pipemakersforum.com

Says I, with a tip of the hat to one of my favorite film makers, Stanley Kubrick.

I think I can safely say that for most of us, stem making is the least favorite part of fabricating a pipe. Cutting the frigging slot and forming the funnel evokes all the rotten language I learned in the Navy. Way too much time spent on it (for me anyway). I'm sure there are those out there that can do it with their eyes shut. To ease my own frustrations I put together a rig to cut the slot and form the funnel in one shot. I made the first test this afternoon and it works like a champ. The only tweaking needed is shortening the shank on the cutter. Once cut, the only thing left to do is blend the funnel to the airway and do a little very minor file work and polish the innards. The concept is not my original idea. I saw one on the web that some European makers had put together out of wood.
The tip of the end mill sits at the pivot point of the motor holder that swings back and forth so as to prevent wallowing out the airway. The rod holder moves up and down on fine thread to accommodate different diameters and to aid in getting the slot centered. There is ample movement in the axis of the airway combined with the swing to make about any width and depth of slot one could need.
At any rate, I'm looking forward to putting it to good use.
Chas.

Very cool man. I had thought of making a similar setup but using a collet and a bit on my Taig.

just making a slot seems easier...LOL I am very impressed, awesome ingenuity

well, I don't envy you the time you put into building that rig, but it's a good idea at least. I hope it does what you needed.

MonsieurLabo wrote:Very cool man. I had thought of making a similar setup but using a collet and a bit on my Taig.

Before I built this rig I too was tinkering with my Proxxon mini lathe to adapt it to cut the slot. They make an adapter that clamps around the nose of the Micromotor. The adapter, in turn, can be clamped in the lathe's tool holder. The idea was to mount the motor vertically and use one of Dremel's circular, saw tooth cutters to make the slot via carriage movement. Unfortunately, the adapter was intended to hold the motor in a different position for grinding purposes and it was going to take a lot of further adaptation to bring the cutter to the correct center line. Plus, this Dremel cutter will get a slot started but there is still a lot of work involved in forming the funnel. Up til now I've been using this cutter in a Foredom and starting the cut freehand and cussing all the while. The #15 Xacto saw blades I was using to hack out the funnel will now work nicely to do the blending. BTW, two of these blades side by side and mounted in a handle or clamped with the smallest size Vise Grips are just the right thickness for working down inside the stem.
Chas.

e Markle wrote:well, I don't envy you the time you put into building that rig, but it's a good idea at least. I hope it does what you needed.

It wasn't that bad. Again, not my original idea so all I had to do was refine the concept in my CAD system which took a few hours of spare-time thought. I already had the Velmex slides, motor and steel v block. Cutting out the pieces and putting it together only took a day. I'm very pleased with the first sample cut. Again, I need shorten the cutter shank to reduce any run-out since the motor's front end is not super precision.
Chas.

BigCasino wrote:just making a slot seems easier...LOL I am very impressed, awesome ingenuity

Thanks. I love to tinker with things like this. It is just another tool that in my case makes life easier and faster. I think some of the makers here could do it with a pocket knife but I'm not one of them. I need all the help I can get.
Chas.

that is a sweet set up. great idea by said "europeans". and great engineering on your part
-evan

Jigs like these can be of help but learning to do it freehand will be quicker and grant you more freedom in the long run

geigerpipes wrote:Jigs like these can be of help but learning to do it freehand will be quicker and grant you more freedom in the long run

Thanks for posting Love. Seeing your name jogged my memory as to where I had first seen this jig quite some time ago. It was the web site of a couple of your fellow Swedes, Vollmer and Nilsson. Click on "A Pipe is Born" and scroll thru the pics and you will come across it. They have some interesting ways of doing things such as casting their own silver bands. Their site apparently has not been updated in a long time so I am unsure if they are still producing anything. Maybe (hopefully) they are too busy to mess with the site.
Chas.

wisemanpipes wrote:that is a sweet set up. great idea by said "europeans". and great engineering on your part
-evan

Thanks Evan. See my response to Love Geiger's post and it will lead you to the original.
Chas.

geigerpipes wrote:Jigs like these can be of help but learning to do it freehand will be quicker and grant you more freedom in the long run

Agreed. So many folks seem to have a difficult time working the slot. I have lately been considering making a video showing my method, which is very easy, done by hand, and produces a great looking slot. Maybe some folks would try it. Maybe others would still prefer their own method, but people need to know that making a stem needs not to be a great chore!

Probably that would be appreciated Walt. I know a lot of guys who are into making their own stems but they think it's a four hour process to drill one out and slot it.

yeah that would be awesome Walt, right now I use a saw blade on my dremel to start the slot and then make the funnel with 1/16 tapered diamond tip on my dremel and work it back and forth till I get the funnel and then I clean it up with micro files and then fold up tiny pieces of 400 and 600 grit to try and polish it.

anyone have any other tips or do's and don'ts to my process? I have open ears

WCannoy wrote:

geigerpipes wrote:Jigs like these can be of help but learning to do it freehand will be quicker and grant you more freedom in the long run

Agreed. So many folks seem to have a difficult time working the slot. I have lately been considering making a video showing my method, which is very easy, done by hand, and produces a great looking slot. Maybe some folks would try it. Maybe others would still prefer their own method, but people need to know that making a stem needs not to be a great chore!

Please do make a video. I am one of the "strugglers" hence the reason for this jig. My biggest problem is right now I do not have enough time to spend to find my own methods and become proficient, as practice does make perfect. I need to be hacking on some sawed-off broom handles or something. Ebonite (be it Japanese or German) is too dang expensive to be toying with.
I recall a thread some time back discussing how much time it took on stems and in particular the slot/funnel. A good number seemed to have problems with it as I remember.
I'm sure that seeing your methods would be a big help.
Chas.

Walt sent me a video critique of my pipe that I sent him that has some excellent advice on how to create the slot. I'd tell him to post that, but the critique on my pipe is so embarrassing I'd rather not have others see it. Of course if he could crop out creating the slot, that might be sufficient.

I have some shit ebonite I can sell you for cheap japaneese or german your choise

This much reminds me mine "jig"

Cool rig. Freehand is totally the way to go, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvvlaZpoHK8

Start watching at 00:35. He doesn't get close to show opening the slot freehand, but you can see him do it and boy is it fast.

This is also just a great video to see how to cut a handmade stem.

More stem work from Jeff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAxwo1a77Jk

just a little off-topic, but has anyone tried to make a P-lip? For the life of me, I can't figure out how it's done.

Bryan