Forstner Bit specific question...

[PipesByDesign]

Gents...ladies (are there lady pipemakers?...suddenly curious....)

For various reasons...mostly personal preference... I make wooden stemmed churchwarden pipes on occasion. Until recently I was using the PIMO drill bit tool thingy that drills the mortise and squares it off. I use delrin tenons for my wooden stems, so I was drilling a mortise into the stem. Not really satisfied with it though. So I want to switch to forstner bits. I already use one for facing the stummel...love the results...but I'm concerned (after some tests) with how it cuts cross-grain on wooden stems. Because of its easy steam bending characteristics, I use oak. My bit was sharpened, but it would catch and screw the whole thing up. I was advancing slowly, fyi.

Facing the stem becomes necessary because after steam bending the face is no longer smooth on account of the swollen wood grain. I usually let the stems sit in a mold for a couple of days, but they still need clean up in order to fit will with the stummel.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

[caskwith]

Are you using a lathe or drill press?

[PipesByDesign]

Right now a drill press. I've got a metal lathe for ebonite stems, but just bought an old Dunlap wood lathe that I'm planning on using for drilling the stummel, air hole, etc. However, I'll still probably be doing this work on wooden stems on the drill press as the pieces are already steam bent once I get to this point. Can't chuck them up, but I can clamp them in my drill press vise.

[DMI]

You need to make a facer, simply a bit of wooden dowel faced at one end with a tennon sized hole drilled through it, glue a piece of sandpaper on the smooth end and remake the hole.

Insert the tennon into the stem and slide the facer onto the tennon and rotate it by hand, this will face the end of the stem so it is square with the tennon. You can use the same tool to face the mortice.

It's handy as delrin tennons do not always go in perfectly square, or the face of the mortice may distort slightly during dyeing or steaming estates. I have a load with different size holes and different grits.

David.

PS Lady pipemakers Anne Julie and Mandula, Sara Geiger and Pia Eltang, one of the Japanese makers daughters is also making pipes in her own name but I cannot remember which one.

[sethile]

PS Lady pipemakers Anne Julie and Mandula, Sara Geiger and Pia Eltang, one of the Japanese makers daughters is also making pipes in her own name but I cannot remember which one.

Also Nanna Ivarsson is a fantastic pipe maker (Lars' daughter, and Sixten's grandaughter)



And her pipes are as beautiful as she is!

[Sasquatch]

Agree w/above. Especially oak, which is terrible for tearout in any case. Sand 'er flat.

[PipesByDesign]

Thanks for the info...another question then... HSS or carbide tipped forstner bits?

[caskwith]

While carbide is more durable you can get a far sharper edge on HSS.