Second pipe

[Blueb3]

This briar is like a couple girls I know... Beautiful on the outside, full of shi!t on the inside >.<



Picked up this beautiful block last week, and spent a couple days figuring out what I wanted to make with it. I knew I wanted to incorporate as much of the edge (sorry, don't know the term, plateau maybe?) when I made the pipe.

Also, this was my first time drilling out the block, first pipe was made from a Pimo pre-drilled kit. So, Drew out my shape, and got to drilling and sawing!


Tonight when I got home I was jazzed! Beautiful weather, kids are outside playing with their friends, daddy gets some pipe time! Put a new belt on the sander... mental note, don't use a 36 grit belt EVER AGAIN! Oh, it's AMAZING at chewing through the wood at record pace to get to your lines, but it GOUGES the wood something fierce. Stepped it up to a 60, and to a 100 grit belt and I'm still hand sanding 2 hours later with 100 grit chasing scratches... lesson learned, belt thrown away.

While shaping with the dremel and 100 grit belt sander:
Oh, what are those 3 little dots ... _____ _________ CRAPPIT! It doesn't go all the way to the bowl (at least that I can see from the inside) but it's still there, I'm afraid to remove any more material. This thing is FULL of pits/crap/junk which is a shame, because I was FLYING along on it. I count 11 pits on this thing (counting that long line as one :p ) I'm still going to finish it though. I've come this far, right? In looking at the grain, it's almost like it's radiating AWAY from the pits, neat to look at, in theory, on some other persons pipe, but not on your own.

Pretty side:


Pitty side:

[JonBood]

A lot of girls can be like that! A lot of briar too=(

[d.huber]

Not bad at all. Sucks about the pits, though.

I bet if you rusticate that pipe and you'll be in good shape.

Note: edited in favor of good taste.

[Blueb3]

Big update!
Not happy with the finish so far, but at least it's not green anymore? Sanded down to 220, dyed blue, then was impatient and hit it with a coat of yellow @ 320, and it turned GREEN >.< sanded up to 600 and another coat of blue, but not sure how to get the color to really POP.





Stupid crappy iphone pics >.<

[Blueb3]

All finished, and had a couple questions, since I'd like to make this shape pipe again, with some refinements. Please feel free to critique/bash/praise/complain/muse/etc. I'm a big boy, I can take it

First off on finish/colors. What technique is used to get the grain to take the stain, but to have the rest of the wood a very light color, like the natural blonde color of the briar? Second, as far as shape goes, I know the stem shank isn't "right" and doesn't flow as well. I mis-cut and made due to minimize the mistake, in my minds eye it should be rounder, and a bit longer.

on to the pics!





If you want to see any other angles, any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks to all in advance, I'm here to learn.

[Ocelot55]

I don't know what it is about the finish, but I don't like it. (IMHO) There is so much blue at the top of the bowl and hardly any at the bottom. I think a more consistent finish would have been better.

As far as the shaping, that is pretty good for a 2nd pipe. I'm sure you've read it a thousand times, but don't be afraid to take off more material.

Good job. Now get cracking on number three!

[JonBood]

I agree with Ocelot on all points. I think the stain should be more consistent over the whole surface. I use 600 or 800 grit sanding paper to take the dark stain back. You have to be careful since it comes of easier in some places than others..also you can elaborate with re-staining the whole pipe to get a deeper black in the grain.
Maybe you should seek advice from someone who knows better than me but at least thats how I usually do it.

Other than that I think its a good looking 2nd!

[Growley]

Blub3,

I definitely think your next one is going to be better, and that's a compliment. You're doing some good things here, but there are some "areas for opportunity" as well.

What I like, is you have a nice acorn shape going. I think had you arranged your drilling of your mortise slightly differently, your overall composition would turn out better. For me, to make the pipe turn out with the shape you have now, it would have been better to center the stem and angle it up a bit more.

But, since you can't change that now, I still see a very valid pipe shape there. I think if you center the stem more by bringing your shank down a bit you'll not only show off the bowl shape more but you'll potentially have a better overall composition.

Here's how I see it working.... (Just my opinion)



Keep it up!

Brian.

[Blueb3]

Thanks, and I agree with you guys 100% As second pipe started, first complete (still haven't finished the other one ) I'm pretty pleased with it. What Growley showed was pretty much what I would have preferred, but live and learn. The more I look at it, the more I want to bust out the 220 grit sand paper and do the finish over. I put the first coat of blue on @ 220, sanded with 320 that night and hit it with a coat of yellow. BIG MISTAKE as it turned completely green. So I sanded it back with the 320 and hit it with another coat of blue, which gave me the color in the crappy cell phone pics. then went 800, to 1500, put on a coat of beeswax, then buffed the whole thing out. I am not pleased with the finish look of the stain.

Waiting to get my workspace set up in the garage before I buy my next couple blocks (some friends want me to make them each a pipe) and this way I'm not standing outside my garage using my trashcan lid as a workspace That and it gives me time to really study shapes and flow so that I'm happier with my next pipe.

One major complaint about this pipe though is how HOT the bowl gets. I think I made the front a bit too thin, as it get too hot to hold the front of the pipe when smoking it (tobacco chamber is @ 7/8th's) is that something that will become less noticeable with a buildup of cake inside the bowl, or will it always be a hot smoker?