Selecting a block?

[E.L.Cooley]

Ok can you guys expound on this concept. About what I am looking for in a block. When I am selecting the shape it will become and how to anticipate flaws ect? What do I want the grain to do?

Sandahl said this. If you want to be able to make any pipe, you've got to start with a block that's just right. Otherwise, the grain just won't look as nice.


Sent from my banana phone.

[scotties22]

Don't worry about grain orientation for now. You have bigger (and more important) things to worry about. Grab a block, carve a pipe and try to make it look like what you intended. Until you get a good handle on the fundamentals don't worry about it.

[wisemanpipes]

first and foremost just make pipes, don't worry about the blocks grain right now. unless youre loaded, youre probably not buying really primo briar anyway, and that normally doesn't carry the best grain.

I will try to answer the question regardless though,

say for instance you have a plateau block. look at the front of the block. it will show which way the grain is travelling. from there you can usually tell which shape will take that block best. ie, fanning up to the plateau will take a Dublin nice. side fanning usually will screw you over unless you shape first.

people that say you can select a block better for a billiard or for an apple are drinking the koolaid. theres only so much you can see before you start cutting it.

[d.huber]

Good advice so far. For now, just make 'em and worry about this stuff later.

...and how to anticipate flaws ect?

You can't. Flaws love to play peek-a-boo.

[E.L.Cooley]

All thanks for the quick response. Yeah right now I just grab a block and start cutting. I am just curious what you are looking at when you pick one up. Thanks wisemanpipes.
I plan to just keep making them and being excited to find what's in there.
Really I don't even know what it is. So far all my briar has come from mark. So far so good. Just curious


Sent from my banana phone.

[scotties22]

people that say you can select a block better for a billiard or for an apple are drinking the koolaid. theres only so much you can see before you start cutting it.

Not to high jack the thread...

I have to disagree. You can see quite a lot and make a very educated guess as to what the grain looks like inside. There is actually something quite masterful in one's ability to lay a specific shape out on a specific block and achieve 360 straight grain......that shit don't happen by accident.

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

Generally on the larger plateau blocks you can recut them to orient the grain into A straight configuration. As you cut you can determine how tight the grain will be and also start to cut into the the birdseye to find some tighter spacing. I am just starting to figure this out. (in the most recent 2 or 3 blocks.) When you are cutting small to medium ebauchons you really dont have any extra room to do this. You just have to dive in and make the biggest pipe that block will allow. Then reshape around the craters.

[wisemanpipes]

people that say you can select a block better for a billiard or for an apple are drinking the koolaid. theres only so much you can see before you start cutting it.

Not to high jack the thread...

I have to disagree. You can see quite a lot and make a very educated guess as to what the grain looks like inside. There is actually something quite masterful in one's ability to lay a specific shape out on a specific block and achieve 360 straight grain......that shit don't happen by accident.

we'll have to agree to disagree, Scottie.
360 straight grain is relatively easy to get if you shape first. laying it out in a chuck is the hard part. its kinda straight forward to look at a block and lay out a design that has perfect straight grain. when I said there is only so much you can see before you start cutting is in regard to pits/cracks and random fallout. and that the difference is negligible between similar shape variants. volcanos and dublins and straight bowled pipe will see benefits from selecting blocks with specific grain orientation, but you cant pick a block up and say, this will make a great apple but not a great billiard.

maybe ive just had good luck or maybe im a super skilled block reader

[wdteipen]

You absolutely can choose blocks that are better for an apple than a billiard, etc. I don't think you should necessarily save this skill for later either. The sooner you can make a pipe that maximizes the grain potential, the sooner you'll be making professional looking pipes. In fact, you should choose the shape based on the grain of the block as opposed to picking up any block to make a billiard and hope the grain looks good for the shape. A plateaux block cut from a smaller burl will have a tighter radius which makes for better grain orientation for an apple while a plateaux block cut from a large burl with grain that is more (nearly) straight up and down with only slight fanning is going to make for a better billiard. Dublins and volcanoes are so uninspiring to me because you can practically cut one from any plateaux block. Every plateaux block's grain fans at least a little. If you don't care about grain orientation on a block then just cut all your pipes from cross-grain ebauchons. Of course, there are ways to get straight grain from ebauchons too if you know what you're doing. The blowfish is a good example of maximizing the grain in a ebauchon block. So is the eskimo. You could even cut a billiard with straight grain from an ebauchon if the width is wide enough for the bowl height. This stuff matters and it pays to learn it now.

[Sasquatch]

I think what Wiseman was hinting at is that you can't tell whether the internal flaw (which you can't see till you cut) is going to take your apple and MAKE it a billiard until you find the flaw.

There's two things at play here. One is the ideal or close to ideal shape any particular block might yield assuming it's flawless. The other is the fact that few blocks are flawless. So you are designing pipes hoping to maximize the grain and hoping you don't hit a flaw while doing so.

You can make pretty shapes on the side of the block, but unless the block is cut dead vertical/symmetric, it won't matter.


The block on the left is crooked, and drawing on the side is not going to tell you much because of it. Shape before drilling or re-cut the block to maximize grain. Or cut a nice pipe and rusticate or blast!

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

Will you teach me the ways of the grain force Obi-Wayne-Kenobi?

[wdteipen]

Will you teach me the ways of the grain force Obi-Wayne-Kenobi?

Depends on whether you like Kool-aid or not.

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

I always drink the kool-aid. I assume you do too being from Jim Jone's home base.

[Sasquatch]

Give me an awesome block and I'll show you 10 different awesome pipes.

Give me a shitty block and I'll show you a shitty blowfish.

[wdteipen]

I love Kool-aid. Grew up on it. And, you're always welcome at my shop. You are just down the road from me.

[wdteipen]

Hey Sas, flip that right billiard over and the grain will fit the shape better. Or, just make a blowfish out of it.

[sandahlpipe]

I don't shape first usually, so I like to select block with grain that matches the orientation I'm looking for. I'm not going to pick a block with perfect grain when it's supposed to be a blast. And the other reason I want so many is if I screw up, I have other blocks very similar to choose from.

Then when I've worked my way through what I have the briar I buy in the meantime will have a chance to dry properly.

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

I grew up on it too. I think it was the late 80's before i started drink water on a normal basis. Thanks for the offer Wayne, I would love to learn some of your jedi tricks!

[Sasquatch]

Hey Sas, flip that right billiard over and the grain will fit the shape better. Or, just make a blowfish out of it.

I have no idea what I actually wound up cutting from that block, but you're right.

[The Smoking Yeti]

Buncha' goobers here. Just shape first- it's more fun.