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I'd say there is something to be said about "style". For each kind of man, there is a kind of pipe. So long as the dimensions are balanced, not every pipe has to be a super high gloss, polished mirror capable of refracting light that would illuminate the lense of the Huble telescope.

It was a little creepy! Simply saying that sometimes, there's more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

http://youtu.be/wnv0DAR_gWA

Just sayin'

A thousandth? You do realize that you are smoking tobacco plant in a carved wooden chamber through a shaped stem through a consistent draw hole, right?

Gentlemen, for the purposes of posterity, I tried the oven method (350 for 10). Fantastic results. With a pair of cotton garden gloves and the spray of cold water from the sink...it is ideal

Hmmm...I didn't think about the tenon. I was thinking an oven heats evenly and WI deed if anybody had tried it. 400 degrees for 10 minutes for an aldente stem. Ha.

Is it possible to heat an ebonite stem in an oven for shaping? If so, how hot and how long? I have a churchwarden stem that is straight as an arrow that needs a little character. Thanks in advance.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. I'm just not confident enough yet to make a commitment under contract of sale and deliver. I do like the idea, though of selling at material cost until I get more experience under my belt and properly set up for that matter.

I must admit, I picked up this great hobby on a bit of a whim. I had no intention of really doing a lot of selling of pipes. I really had more of a vision of a fun hobby that allowed me to utilize my creative side and maybe give a few to friends and family. I'm in a spot now where I literally have m...

Thanks, Jeremiah. Thus far, I have carved everything free hand with a Dremel & file and I have certainly bunged up several blocks of nice briar. I'll see if I can track down some Pear wood or oak to further hone my techniques and experiment.

Do any of you use a practice material to develop basic shapes or experiment with new concepts? I know a wood like oak is more fibrous than dense granular like briar but I wonder if there is a suitable material out there to use in practicing your skills rather than tearing up briar.

In all seriousness, I have suspected that I haven't received exactly what I ordered the last couple of blanks. However, I'm not going to say that for certain until I get a little bit better eye and understanding for what I'm looking at.

Ghosts! Just as I suspected! Ghouls of the Shires briar

Question: As you begin to sand down and finish out your stummel, I've noticed that I can see beautiful grain but in patchest there seems to be "clouds", if you will, of dull colorless wood. These clouds appear to be superficially overlaying the nice looking grain. Is this as it appears and...

Siphon...I've never used it for pipe work. I bought it to blast parts on an old pick up restoration project. I'll have to dump the media and wipe it out well but it's still in great shape.

Shoe lace! Great tip. It would have taken me a bit to come up with that.

Mine is a typical pressurized cabinet system by Central. 125 psi. Operating pressure

Good info. Thank you, Sandahl.

I'm just getting started and trying my hand at sand blasting. For my expirmental phase, what would some of you experienced craftsmen recommend for blasting media? The granular carbon, soda or walnut shell? Also grain size?

Really? That is very surprising. I had no idea that the natural rings of the wood would stand up to sand blasting. I've never tried it before...back to the bench.