Request for Quote - Carved Canadian

[taharris]

All,

I have a potential customer who is looking for a Churchwarden with an owl carved in the bowl by Christmas.

Here is his message to me:

"I was wondering if you make custom pipes to order? I've been looking everywhere for a nice pipe with an owl carved or embossed into the design and can't find what I'm looking for anywhere. I'd preferably like a Canadian pipe but am open to other styles. I'm hoping to get it before Christmas as it's a present but I understand this is fast approaching and I'm not sure how long it takes to make a pipe."

I don't carve and have too many other orders to get this done before Christmas.

If you are interested in this job, send me a PM and I will get you in contact with this customer.

Todd

[caskwith]

Had the same email myself this morning.

[taharris]

I'm curious.

Did anyone take this job on?

Todd

[caskwith]

Not me, I don't make carved pipes like that.

[KurtHuhn]

Ayup. Took a deposit yesterday. We settled on an engraved owl rather than fully carved. Actually, the end result will be pretty cool. I'm tackling it tomorrow, and could post pics if folks want to see.

[taharris]

I would love to see pics.

Todd

[KurtHuhn]

I finished this up yesterday morning and it is on the way to the customer as I type this. It ended up being a variation of a Canadian with a slightly longer stem.

Pictures:





And since this is a gift, the recipient's name is engraved on the bottom of the shank:


Engraving the owl took the most time, and was incredibly nerve wracking. One wrong move with the engraver, and you're totally screwed. I also am now understanding why those tiny engravers are so popular. Even with my teensy handpiece and flex-shaft on my rotary tool, I still felt like I was wrestling with a snake. If I get another order like this, I'm going to run right out and get myself one of these:

[TRS]

Nice looking owl!

[jogilli]

Kurt

first off.. nicely down etching... second.. thanks.. on the Colt inspired pipe I'm working on for a friend of mine I've reached a brick wall.. I've made a scribe out of an old spade bit..tried punching in fine lines.. all to no avail.. as the word colt looks like a 3 year old wrote it..

Walllaahhhh.. dremel and cutting tools.. once again thanks.. even though you probably didn't know you were helping me..

Have a great week
james

[taharris]

Kurt,

Nicely done!

I'm glad that this customer found you.

Todd

[KurtHuhn]

Walllaahhhh.. dremel and cutting tools.. once again thanks.. even though you probably didn't know you were helping me..

I'm glad I could help - especially because I didn't know I was!

Just be sure to run that dremel up to warp factor 9. Slower speeds may tend to grab, but the right cutting bit at ludicrous speed will be much smoother.

[KurtHuhn]

And thank you to all for your kind words. This was a lot of fun to do!

[PipesByDesign]

Hey that turned out really nice. That guy contacted me as well, actually, but I was reticent to engrave an owl. I'd rather carve one. I don't mind engraving lettering (which is nerve-racking enough), but drawing on wood isn't something I'm comfortable with. Good job.

For lettering I use Dremel's engraver... you think a rotary tool would be better?

[KurtHuhn]

For lettering I use Dremel's engraver... you think a rotary tool would be better?

Sorry, I don't know. I've never used Dremel's engraver.