#26 - Nearly Naked Turnip - Feedback Appreciated

[RickB]

Standard gallery post boilerplate: my self critique is below the pictures - I'll point out the specific things that I know I struggled with to let you guys know where I know I've missed the mark so you don't have to waste time repeating things - I'm deeply appreciative of everyone's time and help. 
So I spend too much time looking at pipes on Instagram. Specifically, I spent too much time looking at gorgeous strawberries and acorns and various other footed-or-spurred pipes by Chris Asteriou, Michail Kyriazanos, and to a lesser extent C. Kent Joyce and Grant Batson, so I got a wild hair up my ass and decided to try one. Since it was me carving it and not someone who knows what they're doing, I dubbed it the turnip because a less glamorous name seemed fitting. I like it on the whole but there are a few areas I know I missed the mark on pretty bad.

















The Good: 
1. I'd said this on my Instagram, but I feel a little like I tried to shoot the moon and even though I didn't score a direct hit, I maybe hit a glancing blow in this case, and I'm pretty happy about that at this point.
2. Feeling a lot more comfortable shaping and putting lines where I want them in all aspects, although I fell a little too in love with my Abralon pads and lost some edge definition and line cleanliness in spots.
3. Crease still isn't great but it's much better than I've done previously and I think I've figured out a way to continue to improve it.
4. Stem is mostly better than previous efforts, lines of the stem definitely better.
5. Probably the nicest pipe I've made so far.
6. First time using Mimmo briar. It's pretty.

The Bad: 
1. The button is a big step back from my last couple. I'm trying a different way of cutting them that's a whole lot faster, but I'm not as good at it yet. I do think it will be better in the long run as my hands learn how to do what I want them to.
2. I probably should have oriented the block the other way. I liked the idea of a live edge on the foot, but the grain would look better the other way I think. Would have especially looked better if I'd learn to shape and then drill.
3. Shape on the bowl leaves a lot to be desired, I think more plumpness lower down the front line would have looked better.
4. Lines got a little wobbly, especially on the shank (see my "too much love for Abralon" above)
5. Crease still isn't great.

The Ugly (AKA things I think I need the most specific help with): 
1. Really screwed the pooch on the tenon- not sure if the ebonite flexed because I'd already tried cutting the saddle in some on the lathe or what, but the airway went in a little off center on the stem. The countersink is rough. And I can't figure out how the hell to polish the tenon and stem face and still keep a good fit for the life of me.
2. Slot is ghastly. I'm not entirely sure what happened but I bet I could fix that problem by slowing the fuck on down a little.

I know I messed up more than that, but my old ass is tired and I can't remember what else I was unhappy about at the moment. Plus side, this is the first thing I've posted on Instagram that people tried to buy, so that's something. Anyway, thanks as always y'all.

[DocAitch]

Rick,
This is quite attractive and I really like the name.
I would point out that the rear of the bowl is quite flat and I suspect that this was pretty close to a saw cur. I point this out because it always catches my eye when there is an unintended flat spot which either reflects the original shape of the block or a saw cut in this case.
Polishing the tenon and shank face can be difficult, but less is required with good sharp lathe tools and technique.That takes some time to learn.
DocAitch

[Ocelot55]

Rick,

I don't comment on pipes too much these days unless I see something interesting. This is interesting.... in a very good way. Please humor me as I throw in my two cents.

First the good. The overall design is a good one. It seems to me you have a grasp of proportion. That is a very important trait in a pipemaker, and one that is very hard to learn.

On to areas of improvement. Every line needs refinement. You've got the concept down. From across the room it'll look like a thousand dollar pipe, but up close very few of the lines travel along the ideal path. For example, when viewing the top of the pipe, your shank lines are a combination of slight convex and concave curves instead of one continuous concave curve from the bowl to the end of the saddle on the stem. The bowl itself isn't perfectly round (it doesn't necessarily need to be) nor is it a nice smooth ellipse. It almost appear to have flat spots especially on the back side of the bowl. Each line on a pipe must be intentional. Symmetry can also be improved, and while I've yet to see any pipe that is perfectly symmetrical, the goal is to get as close as possible without shooting yourself or somebody else, or to produce enough to make a "decent" living as a pipe maker.

Overall it seems like you're primary struggle is with getting the material to do what you want it to do. This can only be solved with practice, and the dumber and less talented you are (like me for example ) the more practice you need. I'd wager that the best way for you to improve is to spend some time in another maker's shop. We've all picked up tips and tricks about manipulating briar and ebonite, tricks that are difficult to communicate on a forum.

For now, make more but slow down the shaping. Take breaks. Look at the pipe under different lighting. Look at the pipe from every angle. Speed will come as you get more practice. Right now it's important to go slow and do things right.

I hope my vague, abstract comments will help.

[LatakiaLover]

IAWO55

.

