And now, the moment you've all been waiting for....FINISHED!

[scotties22]

My first lathe turned/drilled pipe.....and my last pre-form stem!! (just ordered some rod stock from PME today...)

I got a little carried away turning the shank, so I think it's a bit skinny for the pipe. I like the fatness of the bowl though, so I'm gonna leave it alone. I might take a little off the height of the bowl. I still have to tighten up the shank/bowl and stem/shank junctions. Right now I have just a little under 2 hours in this one. I've been keeping track to see how long it actually takes. Any thoughts, comments or crituques are appreciated.









Thanks for looking.

[Growley]

Scottie,

The first thing is see is your wood...and not in a good way. I think your wood is letting you down a bit here. You've got a nice shape going on the stummel, but the wood is speaking for itself. It seems to me that you're taking this seriously, so I'd say that as soon as you quit snapping shanks and such on your lathe you should buy some higher quality wood and really take your time making it look great! There's a couple of different schools of thought here, but mine is that, when I'm done with the pipe, I want it to be the best it can be for the skills I have. The other SOT is to practice on cheap wood, which isn't a bad idea either.

Also, besides your stem, which you already mentioned, My eyes are also drawn to the cut on your bowl where the shank meets it. It's fixable, You want that shank to melt into the bowl. I often take sand paper and roll it up to the diameter I need to sand that area well, giving it just a little round, but not too much.

And, last but not least, congratulations on turning one on your lathe! It only get's better from here!

Brian.

[jogilli]

I agree with Brian.

The shank is fine, the bowl is fine.. the briar needs an upgrade, but it's not the end of the world. Stain it black or a very dark brown (then lighter brown - you gotta work the color) and maybe the spots will fade a bit.

Overall it is a very nice shape. Make the next one better.

james

[scotties22]

No more snapped shanks for me. I finally figured things out. As soon as I sell my damned motorcycle I'm gonna hit Mimmo up for some good briar. I noticed when I drilled this piece yesterday the bowl seemed "wet" while I was clearing the shavings to check the debth. It isn't hot, or humid here at the moment so I'm thinking this piece of briar is still a bit "green". This is another piece from Sam on Ebay and I haven't had anything like that happen yet with her stuff. I am in a bit of a pickle at the moment. I don't have the scratch to put together a shipment from Mimmo and buying blocks one at a time is a real pain in the ass. Maybe I will get a few blocks from Mark Tinsky or JH Lowe for the next few pipes. I am going to stick with the classic shapes for a while...easier to turn on the lathe....and man am I having fun.

[oklahoma red]

I've purchased briar from Mark Tinsky. He sells his by weight. Everything I've ever gotten from him has been old and dry, like me. He ships quick from out in the boondocks in Montana. Good place to start in my opinion.
Chas.

[The Smoking Yeti]

Oklahoma... I live rather close to his boondocks!

Scottie, one thought from me is to actually shorten your stem. I feel like it runs as a barrel for a large length before it begins to taper. I think this piece'd look more graceful if it had a fluid transition from shank to taper.

[scotties22]

I have actually been working on the stem. I really hadn't touched it when I took these pictures. I am gonna bring the taper down towards the bowl more. Depending on when I get my rod stock from PME I might try to hand cut a stem for this pipe.

[oklahoma red]

Oklahoma... I live rather close to his boondocks!

Scottie, one thought from me is to actually shorten your stem. I feel like it runs as a barrel for a large length before it begins to taper. I think this piece'd look more graceful if it had a fluid transition from shank to taper.

Montana is God's country (except in the winter).
I'm sure you've heard "Montana" by Frank Zappa.

Chas.

[The Smoking Yeti]

Actually, Montana is God's country even IN winter, it's amazing!

[scotties22]

If my husband had is way we would be moving there tomorrow. I would be okay with the winters as long as I could watch the Chiefs lose every sunday and my cell phone worked....

[The Smoking Yeti]

Scottie, you should totally come to Missoula- it's the best city in Montana for sure, and the cell phones work.

[scotties22]

Naaaaaa, my husband wants to be a hermit up in the mountains off the grid. If I move anywhere I want to move to the Valley in Oregon. My mom lives in Central Oregon and it would be nice to be close to her again.

[The Smoking Yeti]

Hey! You could visit Brad Pohlmann then!

[wdteipen]

My first impressions is that you've done a really nice job shaping; especially considering your experience. The bowl shaping and symmetry is exceptional. I think the shank could have been thicker but it looks just fine like it is and is still in proportion to the bowl size, IMHO. As already mentioned you could have left a bit more material on the top side where the shank meets the bowl but I've seen worse. The briar isn't THAT bad. The grain is decent and the pits are pretty small. It would make a nice sandblast. I wouldn't go much shorter on the bowl height except to smooth out the rim. The height looks pretty dead on to me. The most important thing at this stage is to get the shaping and mechanics down. Worry about quality briar and utilizing the grain to the blocks best potential around pipe 20 or 30 or however long it takes to get shaping and whatnot dialed in.

[Massis]

Looks like a very nice first pipe I'd say. The only thing I'd change (other than the points already suggested) is bending the stem slightly...

[scotties22]

Well, here you go. I am going to sand and buff the stem again. I'm still not real happy with it....think I need to start at 320 again and work it over really well. After all the talk about bowl coatings, I thought I would give it a try (I know, Sas, bowl coatings are for girls.....oh, wait I am a girl. Guess I can get away with it! )













Critiques welcome.

Thanks for looking.

Scottie

[jogilli]

Don't listen to Sas, what does he know. He's canadian anyway...

I like what you did w/the faux ring effect.. and for the mouthpiece, use wet/dry sand paper

400 dry.. then add water..and sand somemore
I then just jump to 1200 dry...and then wet again.... it smooths the mouthpiece out and you can see where you left dings in it.

Others do it different, sure sanding right away with 1200 might be questionable, but the mouthpiece is done for me at 400... the 1200 is just to make it smmmmoooooooottttthhh

james

[scotties22]

I usually do 320, 400 (dry) then red trip and white diamond. Maybe I will try 400 dry, then wet and see what happens.

[oklahoma red]

I remember the first pipe you showed here. Go back and look at it and compare then pat yourself on the back. You've come a long way very quickly.
Keep it up.
Chas.

[scotties22]

Ah, yes. The cherry ramses. It has been replaced. I sent my uncle another pipe a while ago. He is going to send the ramses back to me. I am going to hang it in the shop as a reminder to stick to the plan of action and that the details matter...