I've overworked this kit pipe and things are all out of whack. I'm trying to figure out a way to save it or make it more of a learning experience. I didn't like the stem, so basically tore it up...but lost all my cues for appropriate alignment.
I started to make a pencil shank...but got carried away.
I thought about spinning the stem 180 degrees and trying to make the rest of the shank as thin... hopefully align better.
Any suggestions, help, criticisms are much appreciated. Thanks in advance. Tom
"I have some friends, some honest friends, and honest friends are few; My pipe of briar, my open fire, A book that's not too new." ~ Robert W. Service
I don't see much you can do to straighten things out here. I mean, you could keep filing on the shank to get the lines better, but then all you're doing is taking everything down way too far.
Really, the pipe is done, it is what it is, and there's not enough meat left on the bone to change it much.
Others may have other opinions. I say you smoke this as it is, or throw it in a box somewhere. The lesson to learn isn't how to fix this one, but how to not do the same to the next one.
if you're super determined to try to correct it, cut the shank off an inch or so down.
(I'm assuming you don't have a lathe). Jam a drill bit into the airway and then chuck the other end of the bit in a drill press. Keeping things all together, put the stummel in a vice so everything is lined up. Remove the bit. Reface the newly cut shank.
If you're me, at this point you would post a pick of your ugly ass pipe and move on to the next one.
calsbeek wrote:if you're super determined to try to correct it, cut the shank off an inch or so down.
(I'm assuming you don't have a lathe). Jam a drill bit into the airway and then chuck the other end of the bit in a drill press. Keeping things all together, put the stummel in a vice so everything is lined up. Remove the bit. Reface the newly cut shank.
If you're me, at this point you would post a pick of your ugly ass pipe and move on to the next one.
This may be a good opportunity to learn how to use a file to keep a straight shank. You just need to turn a flat file diagonally and cut the entire length of the shank and stem. If you can clamp the pipe in a vice using a dowel rod or adjustable reamer, it will make it easier.
I just had something akin to a religious conversion having recently acquired a set of Steve (smokingdawg)'s aluminum jaws. Mind-blowingly good. Get yourself a set of those you'll wonder where they've been all your life.
Ryan Richardson
R2 Pipes/Ryan's Luxury Goods
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"You can't convince a stupid person that what he's doing is stupid, because the stupidness inside him is telling him that it's smart"
I would , as you suggest, turn the stem 180degrees and carefully reduce the stem and shank by hand. Premal's method with the file is the general direction I would go, although my first impulse would be to use a mechanical sander. Depends on how careful you are.
I personally would also reduce the thickness of the front of the bowl., I'm a bit of a symmetry freak.
Remember that anything you do which takes you n the right direction is going to add to your skills for the next one. You will definitely remember to mark your lines the next time.
If you throw it in a box it will not contribute anything to your growth, just take up space. If you manage to save it, you will be rewarded. Even if you don't save it, you will learn something.
I have a couple of pipes that are eggshell thin in the shank area and that I know will shatter when dropped, but each is its own reward each time I smoke itDocAitch
"Hettinger, if you stamp 'hand made' on a dog turd, some one will buy it."
-Charles Hollyday, pipe maker, reluctant mentor, and curmudgeon
" Never show an idiot an unfinished pipe!"- same guy