[Massis]

my tip for polishing the tenon & face: after cutting it on the lathe, heat a little bit of tripoli and rub it on a paper towel. Hold that against the spinning surface. Finish with a clean paper towel piece to clean it up.

Here's me doing precisely that:
https://youtu.be/tSFS2t6Oj68?t=3m4s

[sandahlpipe]

Jesse and George are correct on the shaping. It's close enough to where the little things are starting to matter, and that's great progress.

The one additional thing I would suggest is moving the shank lines to be a bit closer to perpendicular to each other rather than having it pinch near the bowl. A more subtle taper would balance the overall appearance of the pipe. It's not inherently wrong, just worth thinking about.

Overall, though, you did very nice work!

[RickB]

Rick,
This is quite attractive and I really like the name.
I would point out that the rear of the bowl is quite flat and I suspect that this was pretty close to a saw cur. I point this out because it always catches my eye when there is an unintended flat spot which either reflects the original shape of the block or a saw cut in this case.
Polishing the tenon and shank face can be difficult, but less is required with good sharp lathe tools and technique.That takes some time to learn.
DocAitch

Thank you Doc. It's either the original saw cut, or it was me trying to fit a sanding wheel into the place I'd tried to undercut in with a file and making a flat spot in the process.
I've been bypassing trying to get a super clean stem face by using 1-2mm plate ebonite as the last piece over the faux ivory on this set - and it has a surprisingly nice finish on one side. However, I did re-grind my lathe tools since then, so I'm hoping that helps me learn to do it the right way.

[RickB]

Rick,

I don't comment on pipes too much these days unless I see something interesting. This is interesting.... in a very good way. Please humor me as I throw in my two cents.

First the good. The overall design is a good one. It seems to me you have a grasp of proportion. That is a very important trait in a pipemaker, and one that is very hard to learn.

On to areas of improvement. Every line needs refinement. You've got the concept down. From across the room it'll look like a thousand dollar pipe, but up close very few of the lines travel along the ideal path. For example, when viewing the top of the pipe, your shank lines are a combination of slight convex and concave curves instead of one continuous concave curve from the bowl to the end of the saddle on the stem. The bowl itself isn't perfectly round (it doesn't necessarily need to be) nor is it a nice smooth ellipse. It almost appear to have flat spots especially on the back side of the bowl. Each line on a pipe must be intentional. Symmetry can also be improved, and while I've yet to see any pipe that is perfectly symmetrical, the goal is to get as close as possible without shooting yourself or somebody else, or to produce enough to make a "decent" living as a pipe maker.

Overall it seems like you're primary struggle is with getting the material to do what you want it to do. This can only be solved with practice, and the dumber and less talented you are (like me for example ) the more practice you need. I'd wager that the best way for you to improve is to spend some time in another maker's shop. We've all picked up tips and tricks about manipulating briar and ebonite, tricks that are difficult to communicate on a forum.

For now, make more but slow down the shaping. Take breaks. Look at the pipe under different lighting. Look at the pipe from every angle. Speed will come as you get more practice. Right now it's important to go slow and do things right.

I hope my vague, abstract comments will help.

Jesse, that helps a ton, and honestly means so much to me. That concave>convex transition on the shank/saddle was specifically where I got a little too enthusiastic with the Abralon (it leaves such a nice finish) - what kills me is that the plan had been more like George's lines, but as he (and others) have said, the problem with a craft that involves removing material only is that once you have a whoopsie, you can't put it back on
Truly though, I sincerely appreciate your advice. I had the good fortune to take a class with David Huber last fall (his shop is about a mile from my office), and I may need to see about doing some more of that.

[RickB]

IAWO55
.

Thank you George. Seeing where those lines should have been helps a ton (as I'd thought that front line needed less off the bottom, but it looks like it needed more), and I think I definitely got a little chickenshit around the back of the bowl. As I'd mentioned above, I managed to torch off the flaring concave lines on the shank on the sander and just decided to run with it at that point. Almost reminds me of what my dad always said (and I've had the misfortune of verifying) about motorcycle accidents: you wouldn't believe how fast they happen.

[RickB]

my tip for polishing the tenon & face: after cutting it on the lathe, heat a little bit of tripoli and rub it on a paper towel. Hold that against the spinning surface. Finish with a clean paper towel piece to clean it up.

Here's me doing precisely that:
https://youtu.be/tSFS2t6Oj68?t=3m4s

I will 100% try this. Thank you so much!

[RickB]

Jesse and George are correct on the shaping. It's close enough to where the little things are starting to matter, and that's great progress.

The one additional thing I would suggest is moving the shank lines to be a bit closer to perpendicular to each other rather than having it pinch near the bowl. A more subtle taper would balance the overall appearance of the pipe. It's not inherently wrong, just worth thinking about.

Overall, though, you did very nice work!

Thank you Jeremiah - as much as I know I still know I have to improve, I do like how far I've come in the past ~10 months.
You've mentioned that before about the shank lines and I keep meaning to try it, I'll have to remember to give it a shot.