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I did a little research. Thought I'd share my math and thinking here 6 gauge surgical steel tubing is about as big as is made in the medical industry ... which is .203" ... and I'm pretty sure it's made that size not because it's an even number in any other measuring unit, but because it's the ...

That does sound quite a bit easier.

I have been drilling with a vise and electric hand drill and yeah, it's not exactly working out as I'd hoped. Maybe I can find a good used drill press

Forstner bits and delrin rods for the win, thank you, I understand now.

No drill press, but I've thought of it. Now if I'm not mistaken, you're talking about buying delrin rods and forming your own stems from scratch? And a Forstner bit, it doesn't drill cores, how would you use that to form a tenon? I'm buying my stems from Pipe Maker's Emporium and sizing them to fit....

I've tried use a flat dremel sander slowly in order to get the correct shape, I've tried wrapping sandpaper around the tenon and twisting, and now I've moved onto a metal file to slowly whittle it down to size. I have no lathe, I wish. But anyhow I got the idea to use an appropriately sized core dri...

I've got a dual bench grinder with all the protective plates that I intend to see if I can dismantle and put a buffing and sanding wheel on.

Yep, the 2.5 pound block, right?

I didn't get that result. I applied it with a Dremel

It seemed to put a pretty good polish on it and it didn't get stuck in any of the surface imperfections.

I bought it because it was cheaper, pound for pound.

But you're right Uberhuberman, I'll follow the tried and true methods.

throw away your blue tripoli 'cause you'll never use it again on a pipe

I was hoping an explanation would come along with this part.

Why would a pipe crafting supply website sell it then?

So anyhow, I just put the finish on my first actually halfway decent briar pipe. I'm going to put a churchwarden stem on it soon, but that's a subject for another thread. http://i.imgur.com/OEZcCXk.jpg It's not a perfect shiny finish. There are scratches that aren't visible in the pic. I think it lo...

I just got a block of 1200 grit blue Tripoli, and now I want to make sure I use it correctly

Should it be applied wet or dry, is a buffing wheel required or can a piece of cloth be used?

The way I see it, even if you weren't going for a poker or pot shape, turning the block on a lathe makes the symmetry a lot easier.

Someone on Craigslist is selling a 12 inch Craftsman lathe complete with spurs, drill chuck, chisels ... for $100, I'm so tempted.

Ahh you know that's good advice. The angle is too sharp for the bottom of the chamber, also, right? I drove all over town today trying to find a good chamber bit. I ended up using a regular spade bit, and then finished out the bottom of the chamber with a standard drill bit. That worked out alright....

Does anyone have experience with countersink bits for chamber drilling?

you have a pretty good ability to control where your hole is if you drill your mortise first - you can see exactly what you are doing that was how I was thinking about it. the mortise will tend to follow the airway hole, and that's bad Do I understand you right, that the mortise (and likewise, the ...

I'm thinking that it's better to drill the draft hole BEFORE the mortise, is there an argument either way for this?

It's cold for California about now too.

Thanks for the tips about bur bits.

I've consulted the wiki, and it looks like chamber and even mortise and draft hole drilling call for specialized drill bits. If I had my choice I'd probably go with Forstner bits for the mortise and bur bits for the chamber. But right now I don't have my choice, will have to purchase those bits late...

Informative, thank you. nice rig, too. for now I have to make due with considerably less.

I actually just plucked it from a Google Image search for an example.

My block and stem will get here from Tim West tomorrow, looking forward to this. Not sure if the block will make a good horn shape or not but, we'll see.