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I was contacted by an individual who wants some pipes finished. I'm not sure what to make of it.
Here is the email;
"Hello, I recently bought 12 unfinished pipes from ebay, they all need to have draft hole drilled, stained and waxed. I was wondering if I could send them to you for this and how much it would cost? Thanks for your time."

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Rob

Sounds like the "pipes" are briar blocks.

This is what sucks about the internet, e-mail, etc. A five minute phone call would make it perfectly clear what he wants and if you want to do it.

When he hears what it costs he'll probably back out anyway.

Ask more questions and have him send you pictures of the project.

Doesn't hurt to ask for a picture, sounds like it will be a lot of work though, no draft hole would indicate no mortice and likely no stem either.

There was a German ebay seller with the name frory, I think he was selling old briar and vulcanite stems, and stummels like this in lots of 12 I think most of them were paneled

Update...
I asked for images, and I got this...


I'm curious why the draft holes weren't drilled.

And question... How does one go about drilling the draft hole, and getting that to line up at the sweet spot of the chamber this far into the game? I always drill my drafts before the chamber, and when I'm close I check every 1/10th of an inch or so.

Some people would just do it freehand without lines. I would draw lines on the side of the stummel to line up with the bottom of the chamber. Draw them all the way around, then use a nail on your tail stock to guide the stummel onto the drill bit in your chuck. If you're careful with your lines, you should be able to get it right every time. Most people would probably use a scrap of briar with some glue to keep the stummel from dents with the nail.



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Drilling the draft hole would be fairly straight forward using the freehand method. Would like to know what all the black gunk is though? Filler maybe?

Perhaps filler.

However, I haven't learned the free hand method yet, and I would rather be taught than try to figure that one out on my own.

RobEsArt wrote:Perhaps filler.

However, I haven't learned the free hand method yet, and I would rather be taught than try to figure that one out on my own.

It's not as hard as it seems. There's a great picture tutorial on pipedia that shows each step. I do almost all my drilling first, but have dabbled in the freehand drilling style with reasonable success. You won't even need a spoon bit for this operation.


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I haven't tried free hand drilling and I would be worried about messing them up but I'm sure you could make a practice pipe and see how it goes. Besides the filler, the pipes almost look like they were blasted. I guess the other question would be do you put your stamp on them when they are done or not. Personally, I would not because I did not make then from the start, but others may have different perspectives. I guess the best way to look at it is, do you want to fix and finish someone else's pipes or make your own based on the briar you like to use, stem material, etc. just my 2 cents

caskwith wrote:Drilling the draft hole would be fairly straight forward using the freehand method. Would like to know what all the black gunk is though? Filler maybe?

If you look at the two on the right, Filler yes!
It could be so soft it needs to be removed and replaced or so hard it will need to be carefully rusticated to match the blast, and then make a stain that will match the fill.
I wouldn’t want to agree to anything until I saw them.

I would just shy away from those.

Rad

Yup. Just run.

That's some kind of filler slopped on there, who the hell knows what those will finish like.

I was kinda leaning towards what Rad said. If it was easy peasy, I may consider it. However, with all the unknown variables, I think Imma leave it alone.

Anyone else want to attempt 'em?

RadDavis wrote:I would just shy away from those.

Rad

Sasquatch wrote:Yup. Just run.

That's some kind of filler slopped on there, who the hell knows what those will finish like.

Ditto

There's also a video on youtube where Mr. Gracick demos free-hand drilling.

Hmm! Seen those before!
Factory turned stummels, with bowl drilled and mortise drilled. Airway is no biggie, can be done easily enough. The black is a filler.
Personally, I'd stay away. I'm a pipemaker, not a repairman.
Btw, most walls will be too thin.

I recognise those pipes, they are from the Heibi factory that closed down maybe ten years ago.

The briar is the cheapest crap you will ever come across, so expect to hit flaws if you drill them. A lot of the stummels are drilled for meeschaum inserts and have very thin walls.

These pipes were often painted rather than stained to cover all the flaws.

David.

If this guy gave you permission to do what you thought was best, with the understanding briar may crack and fills need to be done properly, then maybe after you see them. These were on E=Bay not too long ago. Tell him there are no guarantees in the process. If he agrees O.K. if not run like hell. Tell him it will cost him. He is looking for a deal. We don't give no stink in deals.