Oak tree

[sweden79]

I'm thinking about making a pipe in oak tree.
Is there anything special that I should think about?

You have to exuse my bad enlish.

Best regards Kenny

[humidor]

It is more difficult to work because oak is a hard wood.
Take a look to Gabos Pipes: http://www.gabospipes.ro/smoking-pipes/Triestte/35/

[sweden79]

ok, I also got juniper, hazel, cherry, apple, spruce, pine, poplar, beech, alder & aspen wood. Is there someone special of these that is better to use?

Do I need to buy som other tools. I got I got wood lathe, drill press, belt grinder, sanding wheel, bandsaw, carving tools, milling machine, drills in all kinds of different sizes etc..

I dont know if I spelld them right in english.

// Kenny

[KurtHuhn]

Of those woods, cherry, apple, and aspen would be good choices. I would not use Juniper, spruce, pine, or poplar. The rest I don't know about.

[Sasquatch]

Beech has been used before, but it is easier to burn than briar. I would do beech before oak. Oak will taste horrible.

[flix]

I believe that the hazel nut wood is ok also. Don't quote me!

[Frank]

Except for Morta, alternative woods are good to practice on to improve your skills, but unfortunately they don't sell very well, nor do they command particularly decent prices. Briar will always be top dog, way above any other material.

[kanada06]

so one thing is that you will want to use any hard woods you have, they burn the slowest. Briar is used because it doesn't burn. if you use a soft wood then it will burn through the bottom very quickly. of those woods you have listed, I would use the alder or the cherry, because of the color and the smoothness of the grain. the problem with oak, is that it is too porous. One thing i do is i make my pipes out of different materials, but put a plate of oak on the bottom of the tobacco bowl so that it burns much slower.

good luck

[JHowell]

so one thing is that you will want to use any hard woods you have, they burn the slowest. Briar is used because it doesn't burn. if you use a soft wood then it will burn through the bottom very quickly. of those woods you have listed, I would use the alder or the cherry, because of the color and the smoothness of the grain. the problem with oak, is that it is too porous. One thing i do is i make my pipes out of different materials, but put a plate of oak on the bottom of the tobacco bowl so that it burns much slower.

good luck

I agree, harder the better. Briar burns (I've burned plenty in my wood stove), it just doesn't "catch" as easily because it doesn't have the same kind of grain structure as other wood. Aspen is the wood used to make kitchen matches, it would be last on my list.

Jack

[KurtHuhn]

Briar burns (I've burned plenty in my wood stove), it just doesn't "catch" as easily because it doesn't have the same kind of grain structure as other wood.

It's also great as a fuel for smoking meats on the grill. It's somewhat mild, but distinctive.

[ckr]

To the best of my knowledge briar is only about 1100 on the janka scale. In comparison to other woods it is not really that hard.
I have made pipes from:

Mesquite 2345
Locust 1700
Rosewood 1780
Osage Orange 2040

These woods are all much harder than briar. I have never had one burn out but that is
because they hold heat like a friggin' cast iron radiator and I have not smoked them enough to have them burn out.

I have made also pipes from:

American (black) Cherry 950
Japanese Cherry (bit harder than the black, I would guess 1050 or so)
Olive ??? (but Olive is not as hard as briar, cherry, maple or oak)

Of these woods the two cherry's and Olive seem to do well. The Japanese cherry is a fantastic smoker, going on 3 years and has burnt pounds of tobacco, cakes easily and while warmer than briar nowhere near as hot as the harder woods.

Blocks curing include;

Various Maples 900 - 1300
Red Oak 1290

The Osage Orange tasted terrible on the break in and between that and the heat it did not get much use before it was tossed. Mesquite seems to tame/neutralize latakia blends but it also gets real hot. The locust is also darn hot. So as far as resistance to fire they may be better but I think the softer woods are much better for pipes.

I have heard that fruit and citrus woods also smoke well.

Of what you have available I would go with the cherry and apple. Anything in the pine family I would skip even though sap dripping from a pipe may look neat.

[bikedoctor]

ckr,
Freaking awesome. Thanks.

[Benton]

Apple makes a very good pipe. I've tried soft maple, too, but that doesn't work as well. The moisture moves through the pores and stains the outside of the pipe, which looks ugly. Both have a neutral flavor and smoke just fine.

Red oak would be just about the worst choice from the standpoint of porosity; it has very large open pores.

[Philthy]

Once again as a newb- I don't think I saw Ash or hickory listed above. I have a good bit of ash and hickory along with Osage for bows. Would you expect ash and hickory to make poor pipes also?

[KurtHuhn]

I have actually seen pipes from ash before, and made one myself. It smoked well. I lost that pipe somewhere in one of my moves though.

Hickory I don't know about, but I don't know why it wouldn't make a good pipe. Worth a try anyway.

BTW, Phil - I got your email, but haven't had a chance to respond yet. Not ignoring you - I promise.

[Philthy]

Not a problem Kurt

Thanks for the feedback on the wooods. Now to see if I have some pieces big enough for a pipe- I think everything is cut into staves right now which is probably too narrow.

[CastAxe]

What about walnut?

[Dixie_piper]

What about walnut?

I've seen walnut pipes, but unsure of their quality.
With Walnut you have to get specifics, they're a very diverse species. Some produce good nuts while having shoddy timber, others make excellent timber but shoddy nuts.
When I tried identifying the walnut trees on my place, I ran through roughly 19 different species and said to heck with it.
I may be wrong (as I often am) but I believe black walnut or iron walnut have the most dense timber.

[flix]

Black walnut is pretty good for pipes. I would try to get the darker portion of the wood, seems harder and more resistant to burning. Correct me if I'm wrong! I've made several and they smoke just fine.

[CastAxe]

Now, i dont know much about wood properties, and this is probably a really dumb questions, but is black walnut black or just a really dark shade of brown, that might be what i have acquired.