No.10-Straight Billiard

[UnderShade]

My 10th pipe. I took some advice from Jeff Gracik's latest video and flipped the plateaux. I think know what I like and what I could have done better, but I want your opinion. Thanks guys!

[Sasquatch]

Lots to like there and certainly better than my tenth.

I'd like a straight on side-shot - there are pics where I think the overall effect is charmingly stout, and in others I feel like maybe the bowl is too short. As a "proper" billiard probably the bowl is a bit too short, and tied to a fairly heavy shank, the effect is almost but not quite "pottish". Smoothness of lines on the shank and stem is nice, although your obviously intentional taper on the shank sort of fudges out a bit at the bowl, and noticeably on the underside shot, there looks to be significant asymmetry in that transitional area underneath, left and right don't look the same. From the top I don't see it as much so your bowl is... fairly round, but not perfect. Frontal pic is the same, it's always tough with the grain running crooked to get a real good view of whether a pipe is dead symmetrical - in this case there is more material on what I would call the bottom left side of the bowl (bottom right in the frontal pic).

The whole thing would benefit from a stiffer stem treatment, the duckbill makes this look like a Savinelli, straighter lines on that stem would push it into the next level, aesthetically.

There's dark areas of stain just above the shank, and that's just sanding issues, you have to sand the shit out of that area, and it's cross-grain by nature, so it takes extra care/focus/time/grits/techniques to get that area looking exactly like the rest of the pipe, which is easier to sand "properly".

[UnderShade]

Thanks so much Sas! I’ll take more pics when I get to the shop tonight. I was actually modeling it after a Savinelli,... Sort of. I really appreciate your critique.

[UnderShade]

Here ya go Sas...
It’s crazy how you can be staring at a work piece for hours, and it’s not until you stop and look at a photo of it, that you see things you didn’t before. (Please overlook the finger grease on the stem )The chin of the bowl is definitely too far out, and as you pointed out, there is a bit of asymmetry on the bottom towards the bowl. Each one gets better though…
https://imgur.com/vWpjQTy
https://imgur.com/a/3mgpyuw

[n80]

I'm going to put this as a question since I'm still to inexperienced to know, but should the back of the bowl be a little more vertical as it approaches the shank?

Overall, good looking pipe. For some reason when I look at billiards I am often drawn to Savinellis, even more so than much higher priced Castellos. Not sure why. But they do seem to duck bill the stems a bit....and it doesn't bother me.

George

[UnderShade]

but should the back of the bowl be a little more vertical as it approaches the shank?

Probably

[LatakiaLover]

[UnderShade]

Understood. Thanks George! Thanks for all the excellent critiques guys. Extremely helpful and inspirational. Be back with No.11 soon!

[n80]

A comment about plateau orientation: I really like the way the eyes on the top and bottom of the bowl worked out. Very nice.

[UnderShade]

A comment about plateau orientation: I really like the way the eyes on the top and bottom of the bowl worked out. Very nice.

Thanks George. It's the first time I've ever flipped the platueax. I really admire Jeff Gracik and took his advice from his latest video. I recommend that all the noobs (myself included) give it a view...

https://youtu.be/YVPS4otRZmE
https://youtu.be/EBSoeeYqdxA

[n80]

Great videos.

I flipped a plateau on a horn shaped pipe I made a few months ago to get the flame to orient with the curve of the pipe and puts the eyes on top (and it worked well) but I'd have never thought about doing it on a billiard.

Watching that video really makes me want a lathe. I'd never claim that it would make me a better pipe maker but it sure would make short neat work of some of the things that I struggle mightily with without one.

[UnderShade]

LatakiaLover said something to me that really stuck out. When I told him that I didn’t think my lathe made me a better pipe maker, but that it allowed me more consistent and repeatable results, he said, “More repeatable/consistent results = better pipe maker.”