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Massis wrote:I'm honestly wondering
A) how hard it was for you to deliberately mess al this up in a way that would be realistic
B) how much it pains you to do this, knowing you can do much better.

A: I must admit, I did waste fifteen minutes of valuable shop time, a premold stem blank, and a less than mediocre block of briar on this.

B: It does not pain me at all. I think the lessons will be well worth it!

Ok, so I am going to turn this turd into a half-decent pipe using the suggested critiques given here. Jeremiah said that I should throw the stem away, so that is done.

I'll put a new stem on it and, as Massis suggested, I won't remove the stem until all the shaping and sanding is done. I will also start to remove material as has been suggested in the graphic that Massis posted and round the top of the bowl with a circle template.

Ok, it's been a long hard week of working on this thing, but I got a new stem put on it, and I think I got it down to where Massis said it should be. Am I ready to sand now? If not, what should I work on next?

Next take some material off the sides of the shank. When you look at the shank face, you want it to be round and cylindrical all the way to the bowl. The top of the bowl looks like it's higher on one side (the right side in the last picture). Bring the higher side down so it's symmetrical. Then refine the shape of the bowl until it's symmetrical all the way around as you turn it.

I didn't know we were going to make a pipe . You have to face the stem and block, is this a kit ?

That's already looking much better!

I think that Jeremiah's leading you in the right direction. Be sure to get the entire pipe as smooth as possible before you start hand sanding. It will make your final shape (and your life) much easier. Try to make the shank the same width as the stem where they meet.

Keep us posted!

sandahlpipe wrote:Next take some material off the sides of the shank. When you look at the shank face, you want it to be round and cylindrical all the way to the bowl. The top of the bowl looks like it's higher on one side (the right side in the last picture). Bring the higher side down so it's symmetrical. Then refine the shape of the bowl until it's symmetrical all the way around as you turn it.

Ok, I think I did all of that.

When I brought the high side of the bowl down, the top wasn't round anymore. That was very frustrating, but I know you guys would just tell me to take my time, work slowly and make it round again.

The shank took countless hours and a lot of work to get round. I would think I was done, but then take a break and come back to look at it again later, and realize that it was still a little square. So I would round it a little more and do that again. It took forever!

I kept getting the feeling that I was taking off too much wood. To me, it feels like I got it too thin. Did I?

pipedreamer wrote:I didn't know we were going to make a pipe . You have to face the stem and block, is this a kit ?

Hmmm... let's say that I have a tenon turning tool, and I figured out how to use it.

The shank face has not been faced off! But at this point, we are fixing this turd, not making a new one, so we should deal with that when the time is right!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WCannoy wrote:When I brought the high side of the bowl down, the top wasn't round anymore. That was very frustrating, but I know you guys would just tell me to take my time, work slowly and make it round again.

The shank took countless hours and a lot of work to get round. I would think I was done, but then take a break and come back to look at it again later, and realize that it was still a little square. So I would round it a little more and do that again. It took forever!

I kept getting the feeling that I was taking off too much wood. To me, it feels like I got it too thin. Did I?

Yep. Shaping a billiard is like whack-a-mole. Whenever you get part of it done right, something else seems to crop up somewhere else. The patience pays off, though. In the end, you'll have a pipe that more than just your momma will be proud of.

So now take off some more around the bowl all the way around. Keep it close to cylindrical, but leave a very subtle curve on the front of the bowl.

A friend made this video that you may find useful when shaping.



As far as the shank face is concerned, it's easiest if you face the shank with a forstner bit at the same angle you drill the mortise with. If you had a lathe, you could put a drill chuck in the headstock and use a pin gauge or a backwards drill bit to carefully face the shank. Otherwise, you'll need to use a piece of glass on a flat surface and some 600 grit sandpaper to make the shank face flat and smooth.

Wow, that video looks pretty helpful! I'll have to watch it tonight then work on it some more tomorrow.

You're probably going to have to scrap it. Took off too much material. There won't be enough room to drill the recesses for the led lights or the notches to install the aerodynamic spoiler.

WCannoy wrote: I kept getting the feeling that I was taking off too much wood. To me, it feels like I got it too thin. Did I?

This is definitely a problem most who are new to making pipes encounter. Even on your latest pictures I think you can still take a lot of meat off. As long as you go slowly and make sure you leave at least a 1/4" - 3/8" around the draft hole in the shank you should be fine. Make sure you don't take the stem off as you shape and turning the stem while shaping will help you achieve a more round shape.

Most importantly, you need "vision". Looks like you're making a billiard. That's great. Having a good pipe as a reference that you hold side by side next to your pipe will show you where material needs to come off. It also wouldn't hurt to look at lots of examples of billiards online. Compare them to your pipe. What are the differences?

Looks like you could also make the stem-shank junction a little tighter--a nice, even radius is what you're aiming for.

stop, back up and get your board stretcher. nails also help at this point. hope that helps

the advice i would give myself thinking back would be to setup a decent shaping wheel, the angle grinder backing with 36 grit works super good, sharper cuts on the edge, find its so much easier to take more material off all my pipes are getting leaner, less turd like. haven't made one too skinny yet

Good one Walt!
If you're starting to make pipes, try and keep up with this one!

WCannoy wrote:

sandahlpipe wrote:Next take some material off the sides of the shank. When you look at the shank face, you want it to be round and cylindrical all the way to the bowl. The top of the bowl looks like it's higher on one side (the right side in the last picture). Bring the higher side down so it's symmetrical. Then refine the shape of the bowl until it's symmetrical all the way around as you turn it.

Ok, I think I did all of that.

When I brought the high side of the bowl down, the top wasn't round anymore. That was very frustrating, but I know you guys would just tell me to take my time, work slowly and make it round again.

The shank took countless hours and a lot of work to get round. I would think I was done, but then take a break and come back to look at it again later, and realize that it was still a little square. So I would round it a little more and do that again. It took forever!

I kept getting the feeling that I was taking off too much wood. To me, it feels like I got it too thin. Did I?

Overall, you're heading in the right direction! The bowl and shank are starting to look nice. When viewed from the top down, I think you did take a little too much off of the shank, but that's ok. From here, you've got a chunk of material around where the shank and the bowl meet naturally, take off as much material as you can while

a) keeping the bottom line of the shank as straight as possible
b) making a nice curve on the bottom of the bowl. A good guide for this is to make the bottom of the bowl look a bit like a golf ball that's been cut in half.

On the stem, sand away the molding flash on the edges, then carefully sand up to 600 grit and buff the stem, making sure to get out all of the scratches from each previous grit as you work your way through them. I'd start with 220, then use 320, 400, and finally 600. It'll help if you sand each higher grit perpendicular to the previous one. Use the same process on the briar. By using this method, it'll be easier to tell which areas you've sanded well. The sanding marks will look sorta like this as you work:

Do all you have been told to do to make your first pipe more acceptable. Once done hang it up in your shop to remind you about your first run at pipe making.

I did that with the first knife I made. The first bone fish hook I carved was purchased from around my neck. I did however practice carving hooks in wood though first. Practice makes perfect as they say. Best of luck and hang in there.

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Yes do hang in there Walt. With hard work and determination you might just become the next Walt Comoy or something.