ugly ebonite

[Mike Messer]

Consider this though, Mike. The folks here are trying to save you time, trouble, and aggravation. ...
...There was another guy that frequented the forum up until a few years ago that insisted on hand shaping each tobacco chamber using a flex-shaft tool and grinding burr. Really, not to dissimilar from your method of custom shaping with a boring bar. His name was...

Thanks Kurt, I appreciate helpful advice, but it seems to me that what I've been seeing here is not exactly that, more like there is some kind of rightness agenda being peddled, and I'm not talking about some sloppy, hack it out with a Dremel method. The boring bar on the compound slide of a metal lathe method, is very precise, and while it may not be the fastest or easiest method, it may work very well. I can't say for sure. I also see a custom tapered chamber in a tobacco pipe as being a little more significant than wooden knobs on a stereo. But hey, do it any way you like, right?

You might want to read-up on some basic machining...a boring bar is a device which is commonly used on a metal lathe in machining to refine and perfect a drilled hole.

[Mike Messer]

wow. I ignore a thread topic because doesn't sound interesting and when I finally crack it, I see this. Nice.

FWIW, I've bad ebonite from Meike on two separate occasions. The first was too soft and the second was filled with micro-inclusions. She's replaced one and I've still got to return the other. The replacement stock was fine.

We'll see where this year's production quality stands.

I just read you post in the General subject, Topic: "Starting out, Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:28 pm"
and I quote,
"A simple archival search on any given question—from buying the tools for your first pipe to the results of experiments with various bowl coating recipes—will yield useful and relevant information. Moreover, you have the chance to bend the ears of veteran professionals of the craft like Rad Davis, Todd Johnson, Jack Howell and others whose advice is both prescient and valuable."

So, the question is, why, when I searched for the term "SEM" and looked through the results, many, many posts about SEM ebonite over the past few years, why do you suppose none of you "veteran professionals" with all your "useful and relevant information," never bothered to mention this SEM quality problem prior to the this topic?

[KurtHuhn]

Consider this though, Mike. The folks here are trying to save you time, trouble, and aggravation. ...
...There was another guy that frequented the forum up until a few years ago that insisted on hand shaping each tobacco chamber using a flex-shaft tool and grinding burr. Really, not to dissimilar from your method of custom shaping with a boring bar. His name was...

Thanks Kurt, I appreciate helpful advice, but it seems to me that what I've been seeing here is not exactly that, more like there is some kind of rightness agenda being peddled, and I'm not talking about some sloppy, hack it out with a Dremel method. The boring bar on the compound slide of a metal lathe method, is very precise, and while it may not be the fastest or easiest method, it may work very well. I can't say for sure. I also see a custom tapered chamber in a tobacco pipe as being a little more significant than wooden knobs on a stereo. But hey, do it any way you like, right?

You might want to read-up on some basic machining...a boring bar is a device which is commonly used on a metal lathe in machining to refine and perfect a drilled hole.

Mike, don't presume to fucking lecture me on basic machining. I know what a fucking boring bar is, and moreover I know how to fucking use one. Better than that, I know when the fuck to opt for a goddamned drill bit instead.

Jesus Titty Fucking Christ!

Pardon my lack of eloquence, Mike, but you are a goddamned fucking idiot. When you are told that it is easier and better to drill a fucking hole with a fucking drill bit than a metal lathe and a fucking boring bar, it's not peddling some kind of fucking "rightness agenda". It's some poor bastard trying to help your dumb ass do something better, faster, with less aggravation, and a hell of a lot more repeatability than your complete and utter waste of time methods.

And the reason nobody here bad-mouths SEM is because we're giving them a chance to make right. PLUS we know that making ebonite, while being an exact science, is fraught with perils of time and temperature. We are not afraid to offer our experiences, TO THOSE WHO LISTEN. But we (if I may be so bold to use "we") are unwilling to publicly slam a given vendor unless they're truly a piece of shit.

You've hit the limit of my patience Mike. I don't know if it was your goal or not, but you're being an extreme asshole. I get the fucking feeling that you've considered my forum to be some sort of venue for you to stir up shit, just to see who you can piss off. That you've got this idea in your head that this is some kind of MTV reality show custom created for you to swagger around like some Jersey Shore Douchebag.

I really have to admire the patience of the rest of the crew here. I can't imagine how you've escaped thus far without being told exactly what's on their mind.

Mike, get a fucking clue. Shut up and listen. Sit down and read. And don't stand in fucking polar opposition to what every goddamned person on this forum tells you.

FUCK!!!

To the rest of you, please pardon my foul language. Feel free to complain - but I'm not going to edit this post, lest it lose the intended effect.

[SimeonTurner]

I just finally marked this moron as a permanately ignored poster. While some of his posts are stupid enough to be funny to me, the comedy isn't worth the brain damage. I encourage the rest of the community to put him on perma-ignore as well...maybe then he will go away.

