finishing shank/stem faces

For discussion of the drilling and shaping of the stummel.
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Albert.A
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finishing shank/stem faces

Post by Albert.A »

Hello everyone. I have a question regarding something that's been bugging me for a while now.
I find myself really wanting to have a nice polished finish on my shank and stem faces, just like the finish on the outside of the pipe. Two questions on this: Is polished faces the norm in the high grade pipe world? Is there some trick to sanding the faces without ruining the flush stem-shank fit or does it just come down to having sharp lathe tools so there has to be no sanding?

To be clear, I don't sand the faces now, since I find a flush fit to be way more important than a polished face.

I first started thinking about this when I did some contrast staining. I couldn't think of a way to make the contrast on the shank face so it just ended up black from the first staining. Any thoughts on how to contrast stain the shank face so it looks like the rest of the pipe? :)

Thanks,
Albert
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W.Pastuch
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Re: finishing shank/stem faces

Post by W.Pastuch »

You can sand the shank face by putting a piece of 800 grit sandpaper on a very flat surface (eg. marble board) and very carefully dragging the shank face across the sandpaper in every direction, paying attention to keep the entire surface of the shank face flat against the sandpaper.
I sometimes do that but it's easy to mess up and you need to be careful not to overdo it.

In my opinion the best method for a nice finish on the shank face is to have extremely sharp and correctly shaped (at the right angle) lathe cutting tools. You can just have a separate one for the finishing pass on your shank face. A useful trick: you can take a finishing pass, then stablize the wood by putting superglue all over it, let it dry, and then take the final pass to take off all the excess glue, just barely touching the wood. After you've used superglue the wood will be harder and your finishing cut will leave a very nice and clean surface.
This only works when you are happy with a bare briar colored shank face. If you want a shank face that is stained to match the rest of the pipe you will have to some sanding method.

You could also try to make a mock cutting tool with sandpaper glued on it to use on the lathe. That way you can sand the shank face mechanically along the right axis. I've tried that once and it works but it's too much hassle for me- the sandpaper will wear out very quickly because your only sanding with one spot.

Hopefully someone more experience has yet another, better solution.
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sandahlpipe
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Re: finishing shank/stem faces

Post by sandahlpipe »

If you properly cut the shank and stem faces, you will need only minimal touching up. When there is touching up necessary, such as after staining the shank face, you can polish it with a few strokes of 1000 grit sandpaper on the flat surface. Make sure the shank face is completely flat and make sure you have an even pressure all the way across the shank face, otherwise you will end up with a light gap. This is also how you can adjust the shank if there is a light gap. It takes time and patience, but the fit of a perfectly smooth shank to a perfectly smooth stem is much better than a rough edge.

I can't attest to the superglue trick. I've never tried it. The mock cutting tool with sandpaper doesn't work for me, either. Just make sure your tools are sharp and you shouldn't need to sand afterwards for smoothness, just for polish.
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The Smoking Yeti
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Re: finishing shank/stem faces

Post by The Smoking Yeti »

There are a lot of techniques floating around. Obviously having sharp tools to minimize tear-out is very very helpful.

What pastuch said about a lapping plate is spot on. You need a perfectly flat surface to lay your sandpaper on. An easier way to sand the shank face, is rather than pulling the pipe across the sandpaper, press it firmly and evenly flush against the paper on the plate, and twist. Just go carefully to ensure you're applying even pressure. You can start with 220 or 320 grit if you like, and work up through 1000. You can also apply slightly thinned coats of shellac to the shank face- half cut should work well- then sand those back. If you repeatedly apply more shellac and sand it back as you work up through the high grits-1000-1500-2000, and maybe even 3000, you'll have a mirror polish on the shank face. It just takes a bit of patience.

Sharp cutting tools can allow you to start at 600 or 800 grit which is great.

There's a lot more to know, but this should be enough to get started with.
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wdteipen
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Re: finishing shank/stem faces

Post by wdteipen »

One trick to getting a nice finish on your stem face is to make your desired cuts to face your stem material using wood or metal lathe. You should get a finish good enough to sand starting with 400 grit while the stem material is spinning in your lathe. Don't be too aggressive applying pressure with the sand paper. Work up the grits as high as you want (1200 should be plenty if not a little overkill) then take a bar of red tripoli and apply the bar directly to the spinning stem rod. Now take a clean paper towel and apply pressure to the surface you just applied compound to. Follow that with white compound the same way. You should have a mirror finish at this point. Now heres the trick to not having rounded edges: start with rod that is a few mm bigger than your intended stem and cut the diameter down after sanding and polishing your stem face. This way you cut off any edges that you may have rounded.
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PremalChheda
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Re: finishing shank/stem faces

Post by PremalChheda »

Here is the short version
1. sharp tools when cutting
2. sand
3. don't fuck it up
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Albert.A
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Re: finishing shank/stem faces

Post by Albert.A »

Thanks for the help guys, is seems like I'll be hunting for an absolutely flat surface then, and I'll give your stem face meathod a try today Wayne.
One question for you Yeti: If I do the shellac-thing and sand to let's say 2000 grit, wouldn't I have trouble getting the stain to stick to the shank face because of the shellac? Or rather, when in the process should I stain the face?
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Eldritch
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Re: finishing shank/stem faces

Post by Eldritch »

You may find this useful.
I turned a few of these from a length of aluminium rod.
Superglue on your sandpaper. Pop in your tailstock chuck.

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fastredx
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Re: finishing shank/stem faces

Post by fastredx »

I wonder if a PSA sandpaper would work on one of those?
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