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As I am still in the noob stages of pipe carving, I am working on a stummel right now that is destined to become a personal pipe, or perhaps foisted off on one of my friends as a gift. I have encountered a flaw that appears to be cosmetic only, and am wondering about the best way to fix it. Any (experienced) advice would be appreciated. On a side note, this is going to be my first sand blast attempt as well, so I anticipate a properly done repair would be camouflaged by the texture of the blast.



If this were one of my turnings, a little sanding dust and some boiled linseed or tung oil finish would do the trick. But I am learning that not all is the same in the world of pipes. Perhaps that is the way to go, but I wanted to poll the collective wisdom here first.

I can't comment on the best route if you are going to sand blast, but if you wanted to keep it smooth I would say the you have two options.

Fill it with Briar dust and epoxy or make a feature out of it by filling it with Ebony dust (or coffee grounds is a surprisingly good substitute) and epoxy.

Todd

Sand over it lightly with fine paper, hit it with a drop of the stain you intend to use later and follow that up with a drop of superglue. If the superglue doesn't fill it right to the surface then use another drop but let it dry inbetween. Once the superglue is slightly proud of the surface you can file it back with a very fine file.

coffee grounds for wood filler? awesome.

at the risk of messing with your stem shank junction and depending on how deep you drilled the mortise would you be able to chuck it on a pin guage and turn down past the check?

mcgregorpipes wrote:coffee grounds for wood filler? awesome.

at the risk of messing with your stem shank junction and depending on how deep you drilled the mortise would you be able to chuck it on a pin guage and turn down past the check?

Yep. Then you could turn a tenon on the end of your shank and slip on something like horn or acrylic.

You can also band it.

andrew

Or place a ring on the shank (other type of wood/material).

andrew

taharris wrote:...Fill it with Briar dust and epoxy or make a feature out of it by filling it with Ebony dust (or coffee grounds is a surprisingly good substitute) and epoxy.

Todd

Is epoxy a safe adhesive to use in pipes?

UncleDraken wrote:

taharris wrote:...Fill it with Briar dust and epoxy or make a feature out of it by filling it with Ebony dust (or coffee grounds is a surprisingly good substitute) and epoxy.

Todd

Is epoxy a safe adhesive to use in pipes?

In pipe making? Yes.

Okay, so filling it with some sort of filler and glue is not blasphemy in pipe making. I am glad to see that. Maybe this won't be my first sandblast. It has some very small pits on a few other spots, but nothing huge. I like the idea of getting some stain into the crack before putting any filler in.

mcgregorpipes wrote:at the risk of messing with your stem shank junction and depending on how deep you drilled the mortise would you be able to chuck it on a pin guage and turn down past the check?

I actually thought about this before, but not in enough time to be able to put it back on the lathe. I am fairly confident that doing so now would pretty much invite disaster to come visit in the shop. I am going to keep this in mind for the next time this happens, or for a stummel that lends itself well to this sort of application.

I also thought about banding, but this is a cherrywood poker, and I have never seen one of them with a band on it. That is not to say they aren't out there - just that I've never seen one. I also have no idea how to go about installing a band. If anyone would care to explain the basics, I am interested in learning.

Thanks for all the responses and suggestions.

LittleBill wrote:Okay, so filling it with some sort of filler and glue is not blasphemy in pipe making.

Actually, it pretty much is blasphemy. I suspect, if you had said, "I want to sell this for $300," you would have gotten entirely different advice. Instead you got, I'm-keeping-this-one advice. In other words, you are free to blaspheme all you want when you keep it to yourself.

Tyler wrote:

LittleBill wrote:Okay, so filling it with some sort of filler and glue is not blasphemy in pipe making.

Actually, it pretty much is blasphemy. I suspect, if you had said, "I want to sell this for $300," you would have gotten entirely different advice. Instead you got, I'm-keeping-this-one advice. In other words, you are free to blaspheme all you want when you keep it to yourself.

I figured that might have something to do with it. I am not ready to sell them at any price yet, but I am doing okay with giving some out for "evaluation".

mcgregorpipes wrote:coffee grounds for wood filler? awesome.

Dry out used coffee well. You can throw it in the oven at low temperature for a while.

Then put it in a coffee grinder and grind it to a fine powder.

This makes a great filler for small inclusions in turnings.

Todd

The easiest way to band is to glue a shiny piece of metal (dealers choice) onto the shank. The size, shape, end treatment, are mostly aesthetics. Just turn down the shank to accept the metal ring. Make sure the ring is chamfered and smooth on the side that is going on the pipe.

andrew

Personally I would have cut down the shank and added a copper or silver spigot or cap. What you can do now is use a pin gauge to mount the shank on the lathe and turn down the shank as needed once you've got a cap made. You can make it from pretty much any material, but I like the polyester faux horn for a quick and easy fix. Actually, most of the polyester faux materials are really handy to have around - horn, ivory, and amber.

--K

I don't know what that is drilled to, but if 5/16, I normally cut radius rings and such, to 13/32. It appears you have plenty of meat there to add an embellishment, be it ivory or other exotic wood. Don't use faux stuff.

If he's not selling it, why not faux? Or really, even if he would sell it?

Or in the words of a famous politician, "What, at this point, does it matter?".

--K

KurtHuhn wrote:If he's not selling it, why not faux? Or really, even if he would sell it?

Or in the words of a famous politician, "What, at this point, does it matter?".

--K

I've always felt, if your going to do something, do it right.
Additionally, it will put a little more pressure, added thought process, into not messing up.........to think it through.
Much of pipe making is finding what is challenging and going for it! That's what differentiates a mediocre pipe from one that is well crafted.
To steal Rod Davies line: "Hope this helps".
BAW

baweaverpipes wrote: I've always felt, if your going to do something, do it right.
Additionally, it will put a little more pressure, added thought process, into not messing up.........to think it through.
Much of pipe making is finding what is challenging and going for it! That's what differentiates a mediocre pipe from one that is well crafted.
To steal Rod Davies line: "Hope this helps".
BAW

Not sure why material makes the difference, or cost of same. Conserve resources and practice with stuff that doesn't cost dearly. Save that for people that will appreciate it and pay for it. And save for when you've gathered experience on less expensive material.

If your only motivation is to not fuck up expensive material, well Bob, that only makes a guy perform hard enough to not get yelled at. (to paraphrase my favorite movie)

The actual drive to excel needs to come from somewhere else.

--K

KurtHuhn wrote:

baweaverpipes wrote: I've always felt, if your going to do something, do it right.
Additionally, it will put a little more pressure, added thought process, into not messing up.........to think it through.
Much of pipe making is finding what is challenging and going for it! That's what differentiates a mediocre pipe from one that is well crafted.
To steal Rod Davies line: "Hope this helps".
BAW

Not sure why material makes the difference, or cost of same. Conserve resources and practice with stuff that doesn't cost dearly. Save that for people that will appreciate it and pay for it. And save for when you've gathered experience on less expensive material.

If your only motivation is to not fuck up expensive material, well Bob, that only makes a guy perform hard enough to not get yelled at. (to paraphrase my favorite movie)

The actual drive to excel needs to come from somewhere else.

--K

Kurt,
It looks like you're arguing with me and not trying to help Bill.
I'd like to share my advice without your passive aggressive replies.
I feel like taking another one year sabbatical.
BAW