pipemakersforum.com

Well after the billiard failure yesterday, due to crappy briar, I decided to raid the firewood pile once again. At least I know the oak will not be full of cracks and pits.

Wallaby

Who is that hideously ugly dude on the cover of that magazine?

SimeonTurner wrote:Who is that hideously ugly dude on the cover of that magazine?

I'm pretty sure it's Sean Bean. I heard he was cast in the new movie they're filming about pipemaking.

Well, Wallaby, you're doing a bunch of stuff right (especially in oak) - stem/shank transition looks good. You're shank tapers a little more than a proper English shape should do, and the bowl could use more material off the bottom to present as a little lighter/finer in the shaping department. The analogy I like for refining billiard shape is that you need to think of the difference between the shape your arm and hand make when you make a fist vs when you hold up an apple to inspect it. You are at fist with this pipe, and drifting it into a more delicate gesture would pro it up some.

Great, Wallaby. Now I want to make a pipe out of oak. Thanks a lot. (As if I don't have enough trouble with briar).

Looks pretty cool to me. How does it smoke?

Sasquatch wrote:Well, Wallaby, you're doing a bunch of stuff right (especially in oak) - stem/shank transition looks good. You're shank tapers a little more than a proper English shape should do, and the bowl could use more material off the bottom to present as a little lighter/finer in the shaping department. The analogy I like for refining billiard shape is that you need to think of the difference between the shape your arm and hand make when you make a fist vs when you hold up an apple to inspect it. You are at fist with this pipe, and drifting it into a more delicate gesture would pro it up some.

I agree!! Both things you memtioned.

The rays in the oak spice the pipe up nicely. Please let us know how it smokes - I've noticed a sour smell in oak when working on it for furniture projects and was wondering how that would transfer to smoking.

Oh, and hopefully breathing in the tannins won't hurt...

Sasquatch wrote:...proper English shape...

Hello-o. Proper English Billiards is a game, played on a large, felt-covered, rectangular table, with small ivory balls, and long, tapered sticks called q-sticks.