The Big Rig

[billiard]

Howdy Everyone,
My first post of the year, so a little catch up before I get to the actual purpose of this post

Please no need to critique these as I am just posting to be part of the community and will ask for a critique when I no longer see 5000 things that I still need to work on. all hand cut stems and that.

Here is the last pipe I made last year, just thought I would have some fun to close out the year:



First pipe of this year (made over the holidays, very small and light):



my 2nd pipe of this year was snatched out of my hands right off of the buffer so I don't have apic to share, was a bent sitter.



My 3rd pipe this year (2 pics, why not):



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Now to get to the fun part.

Last March, shortly after switching from messing with corn cobs to messing with briar, I posted a black rustic pipe and this conversation ensued:

Very cool looking pipe.
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That is a really nice pipe Bill. It almost looks like you turned a piece of asphalt into a pipe! Im trying to work on my shank/bowl transition right now. it looks you got it figured out.

I had the same thought when I first saw the pipe..asphalt. I have a big chunk of asphalt on my living room table from the recent repaving of my street, and there is a definite similarity.
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Well the name "asphalt" stuck for my black rustics, I mean who am I to argue with an artisan who keeps a big chunk of asphalt on their living room table?!

So the other night my son and I were playing outside with his toy cars\trucks and I was smoking one of these asphalt pipes I had made. One of the trucks had come to rest up against my pipe that I has set down.... well.... needless to say... the rubber hit the road right then and there!


So...

I had to...

Gonna make a "Big Rig" and do an oversized LB, in my asphalt rustication, with a second chamber in the giant shank This is not the tire I am gonna use, this one is a guide to help me size it all and a new one will get put on when done. Will need to order spare tires of course, I mean the owner will need to bring it in for rotation every 5000 bowls or so



Hope to finish it up by next weekend.

Well that's enough out of me, back to lurk mode I go, cheers all!

[Ocelot55]

Just when you think you've seen it all......

You've really got me curious. I can't wait to see it.

[d.huber]

Very cool idea! I can't wait to see the finished product!

[billiard]

Well... when I got off work today I got to rough shaping it and I hit a big flaw in the shank. Normally this flaw would have worked itself out but since I had a massive mortise running nearly the length of the shank that block is officially firewood now.

Ah well, neat idea. I will probably try another LB with a second chamber hidden in the shank again down the road but for now it is back to standard mechanics, I am not Random, or trying to set the world on fire with my pipes, but it was a fun little trip into experimenting. Back to work again.

Many thanks,
Bill

[Ocelot55]

That's too bad, Bill. Oh well, flaws happen. I do hope you follow through with the idea sometime in the future.