questions on handcutting stems

[jbacon]

after drilling turning the tenon and then cutting the slot. what is the next step. is there some magical. is everyone using some kind of jig what kind of guide do you use not to sand all the way to the draught hole. what kind of files?are they for clean up work because files take a long time to remove any material. any help will benefit everyone. jeff after spending time w/todd i noticed your hand cut stems on your pipes and thing you can share. do you shape the button and then work on the rest of the stem

what are some process that other use to hand-cut stems i know the tools they are listed in another thread

thanks
jim

[marks]

To answer at least one of your questions, how you don't sand into the airway is you measure the thickness of the stem with a caliper as you start getting close. I took several of my most comfortable pipes and measured them before I ever did a hand cut stem. I tend to shape to those measurements.

After I turn the stem to the diameter I want (for round shanked pipes), I do my rough shaping on a 1 x 42 belt sander, and holding the stem by hand for round shanks, and holding the stem in a jig for square shanked pipes/stems. (the jig is simple a piece of Oak I drilled to the diameter of the delrin I use, and I hold this against the mitre gauge of the sander - works great for getting round rod square for panel pipe stems).

You can use aggressive cut bastard files to take off a lot of material, and I sometimes use these after rough sanding (depends on how close I get with the belt sander). Also, I got this nifty file from MSC that is fairly aggressive, yet leaves the material fairly clean that I use after the bastard file.

After rough shaping, I sand to at least 1200 grit before buffing. (Greg Pease suggested 2000 grit, but i have yet to get to the store for anything finer than 1200).

I do a lot of hand shaping with the stem chucked into my Taig and use it as a way to hold the stem while I work. I have yet to make a dedicated stem holder, like Mr. Eltang.

Anyway, hope this helps, and hopefully some other folks will post here as well. There are probably as many ways of hand cutting stems as there are pipemakers.

[KurtHuhn]

I usually just eyeball it. I have a digital caliper that I use to measure overall thickness, but as far as keeping it symmetrical, that's up to my eyes.

[ToddJohnson]

after drilling turning the tenon and then cutting the slot. what is the next step. is there some magical. is everyone using some kind of jig what kind of guide do you use not to sand all the way to the draught hole. what kind of files?

Jim,

Something Jody Davis does that I think is pretty cool is this: Once he's cut the tenon and drilled the rod, he scribes a center line down both sides of the rod and across the face (the face being where you'll cut the slot). Then he cuts the slot on that line. He then inserts a very thin drill bit into the tiny hole running through the slot just as a visual reference. The two scribed lines on either side of the rod stay there as he takes material off of the top and bottom. This way you know exactly where center is and you never deviate from your center point. As long as those two scribed lines stay put, it's just a matter of getting the bit thin and then measuring with a set of calipers once you're close. While I find this method overly meticulous for the way I work, the results certainly speak for themselves. Jody does it for the sake of consistency, but I can imagine it would be a really helpful way to make certain you don't intersect a draft hole. FWIW, don't hold me to the details of the process as I've described it. It's been a couple of years since I've been in Jody's shop--and when he's in my shop there is no measuring allowed--only fitting Hope that's helpful.

Best,

Todd

Oh yeah, for cutting the slot, try a very small (1/16") drill bit chucked in your lathe at high speed. Using the slot you've cut as a guide, and holding the bit in your hands, drill toward the draft hole at an angle until you just hit it. Then, using the drill bit sort of like a milling bit apply downward pressure on the bit until it's cut a slot to the center. Turn the bit over and repeat on the other side. This will give you a flat Y-shaped profile. To model it in miniature, it should look like this when you're finished: IYI After that, it's all needle files, sanding sticks, and Swiss pipecleaners loaded with tripoli. Okay the last part is certainly not a necessity, but the smoother the better when you're talking about airflow.

[ArtGuy]

I just eyball it. I have hit the airhole once so far. I do use clipers to measure the thickness of the end just before the button. I like it to be about 4mm.

