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That, there, is a dublin with a funny haircut.

Another thing that might taper a mortise is a wobbly drill bit. The longer ones have a little flex, and if you are drilling an uneven surface, they can wobble quite a bit. You might try a shorter bit, with less flex.
https://www.mcmaster.com/drill-bits/sho ... rill-bits/

Keep going, keep making them, each time trying to improve. I'd shoot for working on symmetry. Take a look at the rim of your bowl. Go really slow, taking one or two swipes with a file, check swipe check swipe check swipe check until your rim is exactly the same width around the chamber. What did you...

I think you'll find a straight shank looks odd as well... what you really want is A VERY SLIGHT taper in the other direction. It's a word trick the eye and brain play. The bowl is a bit more English or classical in design, a reverse taper, like you have here, is usually found on a bent pipe of more ...

Howdy, and welcome.
I'm in Portland!

Hey Ethan, Good for you for going back and refinishing the pipe, it is definitely better for it! (And so are you, as a maker.) I wonder what the thought process was that lead you to number 2 being a morta bent rhodesian bulldog? Will the lessons you learned from wrestling with number one be able to ...

I think a lot of the info from this thread http://www.pipemakersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=12394 still applies. Also, know there is no right answer here. I would get yourself a sketchbook, lay this block on top of a blank page and draw several full-scale stem "ideas". Follow ...

My personal taster prefers a somewhat more gradual bend that starts closer to the shank George, Is a bend like you describe best done in stages (heat one section, set a bend, cool it all, heart the next section...) then dial it all in together with a file or sanding sticks OR heat and bend it all a...

Welcome!
That's a solid lathe. I've been using the same model for the last 4 years or so, and it's been great. Haven't wished for anything bigger/more...

JEremy.

So much better. What's the measurement of your bite zone? It looks a bit thick. I try to shoot for just over 4mm. Thinning out the bite zone, and the front half of the stem in general will give it a more elegant look. I'd also give your stem less bend... even less than half of what you have. I think...

I think these measurements mean you're on the right track.... But the answer, I think, is "it depends"... If you go with the length from the top of the shank to the top of the bowl, particularly with a saddle, you will get a short, speedy little, more-modern , jaunty dublin. If you go with...

LatakiaLover wrote: Fun fact: the guy who owns it collects giants, and he not only smokes them... giants are ALL he smokes.

...a lot of free time on his hands, that guy. *jealous

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That stem/stummel mating does look much much better, and it should stay that way as long as all work from now on happens with them tightly together.... Nice improvement!

Thank you! I wanted the bowl to be just a bit thicker so I could do what you suggested, but I had my combo set to the wrong angle and just had to go with it to avoid too thin a wall. On the next one I will make very sure to not make that mistake again. I will post progress soon, although I am takin...

There is a trick that goblet turners use: punching a hole in a tennis ball and poking the live center into that hole. This might allow a live center to be applied to a pipe that has the chamber already drilled. Perhaps a smaller diameter rubber ball, to help with tool clearance. That being said, I'v...

I've had no luck with carbide. I've found high speed steel blanks cut both wood and ebonite better, and offer much more flexibility because you can grind them to virtually any shape.

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That big one is more expensive than the atlas metal lathe I got that was in great condition..... If the lathe will be primarily for pipe making, I'd get a metal lathe. If you have plans to turn table legs, etc, then maybe the wood last is more practical. Sent from my bloopty-bloop, using hooty-hoo.

TIAFO

The reason to switch solvents is so that one doesn't smear the other below it. Doing water, then alcohol, then alcohol doesn't achieve this.
Alcohol, then water, then alcohol would, in theory, give you a better result.

But where's Premel with a TIAFO when we need one??

So, no pin on the stem end?? Or sleeve the bamboo with briar, then stem-tenon as usual?

But then to get a drill blank in, you have to have perfectly straight bamboo..... not typical.

I'm missing something.

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