Mr. Johnson...

[ArtGuy]

Would you be willing to talk a bit about how the shank adornment on this pipe is attached? I realize it is glued, but is there a briar plug inserted that a ring of exotic wood is then slipped over?

[ToddJohnson]

Would you be willing to talk a bit about how the shank adornment on this pipe is attached? I realize it is glued, but is there a briar plug inserted that a ring of exotic wood is then slipped over?

That's basically it except that there is no "plug." The shank is turned down into something of a short tenon. The ring is then drilled out to fit over this short "tenon." The ring is only epoxied in place after the pipe is complete and polished. During the entire shaping, sanding, staining process a "dummy" shank extension is in place. This makes sure that crisp sharp edges are maintained and no rounding over occurs. Does that answer it?

Todd

[bscofield]

Would you be willing to talk a bit about how the shank adornment on this pipe is attached? I realize it is glued, but is there a briar plug inserted that a ring of exotic wood is then slipped over?

That's basically it except that there is no "plug." The shank is turned down into something of a short tenon. The ring is then drilled out to fit over this short "tenon." The ring is only epoxied in place after the pipe is complete and polished. During the entire shaping, sanding, staining process a "dummy" shank extension is in place. This makes sure that crisp sharp edges are maintained and no rounding over occurs. Does that answer it?

Todd

What's "rounding over?"

[ArtGuy]

That does it. Thank you very much.

[Nick]

Darn! And here I thought you were looking for me.

HMMPPH!

[LexKY_Pipe]

A unique shape and flare. Quite a nice piece of work.

[ToddJohnson]

Is that a "ballerina" shape?

No, not really. What it is I'm not sure. I call it an Oragami due to all the intricacies. A "Ballerina" is a particular shape Bo Nordh has done in the past. It sits on a small foot and the top is rounded forward. There is essentially no line to demarcate the rear of the bowl. Anyway, labels get thrown around, so who knows what is what? I'm not sure that firm definitions of pipe shapes are even useful, but I would say that, in this case, the pipe falls somewhere outside the bounds of ballerinadom.

Anyway, it's a darn pretty piece of work sir.

Thanks.

Todd

[NvilleDave]

Todd,
Would you mind sharing an approximation of how many man-hours went into this piece? I'm putting alot of hours into my pipes and they're nowhere close to this--you're truely gifted.

While I was admiring "The Achilles" on your site, I noticed a shaped/undrilled stummel in the picture with it. How do you drill a stummel that's preshaped? What type of vise or chuck? Is that a standard practice of yours? I ask because tonight I was working on a stummel that I wished I would have drilled the mortise slightly deeper but I couldn't come up with a way to hold it effectively in my lathe or drill press.

Thanks for any help.

Dave

[ToddJohnson]

Todd,
Would you mind sharing an approximation of how many man-hours went into this piece? I'm putting alot of hours into my pipes and they're nowhere close to this--you're truely gifted.

While I was admiring "The Achilles" on your site, I noticed a shaped/undrilled stummel in the picture with it. How do you drill a stummel that's preshaped? What type of vise or chuck? Is that a standard practice of yours? I ask because tonight I was working on a stummel that I wished I would have drilled the mortise slightly deeper but I couldn't come up with a way to hold it effectively in my lathe or drill press.

Thanks for any help.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I spend between 10 and 20 hours on a pipe (the latter being for an extremely difficult piece). Basically, I can complete something relatively simple (i.e. a smooth or blasted pipe with a flush fitting stem) in a day or so. I drill all of my pipes by hand on the lathe. After the stummell is shaped, it's marked with a bi-lateral center line, and then the holes are laid out with lines around the pipe. At the intersection I place a dot of 2 part epoxy and let it set up. I put a sharpened point into the tailstock of my lathe and slide the pipe onto a spinning bit. As long as the pin in the tailstock stays put and the drill bit goes in where it should you end up with perfect alignment every time. This is something that takes some practice and a considerably different set of tooling however. I bet if you bugged Tyler enough, he would post a little photo-essay I did a year or so ago. Hope that helps.

Todd

[NvilleDave]

Hi Dave,

I spend between 10 and 20 hours on a pipe (the latter being for an extremely difficult piece). Basically, I can complete something relatively simple (i.e. a smooth or blasted pipe with a flush fitting stem) in a day or so. I drill all of my pipes by hand on the lathe. After the stummell is shaped, it's marked with a bi-lateral center line, and then the holes are laid out with lines around the pipe. At the intersection I place a dot of 2 part epoxy and let it set up. I put a sharpened point into the tailstock of my lathe and slide the pipe onto a spinning bit. As long as the pin in the tailstock stays put and the drill bit goes in where it should you end up with perfect alignment every time. This is something that takes some practice and a considerably different set of tooling however. I bet if you bugged Tyler enough, he would post a little photo-essay I did a year or so ago. Hope that helps.

Todd

Thank you Todd because that does help and now I understand the purpose of the dabs of epoxy in the picture of the stummel.

The bi-lateral center lines look (and obviously are) very accurate--almost like a waterline--what layout tools do you use to mark a stummel (with it's varying shapes) so accurately?

Tyler is there any chance you could post the photo-essay that Todd is talking about?

