Dagnabbit

[timberwolfer21]

Sanding my first hand cut stem

sanded thru the bit...


Have since found a thread that mentioned using a thin strip of tape to show where the draft hole is from the side of the stem.


Bob
Midland, MI

[sandahlpipe]

Ouch! At least you're not the only one here who has sanded through the airway.

[pipedreamer]

Goes hand in hand in the beginning. I like the shape of the stem. My first ones were total disasters!!!

[kamkiel]

Hate it when that happens

[wdteipen]

It was too long anyway. Handcut stems takes some practice. Keep at it.

[DocAitch]

I did exactly the same thing on my first hand cut. LL uses tape or a 1/16 th plastic rod inserted in the airway.
I now insert a 1/16" steel rod when I check the side.
Kurt Huhn did a photo essay in the stickies above, check it out.http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/
Also check out a thread posted by George Dibos (Latakia Lover) viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8600 on shaping and finishing the button area.
It looks like you were going to run into a problem with your button. There a couple of other videos on shaping stems on Youtube by J Alan. There is also a nice photo of a stem in progress by Scotties22 on a recent post in this section.
DocAitch

[caskwith]

It happens, the more stems you make though the less often it happens.

[timberwolfer21]

I did exactly the same thing on my first hand cut. LL uses tape or a 1/16 th plastic rod inserted in the airway.
I now insert a 1/16" steel rod when I check the side.
Kurt Huhn did a photo essay in the stickies above, check it out.http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/
Also check out a thread posted by George Dibos (Latakia Lover) viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8600 on shaping and finishing the button area.
It looks like you were going to run into a problem with your button. There a couple of other videos on shaping stems on Youtube by J Alan. There is also a nice photo of a stem in progress by Scottie22 on a recent post in this section.
DocAitch

Thank you for the links. Very good stuff there.

I left the button long intentionally to trim back to 3.5mm when it was time to slot it.

[timberwolfer21]

It was too long anyway. Handcut stems takes some practice. Keep at it.

Thanks Wayne. How much shorter? Struggling a bit with proportions.

[DocAitch]

I did exactly the same thing on my first hand cut. LL uses tape or a 1/16 th plastic rod inserted in the airway.
I now insert a 1/16" steel rod when I check the side.
Kurt Huhn did a photo essay in the stickies above, check it out.http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/
Also check out a thread posted by George Dibos (Latakia Lover) viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8600 on shaping and finishing the button area.
It looks like you were going to run into a problem with your button. There a couple of other videos on shaping stems on Youtube by J Alan. There is also a nice photo of a stem in progress by Scottie22 on a recent post in this section.
DocAitch

Thank you for the links. Very good stuff there.

I left the button long intentionally to trim back to 3.5mm when it was time to slot it.

I think that it will work better if you slot it first. The slot will help you to maintain your orientation for the rest of the shaping and there is less likelihood of cracking the button while working on this area.
DocAitch

[sandahlpipe]

Yeah. Cut the slot first, then use the slot to orient your tape on the sides.

[timberwolfer21]

I did exactly the same thing on my first hand cut. LL uses tape or a 1/16 th plastic rod inserted in the airway.
I now insert a 1/16" steel rod when I check the side.
Kurt Huhn did a photo essay in the stickies above, check it out.http://www.pipemakersforum.com/photo_es ... cut_stems/
Also check out a thread posted by George Dibos (Latakia Lover) viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8600 on shaping and finishing the button area.
It looks like you were going to run into a problem with your button. There a couple of other videos on shaping stems on Youtube by J Alan. There is also a nice photo of a stem in progress by Scottie22 on a recent post in this section.
DocAitch

Thank you for the links. Very good stuff there.

I left the button long intentionally to trim back to 3.5mm when it was time to slot it.

I think that it will work better if you slot it first. The slot will help you to maintain your orientation for the rest of the shaping and there is less likelihood of cracking the button while working on this area.
DocAitch

Thank you DocAitch! Will do. That makes a lot of sense.

[timberwolfer21]

Yeah. Cut the slot first, then use the slot to orient your tape on the sides.

Thank you. It's a learning experience and I'm just getting started. Nothing made me more nauseous than hoping that line was a sandpaper scratch and not the draft hole emerging to the light of day.

[wdteipen]

It was too long anyway. Handcut stems takes some practice. Keep at it.

Thanks Wayne. How much shorter? Struggling a bit with proportions.

I would say about twice the depth of the roughed button in the photo.

[wdteipen]

Bear in mind that that advice is coming from a guy that tends to make his stems too long.