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Here is a plateau top billiard I'm after a little files and sanding.

Stem is completely hand cut not power tools. Sorry for the crappy cellphone pics snapped those before I left for work this morning so I could share last nights work. Feel free to give me advice / tear me a new one , haven't touched the stem / shank junction yet will get that done tonight and some more pictures taken with an actual camera. You guys are the best.









As always brothers thanks for the advice and support,
Ian Keenum

Not bad, especially for a first billiard. The stem looks a little bit blimpy. Try making the profile lines of the stem straight and flat from the spot behind the button all the way to the shank/stem junction.

Thanks! I'll take the file to it some more and try to get the taper more uniform. It looks really bad in that first pick because of the shadow and angle but definitely needs some work now that I look at it. I'll get some pictures that don't suck complete balls this afternoon lol.

Yes, slim the stem down just a little bit. But it's definitely a respectable billiard. Next time around, you should try to get the bowl canted forward just a hair more. I do like the plateaux top, especially.

Take just a touch more off the bowl right on top of the shank. You have a bit of extra there. I think the cant is right, but the way the plateaux runs makes it look like it needs a little more.

Put a little bit of a faux cant in it because it was a kit pipe and was drilled at 90 degrees, thanks again Mr. Vermont for the kits they are great! He is a gentleman and a scholar.

I know , i know I need to start drilling my own, need to get a drill press and make or buy a chamber bit ASAP

Here are a few more pictures, smoothed the taper on the stem and worked on the shank / bowl junction and took some meat off there. Is there a secret to making the ring grain not show on a smooth pipe or is it just depend on the briar.













Thanks for looking and helping out yet another noob.

I like the button very much, as well as the transition between the shank and stem! Two things that I utterly fail at, haha.

-Alex

Ian, that looks really good. The stem could lose some more weight, but to be honest, I'd just finish it out and start on the next one. I know for me, repeating the process and fixing issues on the next one helps me more than trying to agonize over every little detail of the current one I'm working on. You need to develop the muscle memory. REPETITION!

Made a matching knife to go with it what you guys think?































Thanks for looking brothers!

Ian