Good evening!
I am not having the spare time i wanted and so it took me a while to finish this piece.
For this pipe i decided to go for a Barrel form. It is my first humble approach to this form.
The briar is from my new supplier in Italy. It has some nice grain and i am happy with it.
As always i would like some feedback on what you like and what needs improvement.
Kind regards
Bruno
Barrel
Re: Barrel
You need to be a lot braver with the rasp when working on the shank/bowl junction because of the way the shank merges with the bowl the whole pipe looks wrong.
For this shape to work there must a clear point at which the shank joins the bowl, this will enable you to define the shape a lot better. I've taken to working on this area first and it has helped a lot with the 'shoulders' around the shank, once you know where they will be you can develop the profile.
David.
For this shape to work there must a clear point at which the shank joins the bowl, this will enable you to define the shape a lot better. I've taken to working on this area first and it has helped a lot with the 'shoulders' around the shank, once you know where they will be you can develop the profile.
David.
Re: Barrel
What David said. Don't be afraid to remove more briar.
- PhilipMarc
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 1:22 pm
Re: Barrel
I agree with the previous two posts. It really helps to get a picture of a pipe from a really good maker and keep it with you during your shaping process, so you can take a look periodically and see how far off you are. It doesn't have to be identical, but by imitating great pipe makers, you build great pipemaking habits.
Shaping, in my opinion, is worth more of your effort right now, but another thing you'll want to work on in the future is your finishing skills. The stain on this pipe is uneven. Do you notice all the dark spots? Perhaps those are burns, in which case whatever you're sanding with is either spinning too fast or you're holding it against the abrasive surface for too long, or perhaps both, which creates enough heat to burn the briar. If it's stain, then I suggest the following method for contrast staining:
1. Get the shape about as far as you can with your rough sanding, but not so far that you don't have room to refine the details of the shape with higher grit paper. Then sand with your medium grit (120-180grit) as well as you can, refining the shape somewhat. Take your time with this step because it really sucks going back to rough grits after missing some scratches.
2. Apply black stain to the pipe.
3. Sand with your next grit (220-360) until all your scratches are gone (the black stain makes scratches VERY obvious, so you can get them all). Keep sanding with 320 until you have removed all of the scratches from the previous grits. Hopefully if you did a good job with the 120-180 you won't have to go back to a lower grit than 320.
4. Sand with 500 grit as meticulously as you did with the other grits.
5. Wipe the dust off the pipe with a little denatured alcohol on a rag.
6. Heat the briar evenly over a heat gun on a low setting until it's uncomfortably warm to the touch, but not hot enough to burn the wood.
7. Apply your undercoat. The stain should absorb quickly into the hot briar. You can pass it over the heat gun again once the pipe is completely covered with the undercoat.
8. Sand slowly and carefully with 1000 grit until you have a very nice even appearance, with the grain being contrasted all around.
9. Wipe with alcohol again.
10. Heat the briar again (if you desire).
11. Apply your overcoat once, twice, or whatever you want, and allow it to dry for a while. I've found that the longer you let it dry and set before buffing, the more even the stain will be after it's finished.
12. Buff
I get much more professional looking results with that method.
Hope this helps,
Philip
Shaping, in my opinion, is worth more of your effort right now, but another thing you'll want to work on in the future is your finishing skills. The stain on this pipe is uneven. Do you notice all the dark spots? Perhaps those are burns, in which case whatever you're sanding with is either spinning too fast or you're holding it against the abrasive surface for too long, or perhaps both, which creates enough heat to burn the briar. If it's stain, then I suggest the following method for contrast staining:
1. Get the shape about as far as you can with your rough sanding, but not so far that you don't have room to refine the details of the shape with higher grit paper. Then sand with your medium grit (120-180grit) as well as you can, refining the shape somewhat. Take your time with this step because it really sucks going back to rough grits after missing some scratches.
2. Apply black stain to the pipe.
3. Sand with your next grit (220-360) until all your scratches are gone (the black stain makes scratches VERY obvious, so you can get them all). Keep sanding with 320 until you have removed all of the scratches from the previous grits. Hopefully if you did a good job with the 120-180 you won't have to go back to a lower grit than 320.
4. Sand with 500 grit as meticulously as you did with the other grits.
5. Wipe the dust off the pipe with a little denatured alcohol on a rag.
6. Heat the briar evenly over a heat gun on a low setting until it's uncomfortably warm to the touch, but not hot enough to burn the wood.
7. Apply your undercoat. The stain should absorb quickly into the hot briar. You can pass it over the heat gun again once the pipe is completely covered with the undercoat.
8. Sand slowly and carefully with 1000 grit until you have a very nice even appearance, with the grain being contrasted all around.
9. Wipe with alcohol again.
10. Heat the briar again (if you desire).
11. Apply your overcoat once, twice, or whatever you want, and allow it to dry for a while. I've found that the longer you let it dry and set before buffing, the more even the stain will be after it's finished.
12. Buff
I get much more professional looking results with that method.
Hope this helps,
Philip
www.ThePipeGuys.com • Philip Marc • Pipemaker • New Jersey