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Jesus, George! You really do have to stop saying you're not a pipemaker. Reminds me of a similar recent experience. I've been hitting the speaker circuit teaching/talking about ultrasound anatomy relative to vascular access and I always start my talks with, "I'm an educator not a public speake...

Jesus, George! You really do have to stop saying you're not a pipemaker. Reminds me of a similar recent experience. I've been hitting the speaker circuit teaching/talking about ultrasound anatomy relative to vascular access and I always start my talks with, "I'm an educator not a public speaker...

Welcome to PMF. It's not very active these days like it used to be but its a treasure trove of good pipemaking info in the archives. If it is relevant to making pipes, it's probably been already discussed ad nauseum on this forum. The gallery is still somewhat active at times so feel free to post wh...

If the pipe is past the lathe work and I didn't catch it, I do George's sandpaper on a hard flat surface method. The only thing I will add is that I drag the pipe in figure 8 to get the most even sanding.

I've always purchased my briar with intent to let it dry in my shop for a minimum of three years so I don't even think about it. If I ever drill the chamber of a block and moisture wicks out, I let it dry at least a few weeks before continuing to any finishing stage. It will dry relatively fast once...

Reminds me of the old cherrywood Ropps.

You should be able to sand it out. The stain doesn’t go very deep. These are sanding mandrels made from dowels. They are turned to chamber shape and slit to accept a piece of sandpaper which is trimmed and taped. These particular ones have lag bolts in the end to chuck in a hand drill, but now I ju...

I wonder what would happen if the airway angles in at the bottom back of the bowl opposite where the airway traditionally enters the chamber. As long as you de-bur any thin briar around the airway in the chamber, I would think the dynamics wouldn't be too terrible affected. Would be interesting to s...

Looks well executed overall. It's definitely a billiard. While the sharply tapered shank to stem is not outside of the acceptable billiard guidelines, it's less common. Such choices will often divide pipe enthusiasts where some will like and maybe even prefer it while the rest will prefer the more t...

You definitely have a natural eye for shape and symmetry. There are things that can be improved but dang you're way ahead of many that have been making pipes for a good while. Instead of picking specific things to improve, I think a more useful exercise is for you to find a professional example of a...

It's been a while since I've checked in. I really like this pipe! Very cool shape and very nicely executed. I'm assuming the airway enters the bowl in the bottom center similar to a Falcon pipe? If so, I don't really see why a pipe cleaner would even have to pass all the rest of the way.

I agree with Doc. If you are looking for feedback, you'll likely get more if you post one pipe at a time from different angles and closer up. That being said, the one thing I notice from what you have posted so far is a progression of gradual overall improvement. The best way to continue that progre...

I believe a pipemaker only has control of one variable out of three that accounts for a good smoking pipe. Whether a pipe smokes well depends on how the pipe is made or what we like to refer to as "the engineering" of the pipe. The size of the airway in the shank in relation to the size of...

JMG wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:42 pm

wdteipen wrote: ↑Sat Nov 27, 2021 8:54 pm

Which end am I supposed to blow into?

Either end will work just as well as the other I suppose.

I agree with sethile. Very nice pipe. I've always heard this type of stem as a half saddle. I don't usually disagree with George but I'm not a fan of undercut saddles generally speaking. That may just be a personal preference and I do see how it gives the pipe some motion. To me, it draws too much a...

You can use a mix of aniline and water or oil based stains to prevent the yellow and blue (deep black) green effect.

Most use Fiebings. I use J. E. Moser's.

You answered your own question. The stepped side can be used to turn larger material stock.

Apparently George isn't a leathersmith about the same as he isn't a pipemaker.