Recent Attempts...

[DanH]

Hi All,

Been a while since I posted on here. I decided to take some time and work on my weak points -- mainly the bit, and the bowl/shank junction. I think that the extra work paid off in these areas; however, now I'm noticing more weak spots that need work. For instance, I just cant seem to get a perfect stem/shank join no matter how hard I try. Also, photographing the finished work definitely needs some fine tuning. Speaking of which, anything in the pictures that looks tiny and white is actually dust or bits of fluff that I didn't notice until after the pics were taken. Apologies for the poor photographic skills.

Click here to see the photos.

The last pipe on the page (flared poker) was made from a kit from Penguin Briar. On the rest, I drilled the blocks and cut the stems from raw stock under the supervision of a much more experienced maker.

I would appreciate some good feedback, and I think I'm ready for honest critique, so don't go too easy on me.

Thanks!

Dan

[Abi Natur]

Hi Dan,
i will keep it short and let other fellow comrades find some flaws or reflect upon their personal view over the shapes here presented since i don't notice any drastic flaws except there is a small gap between the stem wood ring and the ebonite on the Tortuga pipe and some stain in the bowl
All in all i see really beautifully balanced pipes that are in harmony with the grain and the whole appearance ,just practice some more on the stem shank matter,we all do and keep on the good work

Best,
Abi

[DanH]

there is a small gap between the stem wood ring and the ebonite on the Tortuga pipe

Yeah. That was a real heart-breaker that didn't show up until I was pretty far into the carving. At first, I considered making a new stem, but in the end decided to keep it for myself and use it as a prototype/reference. I realize that it's a pretty obvious rip off of Maigurs Knets' Turtle shape melded with Alex Florov's sphinx shape, but I do like it. I think I could make it better next time, though.

[Tyler]

Wow...very nice pipes.

All of the stem issues can still be fixed. I'm not sure what's causing them, but I am sure they can be fixed. It looks to me like the most likely culprit is a slight taper on the face of the shank or the face of the stem (or both). Making the surface(s) flat will cause the joint to close.

As for the gap between the inlay and rubber, fill it. Get some super glue in there and iterate with more until it's full; then sand flush. You'll see the line, but that's better than seeing light.

The buttons on the stems look a little clunky. It looks like you are trying to maintain the "height" of the button all the way to both edges, then rounding it over on the edge. It will look better if you make top and bottom profiles of the buttons more crescent shaped. The Tortuga is the best in this regard, though it looks like you left that one a little thick behind the button--well, really they all look thick behind the button. With experience you'll learn that you can leave MUCH less material on the stem than you would expect. That's how the big boys make stems that are 3.5mm thick behind the stem and still have a wide open draw.

Next, and I say this with some care, on the tulip (in particular) I think you defined the shank/bowl transition a little TOO well. I think little more flow (and I do mean little) from shank to bowl would be better. (The poker does this well.)

Lastly, I think the saddle and stem on the tulip are too long. You can make what you have work better though with more bend--something I almost never recommend. Not too much! Just a little.

All that said, you show a tremendous talent for carving with balance and symmetry. Nice job!

[maxmil]

A precious pipes.
Regards.
Felix

Unas pipas preciosas.
Saludos.
Félix

[DanH]

Thanks, Tyler! That's the kind of criticism I was hoping for.

You're the second person to comment on the stem of the tulip being too long, so that's something that I completely missed. That pipe in particular was one where I felt I was probably overshooting my abilities in even attempting it. I did quite a bit of wrangling with proportions on that one (bowl to stem, stem to shank, bowl height to width, bowl tilt to stem bend). I had to set it down several times and walk away from it for a week. Didn't even consider the stem being too long until someone else brought it up. On the whole, I look at it as half success and half failure. But I did learn a lot from even the failed portions of it. I always feel like if I don't fail at least a little bit, it probably means I'm not pushing myself very hard.

Thanks for mentioning the buttons as well. I'll keep paying more attention to what I'm doing there. I think I still suffer a bit from over cautiousness on stem thickness and button thickness. On the bright side, it's always easier to remove material than it is to put it back on, so at least I'm lucky in that regard.

Got any tips for getting the stem/shank join tighter? That's such a delicate area, I'm always afraid I'm going to make the problem worse instead of better.

Keep the criticism coming.

Dan

[RadDavis]

What Tyler said.

And try mixing a little charcoal dust with your super glue when filling that gap between the rubber and wood.

When looking at the button at the slot end, it should look pretty much narrow football shaped. Stick it in your mouth to see if it's thin and comfortable. If it's not comfortable for you it won't be for someone else.

Rad

[Tyler]

Got any tips for getting the stem/shank join tighter? That's such a delicate area, I'm always afraid I'm going to make the problem worse instead of better.

How about get us some photos of with the stem out? Show as much as you can of the areas that contact one anther.

If we can't fix it with photo diagnosis, mail me one of them. I'll fix it, send it back, then tell you what to do for the others.

[DanH]

Thanks again fellas!

I probably should have been more clear earlier about my problems making the shank and stem meet. I pretty sure I know what the problem is and what's causing it. Rather than take more pics (my photo set up at home isn't permanent yet, and is a pain in the neck to set up), I'll describe the problem since it is pretty straightforward.

On all the pipes where the stem/shank gap exists, the stem meets on one side, with just a tiny gap on the side directly opposite.

To me, this suggests the underlying cause is a difference in tolerances in two machines: the lathe used to cut the stem tenon and the drill-press used to drill the mortise and face the shank. Given those two options, the more likely culprit is the drill press... or much more likely than that, the operator.

At any rate, the solution seems pretty clear. Slowly remove material from one side of the shank facing until the stem meets uniformly all around. The problem I'm having is correcting a 2 to 5 degree difference in angles across the entire face of the shank end while still keeping it uniformly flat. So I guess what I'm really hoping for is some sort of trick that helps that process along... Other than doing a better job with the initial facing, which is clearly the best solution!

[RadDavis]

That sounds like your mortise drill bit is walking just a tiny bit when you drill the mortise. It doesn't take much at all for the mortise and shank face to get out of square.

Rad

[Tyler]

Regardless of the cause, it's an easy fix for the one's already affected.

Get some 600 grit and lay it out on a smooth surface.

Carefully pull the face of the shank along the paper, keeping careful contact with the entire face. Focus the pressure though, on the "high" side -- the side that is touching the stem. Test the fit. Iterate until perfect. It's easier than it sounds...promise.

As for the cause, I bet Rad's right. I drill the mortise on a wood lathe and have the same problem. I used the fix I outlined above until I got some pin gages. (If that doesn't mean anything to you, do a search on "pin gages".)