I like to think I'm a nice guy, but I really can't stand you, Mike. Don't bother replying to that statement, since I won't be seeing your posts anyway. Just be content in the knowledge that you "drew my opinion out".

[kbadkar]

Wow, Mike, you really pissed off Kurt. I didn't think it was possible. You can say all the ridiculous things you want, but to be so condescending, as if you know something... I cringed when I read the patronizing remark in your last post. I barely understood your little bitch squabbles with Todd (except in terms of a pre-pubescent grade school crush), but your tone with the most reasonable human in this forum is inconceivable.

Kurt, your outburst is cathartic for us all.

[Mike Messer]

Wow, Mike, you really pissed off Kurt. I didn't think it was possible. You can say all the ridiculous things you want, but to be so condescending, as if you know something... I cringed when I read the patronizing remark in your last post. I barely understood your little bitch squabbles with Todd (except in terms of a pre-pubescent grade school crush), but your tone with the most reasonable human in this forum is inconceivable.

Kurt, your outburst is cathartic for us all.

Obviously, kbadkar, Kurt, I was intentionally being an ass, with the machining comment, but sorry Kurt, I really didn't think you would get so pissed. But, one day, in a more objective, less caught up in whatever this shit is, mood, you might want to read through the posts... terms like "When you are told..." for example. I'm not too comfortable with being told, and then hammered to shit if I don't agree.
You see, I posted details about a method of drilling that I was experimenting with, just matter of fact, and you can go figure how it got from there to here...

[Uncle Arthur]

Kurt : I have been watching this thread and so far have avoided comment. NOW I am going to Bloody well comment. This is normally a very civil if occasionally silly forum. Which I LOVE. So I want to thank you for slapping down someone using it for his personal pissing post.
Arthur L. slaughter
Uncle Arthur

[Mike Messer]

Kurt : I have been watching this thread and so far have avoided comment. NOW I am going to Bloody well comment. This is normally a very civil if occasionally silly forum. Which I LOVE. So I want to thank you for slapping down someone using it for his personal pissing post.
Arthur L. slaughter
Uncle Arthur

So, that's what you think I'm doing? I don't see it that way, and I don't have that intention. Just go back one page to the post where I posted the drilling method, and read from there to here.

[RadDavis]

I'm not too comfortable with being told, and then hammered to shit if I don't agree.

Right there is the problem, Mike. You ask a question, you are "told" the answer, and then you disagree with what you are told. This began with your post about stinky ebonite.

That's not the way to act on a forum where YOU are the one seeking information.

Rad

[Mike Messer]

I'm not too comfortable with being told, and then hammered to shit if I don't agree.

Right there is the problem, Mike. You ask a question, you are "told" the answer, and then you disagree with what you are told. This began with your post about stinky ebonite.

That's not the way to act on a forum where YOU are the one seeking information.

Rad

Right there is the problem, Rad. I ask a question, and I am "told" the answer, and then if I disagree with what I am told.... This began with my post about stinky ebonite....

This is a forum for discussion, not basic training in the army. Nobody here should assume they have the right to hammer the shit out of me or anyone else who doesn't agree with them. We could keep it civil if that were the case.

Honestly, I'm not trying to be an ass when I say this, but if you want it to run the other way, you should set up the forum differently. Have ranks, a class structure, and let it be known what exactly the rules are, and who has the right to speak. Then if someone disagrees, you can say they asked to have the shit kicked out of them, otherwise...

[T3pipes]

i used the "add as foe" button on their profile. is that the correct way to ignore someone, or did i miss it someplace else?

[Uncle Arthur]

Exactly what I did T3 . I've heard ducks fart under water before. Made the same bubbly sound!

[buster]

Mike
If someone disagrees with my methods of doing anything in my life, I usually try to prove them wrong. You should take some time and develope your boring bar method, then when you perfect it you can say I told you so. Just do it instead of arguing about it and getting on everyones bad side. If you ever get into a tight spot where you really need help from someone on here your gonna be ignored.

[ToddJohnson]

Dear Mike,

Never again make implied threats against me. You can feel free to spout off about your imagined Goodfellas past, but please inquire of others if you'd like to verify how serious I am when I tell you to back the hell off. You might also want to ask them why it might be in your best interests to do so. For the record, I was never in a fraternity in college. I thought most of those guys were douchebags. That said, if you had thrown me in a lake and were stupid enough to wait around until I crawled out, I would have beaten you within an inch of your life and walked home. And finally, in previous ramblings, you claimed to have been a cadet at West Point . . . where they have no fraternities. In truth, you are a sad little man, and a compulsive liar. You will never make decent pipes and you should find a hobby other than disrupting this community.

Todd

P.S. You know, Mike, it's only 307 miles from my front door to yours. We're practically neighbors, you and me. I wish you were a better neighbor.

