pipemakersforum.com

Sasquatch and Fuchi-jeg have covered the areas that need work very well. You're in luck because a little more material removal will give you a pipe you can be proud of. What Sasquatch was referring to with the fist and apple is that you have a sag at the bottom of your bowl. If you hold a straight e...

Just keep in mind that pieces that are not suitable for pipes may still be useful for other projects. You may be able to salvage some to sell to turners and other woodworkers. Small chunks can also be useful for bands and extensions as well. Same goes for the olive wood.
Rodney

I don't think I'm alone in wishing I was fortunate enough to be able to harvest my own briar and olive wood for pipes. Who wouldn't want complete control over their wood supply and the ability to cut any size or shape of block they wanted? I wish you the best success with it.
Rodney

Jon Bood, Are you interested in the entire stem or just the part that contacts your mouth? Looks like most of the traditional materials have been covered. Horn, amber, jade, bone etc.. Hollow reeds are also used as pipe stems. Clay might be another alternative as well. Check out knife and walking st...

Sounds like a very good man to know.
Rodney

I took a quick look and didn't find any exact matches for your pipe. There seems to be a lot of variation in the series. Not surprising I guess. I saw a few with somewhat similar stummels and for the most part they seem to have proportionally short saddle stems. Given the variation in pipes what you...

It's not surprising Butternut (Juglans cinereais) an irritant to some people. It's a very close relative to Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) and English Walnut (Juglans regia). Walnut trees emit a lot of natural herbicides as a way to eliminate competition for nutrients and sunlight where they're growin...

This post has been here a while but I'm also highly interested in trying Madrona (aka Madrone) in pipes. The only thing I can add is Arbutus is in the same family (Ericaceae) as briar and is a sort of cousin to Manzanita which was used for pipes back in WWII when Briar couldn't be imported. I think ...

First off, Welcome aboard! I've only made a couple pipes myself so cannot give you a good critique on your pipe. It's not bad for a first pipe, prettier than my first anyway. Also you did a nice job shaping the stem. Hopefully someone with experience will chime in soon. I would avoid the conifers in...

I'll have to remember that if it ever comes up. Doubtful though-this is strictly a hobby for me.
Rodney

If you're just trying to find a cheaper motor you can shop used on your local craigs list either for just the motor or for an old tool with the right motor attached. (Bad idea for me because usually it's the tool I'm interested in) If you want new you can try these guys. http://www.surpluscenter.com...

I've been going thru the gallery trying to learn a bit about what good pipes look like. I know this is an old post but WOW! That is a truly amazing piece of art. I admire your work and your creativity but this one is just incredible. I've never seen anything like it. You mentioned issues with lining...

I'm brand new to the art and they're letting me play.
Rodney

I know nothing about judging briar but going by the standards of other woods, it looks good to me.
I'd be interested.
Rodney

Thanks for bringing that issue up. It really does disrupt trying to read what the poster wrote and getting a good look at the pipe when the pics are too big. Too small doesn't disrupt the text but you can't see any detail either. Too small is the size I'll be using when I start posting pipes. :roll:...

Beautiful restoration on the pipe. The pipe looks good without it and you would never know it used to have one but why did you decide not to replace the band?
Rodney

Thanks for the shop tour. You have a very nice workspace and it's good your whole family takes an interest. My wife will barely set foot in my shop but my 9 year old daughter is starting to crowd me out of it. One of our long term projects has been to build a decent set of tools of her own.
Rodney

Just a friendly bump in case there's people who would be interested but haven't seen this post. Looks like fun but I'm sure I'm not ready.
Rodney

I have no hard data to back this up but I think if there was anything to be gained by roughing up the airway, the benefits would be lost over time due to either build up of residue being caught in the valleys created by roughing up the airway or by the polishing action of pipe cleaners smoothing out...

Steve S,
That's some nice looking paneling in your shop and a nice set of braces you have. Do you have any more pics of your shop?
Rodney-another hand tool nut.