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Well I finally took the plunge and decided to make a pipe from scratch instead of using kits. I knew I'd be able to get better briar and have more control over the style of my pipes, so I went for it. Jumped right into hand cut ebonite as well, so there were a lot of "firsts" on this pipe. I think it turned out ok despite the fact that I was only using a hand drill for all the holes. I discovered how difficult it was drilling the chamber while holding a drill. The bowl wasn't a disaster, but my 3/4 chamber ended up being more like 7/8" Oh well, I like big bowls.

Screwed up two stems before getting this one right. First one I sanded into the draught hole while tapering it, and the second I didn't connect the holes when I went in from the bit end. Thanks to Sasquatch, I now know of a trick to figure out where my exit hole is going to be, which is helpful since it's definitely not going to be centered.

Aside from some minor surface flaws (it's for me, I don't really care) and a gap at the shank/stem junction (unavoidable with my current tooling) I'm happy with it. There are also some uneven places on the shank, but I was just too lazy to even them out, and it was getting too thin in the first place. With the Pimo tool the biggest stem I can get is .5" so I don't have a lot of room to work with. I know excuses, excuses.

Would love any advise and tips anyway. Thanks.

That looks really nice. I'd say this is a pipe that can use more improvements rather than corrections. Huge step that I am currently hoping to advance to!

only correction I can see is the bottom of the shank curves or flares as it approaches the bowl

that correction would likely take care of the first improvement that I see. the apex of the bottom of the bowl could be centered under the chamber. it seems to be to far back here.

the other improvement that jumps out is the back of the bowl could use some more angle.

Ah, don't know what to say. You surely are improving on each pipe. Keep up the good work!

The stem at the button is way thick looking, but you're definitely on the right track.

Keep it up!

Rad

I hope to be working on my first completely hand made pipe soon too. I hope that mine turns out nearly as good as this.

Fine job.

RadDavis wrote:The stem at the button is way thick looking, but you're definitely on the right track.

Keep it up!

Rad

Absolutely right. I was gun shy after sanding through that one stem. It did feel uncomfortable in my teeth, so I filed it down to about .175" since I took the photos. Thicker than I like, but much better. I would go thinner, but since, for this one, I just drilled to where the tapered bit just barely went all the way through, I don't really want to go any thinner.

Thanks for all the tips, gives me lots to work on. I'd hate to do things perfectly and have nowhere to go

I'm the same as you SB... the only pipes I've kept are the rejects in some way, first tries at some part, or things where the finish didn't work or the shaping was screwy. I just move on and do a better one next time, and keep the losers as a sort of reminder. In fact, I think I've been pretty lucky in the number of pipes I've either stopped production on, or just plain fucked up beyond repair.

Have you thought about doing delrin tenons if you can't spin a big stem? That might work for you....

I'm already using delrin tenons. My issue with the thickness of the stems is my shank facing tool from PIMO. it only faces .5" of material before digging in and forming a sloping sholder.



I'm going to get a larger counterbore, but for now this is what I have.

Gotcha.

You can also use a flat spade bit for wood they can be picked up for about $5 but you need to get the ones without the tips on the cutting edge as they have a slightly tapered flat surface. But if you do chose to go this way you must cut the shank end first then bore your draught hole and then the mortise. Also if you do so take the last .030 very very slow it wont rip or put very small tears in the surface that way and your stem to shank fit is good and tight. Also if you would like to see what it looks like I will be starting another pipe in the next few days I can post pics.

I would have done it this way using a forstner bit to square it off, but having no way to ensure that my mortise was going in perfectly flush (using hand drill) I had to be able to do both operations at once. It's no longer a problem I don't think. I've already ordered forstner bits and will soon be getting a drill press so, assuming I can learn to operate it, I shouldn't run into these issues again. Thanks for the suggestion though.