6th Pipe - Bulldog

[BriarJoe]

Here she be.
Something about the bulldog style is just awesome, and I finally went ahead and made one. I probably shouldn't have attempted something like this till later, as I'm still very much a beginner, but I did anyway. So of course its full of mistakes, and since I only make pipes at sporadic intervals, I haven't improved my stem shank transition in the least. And I'm still using preformed stems. I tried to jimmy my lathe to get the tenon the right size, but ended up rounding the corners on the stem face, producing an ugly gap. I also haven't perfected the finish so its subpar, but still decent i think. Regardless, it was a really fun shape to make and my first pipe done partially by lathe.
Please beat it up!
Joe

(forgive the bad photos...i wasn't originally going to post it here, so i dont have all the usual angles)

[BriarJoe]

and some more...

[Sasquatch]

Lots to look at here.... the good, I think the rim treatment and the squared off bottom of the bowl compliment each other, it's a fresh approach. I'm not sure on the angles used, or rather, I'm not sure how I feel about the front of the pipe being very much angled off on the bottom, and the back of the pipe is much chubbier - this effect can be used intentionally to give a piece a little "action" but it's probably overdone here and the result is that the ring looks sharp and almost dangerous, and the rest of the pipe is not giving off that same vibe because of the weight on the back of the bowl and the stubby shank. The shank is probably too short for the bowl, and where you hope that making a longer stem will hide that, it actually does the opposite - a stem accent might help in such a case.

More sanding at 320 and 400, visible scratches on the stem and the bowl. Leftovers from 100 grit, you gotta get rid of all the deep cuts from the aggressive grits.

[BriarJoe]

Thanks Sas, those are helpful. Im not sure why i went with the flat bottom instead of carrying the ridge through all the way, but thats how it turned out, and i think that it somewhat hindered a graceful transition from the bottom to the front of the pipe. And i know i need to be more patient with the finishing process; sometimes im too excited to see it finished.

[Sickle]

If you wanted to improve on this and make a similar shape, I think you could carry the bottoms line all the way up to the ridge, and point the shank more upward to get rid of that straight line in the stem.

But keep the flat bottom, I think it looks pretty dope!

For finishing, I usually sand all the way up to 400-600, contrast stain, wet sand it down with 600, apply the final color, wet sand it with 1000, add one final coat of finish, sand with 1500 to where the color is just right, then buff with brown, white, and C-wax

[brownleafbeardsman]

I think the overall flow of the pipe and curve of the pipe is carried well.
I agree with Sas; the way that the front of the bowl is tucked in at a different angle than the back of the bowl, seems like it sort of throws off the shape of the pipe.
I will recommend something that has been told to me and that I am sure you have read.
Start making some billiards, my friend.
This is something that many recommend and I couldn't agree more.
It's helped me with developing a good pipe making routine, and a good understanding of the shapes and transitions.


Anyways, it's a great 6th attempt!

[DocAitch]

I agree with the above about the rear of the bowl and the shank.
I would comment that I especially like the way you carried the lateral lines of the stem as seen on the 5th Photo.
DocAitch

[Sickle]

I actually found a pipe made by sas with a similar profile to this one, if you wanted some ideas of where to go: http://bstpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... ucer-1.jpg

You can also find it in the gallery of his site, bstpipes.com