As far as tools go, I use a 1in belt sander to flatten the bit a little and from then on i go to work with a rasp and strips of sandpaper. I also use nail files for work right before the button. It takes a little while but I have more control and come out with better symmetry.

I also have a set of jewelers files that I use to clean up the inside of the slot and sand the airway of the stem after drilling.

[jbacon]

thanks everyone

this is a lot of help. some direction to aim for instead of just shooting in the dark. this is the type of topics i love to see on this forum. i got some bar(rod) from www.pipemakers.org i am working on a square shank.

marks what is the dims on the shank of panel pipe in p&t . i have just made a panel pipe for a friend w/ a 5/8 by 5/8 square shank and had a lot of fun but i really think the square shank could have been easily 3/4 by3/4 or even bigger

jim

[marks]

marks what is the dims on the shank of panel pipe in p&t . i have just made a panel pipe for a friend w/ a 5/8 by 5/8 square shank and had a lot of fun but i really think the square shank could have been easily 3/4 by3/4 or even bigger

jim

Jim, I honestly don't remember what the dimensions were on that pipe, and since I sold it, I can't measure it. However, I do have the practice pipe I made. The shank on the practice pipe was 5/8 across the bottom, 1/2 across the top, 11/16 tall. I tapered the sides of the shank to match the taper in the bowl walls, that is why the upper and lower widths do not match. The shank on the contest pipe was a little better proportioned for the pipe, and it was probably slightly smaller in all dimensions, although not much smaller, except for the height of the shank was visually shorter. (Does that make any sense )

Hope that helps.

[jeff]

after drilling turning the tenon and then cutting the slot. what is the next step. is there some magical. is everyone using some kind of jig what kind of guide do you use not to sand all the way to the draught hole. what kind of files?are they for clean up work because files take a long time to remove any material. any help will benefit everyone. jeff after spending time w/todd i noticed your hand cut stems on your pipes and thing you can share. do you shape the button and then work on the rest of the stem

Jim,

I've tried several different ways of handcutting stems based on the people I've worked with or talked to. Usually, I'll turn the button end (the last 3/4" or so) down close to a final diameter that would equal the bit width I'm hoping to cut. Then I drill a 1mm bit about 3/4" into the rod.

Next, I flip the rod to do the tenon work. I turn the tenon, drill the rod, sand, steel wool, and wax the tenon and stem face. To drill I start with a center drill, then use a 1/8" bit to drill to w/in 3/4" of the end, so that it meets the 1mm hole on the other side. Then I use a 5/32" tapered bit to widen and taper the draught hole. I usually finish the tenon end at this point with a 45-60 degree countersink. Sanding is done lightly to smooth any tool marks. I start w/ worn out 400, move to 600, and then 000 steel wool. Then I wax it by hand while it is spinning. Then, if the design calls for it, I'll turn any fancy stem designs or add boxwood or whatever looks nice.

After all lathe work is completed, I remove the stem from the lathe and cut the slot on the end. Then, as Todd described, I make the fan shape with a 1mm bit. After that is completed I use the 36 grit disk to rough the shape very close to the final design, then it is all hand files (flat bastard & smooth machine files mostly, some chainsaw files though). Use some needle files to smooth the tool marks on the inside of the airway. This takes alot of time if you've made a mess of it! Just use your calipers or your teeth like Todd and make sure that you don't hit the airway when filing. Also, the c-clamp stem rest tool that Todd uses and is described in an earlier post in the forums is indispensible for filing.

I hope that helps you out. Let me know if I can clarify anything.

JEff

[TreverT]

It's funny to see those pics of the wooden brace thing - it's something I sort of invented for myself a few years ago, though mine is a bar of wood screwed to the edge of the workbench. Lots of slots, notches, etc. One suggestion I can add is that I also have various holes drilled in mine to accept different sizes of bits. When I'm filing a bit thin, I will fit the proper drillbit into the mouthpiece as a visual reference, then stick the other half of the bit into the desk brace so the stem sticks straight out. That gives me a solid brace to file against, and I can easily pull the stem back a touch and turn it sideways to see visually exactly how much material I have to go before I hit the airhole. FWIW!