#0824

[Charl]

This is my first in a very long time, and my first stem.
The stummel is guava wood and have 3 cracks, one of which runs through into the bowl. It's one for myself, as I want to see what will happen eventually with the crack.
The stem is clear acrylic with delrin. Frank told me to make a plan , so here is my drillpress-stem-making plan. Not happy with it yet. I overdrilled with the tapered bit, the bit is still too thick, the airhole got to be sanded smooth somehow etc etc.






Clear acrylic is a bit like a two faced , you can see what you are doing, but of course also everything that you did wrong eventually.
Any help and suggestions will be appreciated!

[KurtHuhn]

I don't think you overdrilled with the tapered bit at all. That looks about right for what most pipe makers will do, and some (like me) even take the taper further toward the button. The v-groove in the slot looks good as well. All things considered, that's a good airway.

As far as polishing, there's a couple tricks that can be used. When I'm working with clear acrylic, I like to use a pipe cleaner coated in brown tripoli, then chuck it in my dremel and work it back and forth at while spinning. That's the fasted method I know of to get those drilling marks out.

But, as you've found, drilling acrylic can be a cast iron b****. It's really sensitive to heat, and leaves behind all these little burrs and spurs inside the airway. You can make polishing the airway on a clear stem a little easier on yourself if you drill using cutting fluid and constantly remove the drill bit and knock off the chips. Sounds like more work, but it will save about three times the amount of work when you have to clean up the airway to reflect your craftsmanship.

[android]

i think that's a really cool pipe. i know the desire of the smooth looking inside of the stem, but it's going to turn brown/black soon anyway, right? i like how you went outside the box with this one. good work.

[Charl]

Thanks for the replies, guys.
I did try the tripoli and pipecleaner trick on the airway, Kurt. The results are, as you can see, still not too great. Will try the cutting fluid with the next one, as well as pulling the bit out more often and cutting only slightly with each pass.
Also glad to hear that I didn't overdrill. It's a bit difficult to get a picture in your head of what it's supposed to look like, seeing (forgive the pun ) that normally there is no way to look inside the airway.
And thanks, Android!

[Alan L]

I get the best results on clear acrylic using Windex cleaner as cutting fluid, and only drilling about 5mm at a time before clearing chips.

Nice job on the flare at the bit! That's one of my many weak points.

[wdteipen]

I wonder if wrapping a fine grit sandpaper around your 1/16" long bit like Scott Thile describes on his website would clean up the airway?

[Charl]

Don't have a long and thin enough bit, otherwise I would have tried. But I'll find a way somehow

[Frank]

Don't have a long and thin enough bit, otherwise I would have tried. But I'll find a way somehow

This might screw things up even more, but try dipping the end of a pipecleaner in acetone and running it through the stem.

[pennsyscot]

Sorry about your luck with the crack. I think the pipe might look better if the stem and shank had an upward angle. Also, for a clear acrylic stem I would probably choose to turn the tenon. It would also be easier to smooth the airway with the stem spinning in the lathe. Still I think it would be an attractive pipe, aside from your misfortune with the flaw in the wood.

[Charl]

Unfortunately I don't have a lathe yet, would have loved to turn the tenons. But Christmas is not that far off!