[baweaverpipes]

Mr. Messer,
Do you realize that questions and insights are posted here "all the time"? Yet, when answers are given, or advice is offered on a better way, the recipient is grateful and gracious. Sir, you have been either humble nor a gentleman.
Do you not realize that there are carvers here that make a living doing this? Many sell pipe for 4 figures............yes, well into the thousands of dollars. Some make over 100 pipes per year, others near 300 per year. Do you not think some of theirs skills have been honed? Mr. Messer, this is a very giving group of men who are more than willing to help. This is because all have struggled and contemplated many of the issues you have brought up.
Pipe makers are actually a small community. Don't you realize that you have made adversaries? Your success in selling pipes depends on the friendships you have acquired among makers and buyers. As it stands now, you chance of success, in this business, is nil.
Understand, we are connecting a large hole to a small hole, creating a passageway for smoke to travel flawlessly. Around those two holes a piece of art is created. It's pretty much that simple. Your concentration should be to practice your skills on making the best pipe possible. These skills are far more important that your anal obsessions over malarkey.
Just keep making pipes, study the wood, follow the grain, learn symmetry, get the fit right, learn proper sanding techniques, practice staining, work on hand cut stems, make tools to make the process faster and easier, listen and learn, remember to be humble, don't argue and, most of all, have fun.
I've gotta go now, headed over to Toddy's. My anger has been festering. He called me a blind old man, since I didn't see some scratches in a pipe I was making. Plus, he called me a douche and has implied, on numerous occasions, that I'm an idiot. Additionally, he has had the nerve to help me on a daily basis thinking he knows better processes in making high grade pipes. How dare that young whippersnapper think he knows more than me! I'm taking away his allowance, grounding him for a week and am going to put ebonite shavings in his pipe.

[Leus]

Right there is the problem, Rad. I ask a question, and I am "told" the answer, and then if I disagree with what I am told.... This began with my post about stinky ebonite....

Aw, c'mon. You are doing things in stupid ways, and when people points out you are doing stupid things (that other people already did before you and proven wrong) and you are basically telling them to piss off.

Please note that I'm not calling you stupid. I don't consider myself stupid, but I did some stupid things at the beginning (*). Guess what? Many of us do. It takes a while getting comfortable with the idea that we will probably be not as good as we first imagined, and that other people sometimes know things we don't. A really humbling experience, this pipe making business.

And please, make a pipe at last. That way we will know that we are dealing with an actual pipe maker and not just a loon with too much time on his hands. At least the other guy did some pretty decent pipes -- you couldn't take the stem apart, but besides that bizarre fact they were very good smokers in the opinion of some very knowledgeable people.

(*) and still do, on almost daily basis.

[TimGeorge]

Kurt, you owe me a keyboard. Coffee everywhere after the Jersey Shore comment. LOL!

[Mike Messer]

Dear Mike,

Never again make implied threats against me. You can feel free to spout off about your imagined Goodfellas past, but please inquire of others if you'd like to verify how serious I am when I tell you to back the hell off. You might also want to ask them why it might be in your best interests to do so. For the record, I was never in a fraternity in college. I thought most of those guys were douchebags. That said, if you had thrown me in a lake and were stupid enough to wait around until I crawled out, I would have beaten you within an inch of your life and walked home. And finally, in previous ramblings, you claimed to have been a cadet at West Point . . . where they have no fraternities. In truth, you are a sad little man, and a compulsive liar. You will never make decent pipes and you should find a hobby other than disrupting this community.

Todd

P.S. You know, Mike, it's only 307 miles from my front door to yours. We're practically neighbors, you and me. I wish you were a better neighbor.

Understandable. No doubt we've had differences, but I'm not threatening you. Forget about it, it ain't happening. I went along to keep them from killing the guy. I said that, and he did get out of the water, almost immediately, with no help, and he did charge at me, and I said, "woah, woah, woah, I'm just here to make sure you didn't drown." and he stopped, which was lucky, because I'm no push-over, damn.
I was a West Point Cadet, but I resigned, and later attended Ga Tech where they do have frats, and I'm not a liar.
I think the whole disruption thing is founded on an inconsistency, a concealment of information about the ebonite for whatever reason, and a general condition in the nature of the forum that is not clear or obvious, but, so, whatever...

Again, forget the threats, and sorry it came off that way.

Keep it cool, Todd, and forget this noise.

MM

P.S. and absolutely, I will try to be a better neighbor, Life's too short, as it is. You could, maybe, stand a little improvement in that respect, yourself, though, just for the record.

[Sasquatch]

Kurt, I take pride in my ability to swear offensively, especially in front of "good company", and most especially in technical discussions where I have some expertise. But "Jesus Titty Fucking Christ" is up there, dude. I am impressed.

[Mike Messer]

Kurt, I take pride in my ability to swear offensively, especially in front of "good company", and most especially in technical discussions where I have some expertise. But "Jesus Titty Fucking Christ" is up there, dude. I am impressed.

Ditto, even as the target of that offensive shit storm, I have to concur.