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After 2 stummels with fatal flaws and me jacking up a stem (sanded through to the delrin, got it inserted too deep (learning experience) ) I have finally finished this one, it did have a small pit at the posterior of the bowl and it did get filled, you can see it in one of the pics.

Airway has not been polished yet.

Your photography looks OK. The finish and general shaping of the stummel looks good, and the pipe is generally attractive.
This pipe has two major areas of concern:
The transition is not crisp. The radii for the transition are too large. They should be quite small, about what you can cut with a small chain saw file. The line of the shank and the line of the bowl should continue until they reach the small radius.
The duck bill on the stem is too pronounced. You run a fine line between a true dead straight line on the stem and a comfortable bite area. This is overdone.
DocAitch

Thanks Doc, for your input, I was afraid I'd get the transition too tight like you mentioned on my 5th pipe. I pondered back and forth on doing the stem totally tapered to the shank and ended up with what you see. I will keep that in mind for others. The bite area is at .160, is that acceptable?

0.160” feels thick to me. I personally like a tad less than 0.15”
DocAitch

[img][IMG]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/150x100q90/922/j6Vbnp.jpg[/img][/img]
I drew this to illustrate my point. I don’t yet have a fancy program like George’s. A small chain saw file is about the right radius. The object for me is to produce a transition that can be finished neatly without scratches and spotty staining.
DocAitch

Gotcha. I do have a small chainsaw file and I will work on my transitions.

Doug, can you do an old fart like me a favour?
Please post the photos and not the attachments.
If you want more critique, make it easier for us.

Charl wrote:Doug, can you do an old fart like me a favour?
Please post the photos and not the attachments.
If you want more critique, make it easier for us.

Will do, just figured out how to.

Thanks!
Doc's got the most important points spot on.
Most guys stain the mortise as well. In my eyes, it just looks unprofessional and unfinished if not.
What is your measurement on your button, back to front? It looks a bit too deep for me.
All in all, you're getting there. Enjoy it!

I don't stain the mortise, but it's better stained all the way or not at all. Using ca glue or shellac in the mortise will help with the fit in the longer term.

Charl wrote:Thanks!
Doc's got the most important points spot on.
Most guys stain the mortise as well. In my eyes, it just looks unprofessional and unfinished if not.
What is your measurement on your button, back to front? It looks a bit too deep for me.
All in all, you're getting there. Enjoy it!

Charl, button is .173 front to back.

sandahlpipe wrote:I don't stain the mortise, but it's better stained all the way or not at all. Using ca glue or shellac in the mortise will help with the fit in the longer term.

So I should stain all the way into mortise, gotcha, thanks for the info guy's. How are you applying the CA glue into the mortise and what speed CA are you using?

I usually use medium and let it air dry. Careful so as not to insert the stem before it’s completely dry.... I apply it with a match stick.

Some guys use CA glue or shellac to stabilise the mortise, just to clarify.
.173 is about 4.4mm if google is right (Sorry, here we work in mm). I normally go for about 2.4 to 2.5mm.