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Shanks and asthetics... those are my issues still. Tho I'm confident I'll get them resolved because I feel like I see and eliminate more problems every time I make a pipe.

Lately I've felt like I could really use a metal lathe for stem shaping. But that won't happen any time soon. For now i get to do a lot of experimenting with the stem in the drill press, ala Pooka style.

Ben, I too learn something with each pipe I make. The hard part for me is putting all the things I learn into each pipe.

Marks, ditto that man. I find myself doing a mental check list of some flaw I saw or had pointed out to me on all my pipes!

Polishing and buffing of the rim area.

Getting fine scrathes out of vulcanite stems is the bane of my existence

Getting fine scrathes out of vulcanite stems is the bane of my existence

The words of the dark land Mordor should not be uttered here!

I am not worried about scratches only seen with a lupe. I would just like to not be able to see them period lol

Getting fine scrathes out of vulcanite stems is the bane of my existence

After sanding to 600 grit I use 4/0 steel wool then buff with white diamond and finish buff with white rouge. This leaves a silvery polish on the stem.

Dave

I have been buffing my stems at 1800 rpm like I use on the stummel. Is that faster than needed I wonder? I can get the stems shiny just not as quickly as I would like to.

In Soman's ASP FAQ he reccomended a speed of like 500 rpm. Seems aweful slow, but it works for me so far.

ArtGuy wrote:I have been buffing my stems at 1800 rpm like I use on the stummel. Is that faster than needed I wonder? I can get the stems shiny just not as quickly as I would like to.

That depends on the wheel size. The operative factor here is the surface speed, not necessarily RPM. I tend to vary my wheel speed depending on material and size, as well as what I'm using to buff (brown, white, whatever) or if this is the final buff with a clean wheel.

Pretty much, I just do what works and produces the best results.

So if I have a 4 inch wheel, what speed should I use?

Nick wrote:So if I have a 4 inch wheel, what speed should I use?

There's no hard and fast rule for that. It's going to depend on how much pressure you use, what material (and the quality of material) you're buffing, your technique, etc.

I have a 6" and 8" wheels, and I usually start out at about 1800 RPM for the 6" wheels and adjust from there. final buff before it goes in for pictures is usually at about 500RPM with a 6" wheel.

This might not work for you, depending on how you attack the job of buffing.

I use 6 in buff. Slowing down the wheel does indeed help in the final polishing stage