Another Billiard

[Brian M]

Hey guys. Me again. Would appreciate your feedback on this one

Weight: 1.39 Oz
Length: 5 1/8"
Bowl Diameter: 3/4"
Bowl Depth: 1 7/16"

Fiebings Black dye wasnt quite 100% black so the pipe has a very slight blue color under bright light

The tenon is kinda rough because i didnt leave enough extra material to smooth it out, So i figured it would be better to just leave it rough than possibly make it too short

Draft hole comes into the bowl about 2mm right of center. I think its because the block wasnt perfectly square when i drilled it out on the lathe

Also after looking at the pics i took, im gonna try to smooth out the slot a little bit

Thanks in advance!

[pipeguy]

It looks like you have a rather large pot shape going on there Next time taper the top 1/3 down and give it a 2 deg.
cant good attempt

[DocAitch]

You have rounded off the stem at the shank face. This comes from working them separately. Keep them together and work them as a unit. Rotate the stem 90 and 180 degrees periodically to maintain the roundness of the shank. The bottom and top view show the bowl to taper back to the shank. The bowl should be circular except for a small radius at the transition to the shank.
Not too bad for an early billiard.
DocAitch

[Brian M]

It looks like you have a rather large pot shape going on there Next time taper the top 1/3 down and give it a 2 deg.
cant good attempt

Will try to taper down the top of the next one - not exactly sure what you mean by giving it a 2 deg though

You have rounded off the stem at the shank face. This comes from working them separately. Keep them together and work them as a unit. Rotate the stem 90 and 180 degrees periodically to maintain the roundness of the shank. The bottom and top view show the bowl to taper back to the shank. The bowl should be circular except for a small radius at the transition to the shank.
Not too bad for an early billiard.
DocAitch

Ive been worried about keeping them together for the wet sanding, because i thought that the wood and acrylic would abrade at different rates, and then the wood would shrink slightly when it dries too. a valid concern or no? Ive tried dry sanding with the higher grits but the sandpaper seems to load really quickly - although that could be because i'm using low quality sandpaper(from harbor freight). Thankfully i have a big order of Klingspor sandpapers from woodworkingshop on the way though

Will definately try to get the bowl more circular around the shank next time

Thanks for the advice guys!!

[DocAitch]

It is a valid concern that the wood will swell and then shrink, leaving the stem a few thousands proud.
There are several solutions. 1) don't wet sand- as Sasquatch says , sandpaper is cheap, change it more often 2) use a fine file to bring the stem down after the wood dries, resand 3) leave it alone after sanding. It will look better than the rounded off stem.
DocAitch

[RickB]

It looks like you have a rather large pot shape going on there Next time taper the top 1/3 down and give it a 2 deg.
cant good attempt

Will try to taper down the top of the next one - not exactly sure what you mean by giving it a 2 deg though

Are the chamber/airway drilled at 90 degrees, or slightly greater? For a billiard to look right, you want to open up that angle to something like 92-95 degrees (which you may have done, hard to tell), but then the rim needs to be perpendicular to the walls of the chamber - end result is a slight forward cant so that the front edge dips lower than the back of the bowl.

Maybe slightly exaggerated:


Only other things not mentioned are that I think a pass of cordovan or mahogany overstain would be more aesthetically pleasing (and this is getting into personal taste category so grain of salt), and the stem is proportionally a bit too long (should be equal length to the stummel). My $0.02.

[Brian M]

It is a valid concern that the wood will swell and then shrink, leaving the stem a few thousands proud.
There are several solutions. 1) don't wet sand- as Sasquatch says , sandpaper is cheap, change it more often 2) use a fine file to bring the stem down after the wood dries, resand 3) leave it alone after sanding. It will look better than the rounded off stem.
DocAitch

Gotcha - i'll give dry sanding another shot

Are the chamber/airway drilled at 90 degrees, or slightly greater? For a billiard to look right, you want to open up that angle to something like 92-95 degrees (which you may have done, hard to tell), but then the rim needs to be perpendicular to the walls of the chamber - end result is a slight forward cant so that the front edge dips lower than the back of the bowl.

Maybe slightly exaggerated:


Only other things not mentioned are that I think a pass of cordovan or mahogany overstain would be more aesthetically pleasing (and this is getting into personal taste category so grain of salt), and the stem is proportionally a bit too long (should be equal length to the stummel). My $0.02.

I drilled at 90 degrees - I wasnt aware of that. good to know for the next one

I actually did try to add a yellow top stain - but it was a water based aniline type dye and just wouldnt stick. Ive thought about using an oil based dye for top coats but dont really know what brands/colors are good for pipes

[DocAitch]

I will also add that while wet sanding goes faster, it hides those scratches that wii show up at the polishing stage, while with dry sanding (and good light) you can see those sneaky marks most of the time. While sanding with 400 and higher grits, I find it to be helpful to unload the paper by wiping it on my jeans before it varnishes, similar to carding your files.
While this makes the paper a bit more efficient and last somewhat longer, my wife, for some reason, doesn't appreciate the practice.
DocAitch