyway, he through some green tripoli on a buffer wheel at the shop and buffed out the bit (the green is very aggressive). In less than 5 seconds he had a bit that looked marvelous. It didn't look like the same pipe. So, in the end, if you green tripoli the bit it will take out the rough edges and make the whole look much cleaner and smoother. I haven't tried this myself but it made a huge difference.

Josh

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:55 am

Josh.. thanks.. and that will work for the look of the bit, I'm sure. The part I'm having trouble with is the slit-to-draft hole portion. What I ended up with was a flat slit with a hole at the bottom of it. That's, technically, a finished slit(prior to any clean-up) but there's more you need to do to get a nice, clean draw. It's that part of the bit cutting that I'm having trouble with.

josh_ford · Post by **josh_ford** » Fri May 05, 2006 10:23 am

In which case I can't help you, haven't been able to really figure out the actual insides of the slit and airhole yet. I'm hoping that the Pipeshow this weekend will help to open my eyes and solve all my problems...although I could be a bit optimistic.

Josh

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri May 05, 2006 10:42 am

I'm thinking I'm just clumsy with the process at this point. I have plenty of scrap pieces to play around with, so hopefully over the weekend I'll have it figured out.

LexKY_Pipe · Post by **LexKY_Pipe** » Fri May 05, 2006 12:00 pm

No doubt Tyler's tutorials are excellent. The thing he isn't able to show is that there is an artistic aspect to cutting the slit and getting everything just right.

Practice makes perfect. Heck, that's all lawyers and doctors do--practice!

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri May 05, 2006 12:04 pm

Good thing I was an art student in a former life

But yeah, it's a time-and-practice-related thing, I think. Also, I went back and re-read his tutorial and I was doing something wrong, so hopefully I'll do it right this evening!

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Fri May 05, 2006 1:20 pm

Use a drill bit to expand the bottom of your slit (the part you say looks like a hole) just enough to where you can fit an abrasive item in it to work into a more of a flat funnel.

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri May 05, 2006 1:34 pm

bscofield wrote:Use a drill bit to expand the bottom of your slit (the part you say looks like a hole) just enough to where you can fit an abrasive item in it to work into a more of a flat funnel.

Yeah.. this is where I was goofing on. I'm assuming you want it to look something like a "Y" when you're done. Is that correct?

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:17 pm

hazmat wrote:
bscofield wrote:Use a drill bit to expand the bottom of your slit (the part you say looks like a hole) just enough to where you can fit an abrasive item in it to work into a more of a flat funnel.
Yeah.. this is where I was goofing on. I'm assuming you want it to look something like a "Y" when you're done. Is that correct?

Well... yes. But perhaps with the V portion taking a little longer before it comes to where it's the width of the airway only. Know what I mean? So when you are considering your abrasive or cutting tool for inside the slit, find one that will be easy to use to cut towards the side and leave the top alone... file with it's grinding edge on the side, some precise way of using sandpaper, a small blade, etc.

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:31 pm

I think I got ya, Ben. As Tyler says in his tutorial, about an inch or so, correct? And working out towards the opening, but not widening the slit any more than it was originally... if that's it, I think I can work on the mechanics of it over the weekend.

marks · Post by **marks** » Fri May 05, 2006 10:20 pm

I always hated using drill bits to widen the slot near the button. I would go too far, and poke little holes into the side of the airway, or the drill bit would break.

Our own bluesmk told me about a tool called a broach that is sold my Micro Mark. It is a little cutting tool that cuts on the pull stroke, and is wonderful for funnelling out the airway near the button. They come in pairs, and I use the larger size to funnel the airway. They are a little under $21 for the pair. After I use the broach, I use a needle file to get a basic smoothness to everything. Then I cut small strips of sandpaper, roll them up tight, then sand from 220 grit to about 1000 grit. My next to last step is to melt some brown tripoli onto a pipe cleaner and polish the airway. My final step is to clean out the tripoli with some everclear. Not quite as shiny as the outside of the stem, but not too far off.

I currently have a pipe posted on my website that has a transluscent stem, and you can see the finished airway pretty well. It is the watering can shape, and it is the pipe on the bottom of page two of my site.

Hope this helps. It took me a while to develop all the steps I currently perform. It involves a lot of handwork, but once you do it a few times, you can pretty much do all the steps in a few hours (practice makes you faster). The results are pretty sweet.

Tano · Post by **Tano** » Sat May 06, 2006 10:54 pm

Hazmat see if this will work.
First lets assume that you drill the air hole dead centre on one end but stop short about one inch of the other end. Use a drill bit aproximately 1/16 and drill from the other side to meet the air hole. Now go buy a T199 dremel bit and cut a slit over that 1/16 hole you made. If you are not sure that you can do this then, drill air hole with tapered bit to one inch short of the end then finish hole from the same side with 1/16 bit long enough to get through the other side. Now you have a small hole to use as a reference point to make the slit with the T199. All that remains is cleaning up with anything you can find to get into the slit.
Do you think this will help?

bluesmk · Post by **bluesmk** » Sun May 07, 2006 7:56 pm

Guys,
I turned Marks on to that tool last yeaar in Richmond....I use much the same technique,never been more please with my slots. I used to get almost as upset as stamping, now it's only stamping! LOL
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Mon May 08, 2006 7:57 am

Thanks all.. I didn't have a workable lathe this weekend, but I got it back up and running late last night, so I'll give it another go this evening..

bluesmk · Post by **bluesmk** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:21 pm

See if I can do this. Here's the link to Micro Mark online catologue:http://www.micromark.com/

Type in keyword: micro broach set. Lots of other get tools as well !
Regards,
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes

JSPipes · Post by **JSPipes** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:27 pm

That broach looks pretty nice. I went ahead and ordered one to try out. Thanks for the tip.

Joel

bluesmk · Post by **bluesmk** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:35 pm

Anytime! Listen all, I'm usually checking in every day,just not adding my two cents all the time. Trying to get some inventory built up so I'm in the shop. Feel free to PM or email me anytime.
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes