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That's *very* tempting. Anyone else interested? Trever, could you define "inexpensive"? I don't have any idea what his prices would range to, but I'm sure a lot would depend on the purchased quantity. I doubt it's any more than briar in equivalent quantities, given the prices that African...

FWIW, I know a fellow who offers some pretty good African meerschaum for sale, albeit only in bulk quantities (about 1000 lbs or more, IIRC). It's inexpensive, however, and IS white instead of the greys and weird colors some African meer comes in. It is rougher in texture than Turkish meer and is no...

I've been told by a couple clients (mostly repeat customers) that there's a mental block at about $100 - a glass ceiling of sorts. Lots and lots of folks can afford a pipe that costs less than $100, but when the price of a pipe goes up above that, people are hesitant to drop the cash. Opinions? Sho...

I think that what you have said has some interesting implications for folks that are currently part-time guys that have an eye toward full-time. That is price structuring. One of the problems which I know you have experienced is the impact of the current flood of part-timers on the buyers' expectat...

If you have already "gone pro," what advice would you have for the guys that are thinking about it? Tyler Some thoughts: Do not under any circumstances go full-time until you have been making and selling pipes part-time for at least a couple of years. Too many guys look at pipemaking as s...

Though technically the machine could be used to drill and turn stummels, it is NOT going to be a very nice process. I have never tried it, but I would be SHOCKED if the experience was at all pleasant. (Trever?) Tyler Heh! It is, um, fun. I drilled all my stummels using my Taig for my first year of ...

Trevor, Thanks for the information. I do have a question though. What is delrin? Is it just a white plastic? If it is more solid than cork, I would think it would be easier to use. Thanks again and blessings, Tony Delrin is a form of plastic that is flexible and has great surface lubricity. I use i...

Trever, My wife is a potter, so I have access to clay and firing materials. I was wondering about how you would fit the stems to the clay. I have seen one of the Prungnaud pipes in first person and was wondering about the cork. Does it work well? Is it hard to come by? Also, do you now how he gets ...

Here's some general info- It's important to preheat both the oil and the stummel, and I've had best results with a very long preheat of the stummel, the idea being to dry the normal humidity in the wood to near 0% to maximize oil absorption. The type of oil is crucial, and vegetable oils have never ...

ArtGuy, As for shaping the chamber with a chisel on the lathe, I have seen fellows doing what appears to be just that in photos. Since I have only seen stills, I am not positive, but often the caption implies that they did the whole chamber that way -- no drilling at all. Tyler I've done a few bowl...

Since they are turned out of wood, is there a foam or cloth padding that is placed under the paper? And is the paper then just tacked or stapled to the back directly into the wood? There is padding under all the discs. It's some sort of very hard foam stuff, with some give and yet tough enough to a...

No, it doesn't weat out very badly - mostly it just gets smoother and better able to provide a glossy surface. I have one disc with a thin round edge which gives the equivalent of a 6000 grit polish, and the thin edge is easy to work into narrow areas. You do get a bumpy edge and it's not as easy as...

Trever, Until you mentioned it, I hadn't thought of all the useful shapes one might have for various aspects of the process. With the thought of possibly making some of my own wheels, how does the paper attach and what kind do you use? Thanks. Tyler I don't know if I can expain this without picture...

Yes, you can do it that way too, I just don't find it nearly as easy. Try comparing turning something on your Taig using the woodturning rest versus the tool rest with a rod sometime and you may see what I mean. I prefer the straight swivelling quick adjustability of a woodturning rest - even the me...

I use one made by 3M that has a foam pad and attaches with velcro. I too would love to know where those pipe maker guys get the convex ones that attach on the back . You have to move to France :) Our workshop is full of them, and interestingly enough, most of them are nearly 80 years old or more - ...

FWIW, I can perhaps help if anyone has questions about working with a few alternate materials. I have made pipes from olivewood, morta (obviously), and meerschaum, and I have done a bit of work with clay (not actually shaping and firing, but finishing and fitting stems, decor, etc). One day, there w...

Actually, I don't think you'd want to gived up your wood lathe even with a big metal one, if you do a lot of hand-turning. We have a large metal lathe here which is really odd in having a swing arm that can be used to mount a hand-turning tool rest, and if it didn't have this it would be really diff...