Thanks,
Dave

[ToddJohnson]

Hi Dave,

I spend between 10 and 20 hours on a pipe (the latter being for an extremely difficult piece). Basically, I can complete something relatively simple (i.e. a smooth or blasted pipe with a flush fitting stem) in a day or so. I drill all of my pipes by hand on the lathe. After the stummell is shaped, it's marked with a bi-lateral center line, and then the holes are laid out with lines around the pipe. At the intersection I place a dot of 2 part epoxy and let it set up. I put a sharpened point into the tailstock of my lathe and slide the pipe onto a spinning bit. As long as the pin in the tailstock stays put and the drill bit goes in where it should you end up with perfect alignment every time. This is something that takes some practice and a considerably different set of tooling however. I bet if you bugged Tyler enough, he would post a little photo-essay I did a year or so ago. Hope that helps.

Todd

Thank you Todd because that does help and now I understand the purpose of the dabs of epoxy in the picture of the stummel.

The bi-lateral center lines look (and obviously are) very accurate--almost like a waterline--what layout tools do you use to mark a stummel (with it's varying shapes) so accurately?

Tyler is there any chance you could post the photo-essay that Todd is talking about?

Thanks,
Dave

Hi Dave,

I actually don't use any layout tools other than a pencil. You would be surprised how accurate you become with practice. It can sometimes be difficult when you have a shank curving two different ways and a bowl twisting the other direction. Eventually I manage to get them all drilled though.

Todd

[bluesmk]

Since I cant figure out how to post pics on the forums, I posted a new piece that has to do with shank treatments we're discussing, I'll put a few more of the stem, when I figure out why, the gallery is telling me I'm using too much space. Thanks for looking.
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes

[NvilleDave]

Todd,
Thanks for the information and patients with my endless questions. I can barely get the outsides of my pipes polished so I can't help but wonder HOW do you polish the tenon so well without making the shoulder out of square? The inside of your mortise even looks polished!? I'm no dolt with tools and I'm somewhat skilled with my hands but I have no clue (least of all the skill) regarding how you've so flawlessly polished all those surfaces and yet they still fit together perfectly...

Great googly this is frustrating... I've not sold one pipe but I have already sunk a small fortune in lathe, drill press, bandsaw, dust collection, sanders, assorted tools, briar from peter matzhold, pimo, tinsky and mimmo, vulcanite from Eltang and Tyler---for the love of everything good in this world am I the only one suffering this agony?!? Good lord I'm pathetic...

[sagiter]

Great googly this is frustrating...

Perhaps you're just not drinking enough Scotch.

Neil

[RadDavis]

Yeah..... Scotch!! *That's* the ticket!

Rad

[ToddJohnson]

Todd,
Thanks for the information and patients with my endless questions. I can barely get the outsides of my pipes polished so I can't help but wonder HOW do you polish the tenon so well without making the shoulder out of square? The inside of your mortise even looks polished!? I'm no dolt with tools and I'm somewhat skilled with my hands but I have no clue (least of all the skill) regarding how you've so flawlessly polished all those surfaces and yet they still fit together perfectly...

Hi Dave,

Yes the mortise and tenon are polished. The short answer is practice. Eventually you will get the hang of it. To polish the tenon I simply cut it to within a thousandth of it's correct diameter then hit it with some 600 grit paper. Before I cut the shoulders down to the right diameter I also sand the shoulders (i.e. the face of the underside of the stem). Starting at the tenon, move the sandpaper out to the perimeter, trying to round over the edge as little as possible. After this I take a small piece of brown tripoli and, while the stem is spinning in the chuck, hold it against the tenon and the stem face. Then, I take a soft cloth (folder over several times) and "buff" everything with the tripoli. I then repeat this step with a healthy amount of wax. At this point I twist the stem clockwise into the mortise and give it one complete turn once it's bottomed out. This simultaneously polishes and waxes the mortise. Having done this, I then cut the stem down to its proper diameter removing any roundover on the edges in the process. When the stem comes out of the chuck everything has been polished and waxed.

Great googly this is frustrating... I've not sold one pipe but I have already sunk a small fortune in lathe, drill press, bandsaw, dust collection, sanders, assorted tools, briar from peter matzhold, pimo, tinsky and mimmo, vulcanite from Eltang and Tyler---for the love of everything good in this world am I the only one suffering this agony?!? Good lord I'm pathetic...

You'll get the hang of it. It sounds like you've procured quality tools and materials--that will, if nothing else, cut out certain frustrations and limitations. Just keep plugging away at it and picking up what you can from others. If you want to recoop some of that small fortune though, I've never tried any of Peter's briar

Happy piping,

Todd

[yellowking]

At the intersection I place a dot of 2 part epoxy and let it set up. I put a sharpened point into the tailstock of my lathe and slide the pipe onto a spinning bit. As long as the pin in the tailstock stays put and the drill bit goes in where it should you end up with perfect alignment every time. This is something that takes some practice and a considerably different set of tooling however.

Let me make sure I understand you-- the epoxy is on the back, where the "pin" in the tailstock hits it. You use this to push the stummel forward onto the drill bit, chucked in the headstock. Interesting. Are you using spoon bits?

[Nick]

Very cool stuff Todd. Thanks for going into so much detail.

[NvilleDave]

I've never tried any of Peter's briar

Happy piping,

Todd

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