getting angry with the perfect fit

daniel · Post by **daniel** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:01 am

This is my very first post to these forums, anyway...
i have been carving pipes for a short while now and i seem to have
an headache every time I have to make the stem to fit the shank
perfectly. boy have i tried, i have succeeded, but it takes too much time,
mainly i have used knives for this.

so, as i don´t have a lathe,
only drillpress, dremel, and knives,
does anyone care to tell me how it should be done?
is there an easy way to do this?
there has to be.

xmhr · Post by **xmhr** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:21 am

Without lathe it is not easy.

daniel · Post by **daniel** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:13 am

that much i can tell by now, yes.
I forgot to mention the fackt that so far i have been using only
premolded stems, as i don´t have a lathe.

so far another option to knife, is my just invented method.
i cut a piece of sandpaper to the exact shape of a dremels cutting disk,
and put it on a cutting disk. Woila, here we have a sandin disk.
Then i simply press it to the shanks end and try to keep the pipe and the dremel as firm as i can.

with this i can get the shanks end sanded throughle to the same angle.
but it´s still a real b***h to get the angle right.

so the question is still on.

xmhr · Post by **xmhr** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:18 am

I guess using belt sander will work better - you can make shank end more straight.

alan · Post by **alan** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:08 am

I don't have a lathe yet either. If I came across a center-fold of the lathe I need I'd have it hanging on my wall

Until you get one you really just need to order the adjustable tenon turning tool from Pimo http://www.pimopipecraft.com/tools.html . It isn't perfect, but with some practice the tool does the trick. The difference it will make after trying to get a flush fit by hand will blow your mind. Well worth the price if you don't have the coin to drop on the fancy machines.

daniel · Post by **daniel** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:22 am

thanks alan,
i´ve been thinking about it.
i gues my articulation sucks, stems are ok, they are already turned
to 6mm diameter (most of them) as i buy them.
so i drill 6mm mortise, and the fit is perfect.

its the shank, that causes the problem.
i dont really know how to get it straight as hell so that, the connection
wouldn´t pass light. the gap is the problem.

xmhr,
yeah if i only had one.
good idea anyway.

xmhr · Post by **xmhr** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:59 am

I bought used Delta 1" belt sander for 85$ on eBay. Nice tool but shipping was expensive

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:16 am

Daniel, what you want to do is face the shank and drill the mortis without moving the pipe between those operations. Since you have a drill press, I suggest getting a drill press vise if you don't already have one, and bolt it to the drill press table. Any vise that can hold your wood will do, it doesn't have to be anything fancy.

Then drill the mortis. Leave the block secured and do not move it. Change the drill bit to a forstner bit, and then use that to face the shank end. Here's a wikipedia entry in case you're unfamiliar with that bit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_bit#Forstner_bit

Alternatively, you can use a counterbore to drill and face at the same time. Use something like this fitted to your drill bit:
counterbore - click me
Be sure to get the right size for your drill b it - these are SAE, but I'm sure the metric equiv exists

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:40 am

I do as Kurt describes except I face of the shank with a forstner bit before drilling the mortise. The dimple that the forstner puts in the center helps align the bit for the mortise.

daniel · Post by **daniel** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:22 pm

ah!
this counterbore is what i need, indeed.
thanks alot for helping me.