Best Advice You've Gotten

JSPipes · Post by **JSPipes** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:23 pm

What's the single best piece of advice that you've received as a pipe maker?

For me it was "lost the weight." My pipes had been really bulky and as a result didn't have good balance or much in the way of elegance. Learning to make slimmer pipes was a hugh help.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:38 pm

In terms of aesthetics:
"Let me get back to you."
That was a few years ago ('03 maybe?), and was in an email from Greg Pease. It spurned me to start taking a good, long, hard look at what I was making, and what I wanted to make. At that point I stopped producing and started looking at design details that I really found attractive in pipes from other makers, and studied how they were done. As a result, I think the aesthetic qualities of my pipes has improved beyond measure.

In terms of production:
I can't recall exactly what was said, but Trever Talbert said to me that I needed to look at my process for making a pipe, and improve that process so that the time investment is on par for what I want to charge for a pipe. Basically, "work smarter, not harder". You can't spend hours and hours sanding to 15000 grit if you hope to make a living at this. Figure out how to get the same result using far less time investment. It has been absolutely invaluable. I won't say that I've fully figured it out, but in day's work I can now produce 3-4 pipes where before it would only have been 1 - if it got finished at all. (and that's with a bunch of breaks, and my wife nagging me to mow the lawn or something equally unimportant

)

Heinz_D · Post by **Heinz_D** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:13 pm

The best advice I ever got so far was from Rainer Barbi. At the German Pipemakers Show 2006 in Rheinbach he told me how to make realy good stemwork. He explained how and why to make any details on a good working mouthpiece and since this time I tried to follow his advices. The result is indeed a much better, more comfortable and cooler smoking of my selfmade pipes...

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:17 pm

From Larry Roush at Chicago, 2004:

"Just keep cutting wood. It's the only way you're gonna get better."

Rad

jeeper · Post by **jeeper** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 4:28 pm

"Hey check out this forum page" Really this place has been great I was getting so frustrated and had no real resorce other then PIMO.

custom300 · Post by **custom300** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 12:24 am

About a year ago I was dragging my feet trying to understand everything before I even cut the first piece of wood. Had to have the tools, had to understand this and that..etc. Tyler responded to one of my posts, that i just needed to get in there and try it. It was almost a "quit whining and just do something" kind of advice. That got me off the dime, and I have been having fun ever since.

Addendum: I thought of a couple of other things...1)Rad Davis told me to check out the Pipe makers forum. 2) Tyler's charge above 3)Kurt Huhn's instructional essay on Delron tenons. There I think that is a more complete list.

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:21 am

Tyler responded to one of my posts, that i just needed to get in there and try it.

This is great advice. "Just Do It".

Apologies to Nike.

Rad

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:39 am

Rad just gave me an excelent piece of advice:

Don't stab yourself with small slender drill bits!

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:09 pm

When teaching drawing I will get students that ask for advise every single step of the way because they are too afraid they are going to ruin something. There comes a time when they ask "What should I do next" for the 3rd time that hour and I just have to say "Draw, do ten of them and then we will talk about them and then you can make 10 more and we will talk about those too. "

My bandsaw gave me a nice piece of advise a couple months ago. Always turn the blade off before reaching to clear a small piece of scrap you just cut off. Otherwise you may cut a 1/16" wide groove in the pad of your thumb.

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:28 pm

To answer the question... Using a sharp knife to scrape away files marks when making stems. This saves a ton of time in sanding. It also makes it much easier to keep edges crisp.

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:55 pm

Great question, and I can't come up with a single answer other than they have all come from here on the Pipemakers Forum!

One thing that was a big break through for me came from Bryan (achduliebe) in responce to how he'd come up with such a beautiful blowfish shape so early on in his pipemaking (his PITH contribution). He said he would just spend lots of time looking at it and planning how to make it better. I started taking more breaks to just look things over more.

Countless things spring to mind... I think for me it's been lots of little nudges.

Oh, someone said to get to a pipe show. I fanially did last month. That was a huge education I'm still processing!

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:06 pm

I have found that my pipe making takes a jump every time I return home from the Chicago show.