Then I make my first mistake. I had read that the best thing for maple is to just oil it, and try and keep it as natural as possible, but *I* in my infinite wisdom, busted out the fiebing's dye... in YELLOW! Oh dear lord, this is why you don't drink beer in between sanding grades >.< The wood SOAKED it up like it was dieing of thirst, and it stayed ELECTRIC YELLOW and looked like complete booty! So, stepped down to 150 grit to get rid of the stain, and this is where I made my second mistake. I totally didn't think about things like... situational awareness. Like how close to my drilled holes the deep, penetrating, pain in the.. stain reached. Next thing I know, my finger goes THROUGH the side of the pipe!
So, I said screw it, and continued to remove the dye and get it to as close to bare wood as I could, it was either that or try and devise an unique and horrible fate for the block of orange osage I have sitting on the workbench. I'll post some pics tomorrow, and maybe I'll pick up another block of maple burl too. I mean, really; it's a great materiel, carves and sands like a dream, and as long as you're not half drunk, and full durr, you can make a great pipe out of it
