pipemakersforum.com

has anyone had any dealings with NYH?

or with www.americanartplastic.com?

american art plastic offers an array of colors (tempting)

not sure if these guys have a good product or not, thought I'd run it by you guys first

NYH has been around for a while. I have some of their black rod and it's very nice.

I'm interested in how the stuff you found from American Art Plastics compares. That's a really nice find. The price is competitive for a meter, though it seems they only offer 3/4" (or 20mm), but that's not a horrible price. No minimum order either, which is nice. Getting a sample order of black should be a no-brainer. Their mottled colors are pretty wild, but I'll bet they would look good on pens, tampers, etc.

I purchased 1 meter of ebonite rod. Rod arrived machined to smooth finnish. The diameter is approx 20.2 mm .795". I was displeased to see that the rod was cut into 4 pieces for shipping. Shipping charges were 9.95. Haven't used any yet.

pennsyscot wrote:I purchased 1 meter of ebonite rod. Rod arrived machined to smooth finnish. The diameter is approx 20.2 mm .795". I was displeased to see that the rod was cut into 4 pieces for shipping. Shipping charges were 9.95. Haven't used any yet.

was this from American Art Plastics? If so, let us know your thoughts on it, once you start using it.

I bought some of their orange ebonite. Looks and sounds good, but I haven't used it yet. Will let you know.

That American Art ebonite sure looks like SEM material...especially the solid colors. I got some color samples and they appear identical.

Yeah, my guess is that they're a reseller not a manufacturer.

TJ

Really? I got the impression when talking to them that they're a manufacturer. Could be wrong though.

Just cut a stem with some of the AAP black ebonite and I think it works great. Don't really have much to compare it to, but it's easy to work and finishes smooth and glossy. It did take forever to get here. They told me it would be mailed on a certain day, but was actually mailed a week later so I was pretty miffed at that. They did email me to apologize, so at least they knew they goofed.

Yea, I got the idea that they were a pretty small operation. Their orange cut great on the lathe. The dust from the sanding seems a bit more gritty, or bigger some how. But that could just be that orange stands out a whole lot more than the black.

I was kind of surprised that the black stuff had pure black dust instead of the usual brownish stuff. Definitely seemed a little different. Don't know if that makes it better or worse or not.

Definitely not the same stuff that PME sells. I don't like it. Anyone want to buy some ebonite?

I'd be interested in a small chunk of the stuff, but not any more than about a stem's worth (4" or so). Only enough to get a feel for the material and see what it's like.

pennsyscot wrote:Definitely not the same stuff that PME sells. I don't like it. Anyone want to buy some ebonite?

I would be interested in enough for 2-3 stems just to try it out. I would not want a large quantity till I tried it.

Being the first rod of ebonite I've worked with I really don't know if it's low quality or not. I think it turned out a pretty nice stem for my first hand cut attempt. I don't see any bubbles or inclusions or anything after finishing and I think I got it as smooth as my current level of experience would allow.

I'd like to know what makes it different from the PME stuff.

FWIW my last PME rod is quite different in feel from the previous ones. It's polished instead of rough, and feels much lighter. It isn't as sulfurous to cut and I'd say it's somewhat softer. It cuts easier on the lathe for sure, leaving a smooth finish with tools, no sanding.

???

If you have a sharp cutting bit with a good radius on the point, that's how it *should* cut. You can get a very good, almost mirror, finish on ebonite just by using a good quality tool with a good edge.

I'm sure PME uses different suppliers for rods, which would explain the variance. I wonder who's supplying the black rod these days.

PME gets their rod from NYH and SEM.

Rad

Sounds like a SEM rod to me. I had the same "geewhiz" moment when I first shaped SEM rod.

Yeah I've only seen the rough hard (NYH?) rod before, and this stuff is totally different. This rod cuts like butter in comparison.