A start in pipe making

[T. Suominen]

Hello, and greetings from Finland. (Oh yeah, I'm a postcard by profession...)

I've been a regular reader on the forum for about 7-8 months and recently i was able to get my equipment and stuff together to make my very first pipe. A traditional billiard with a saddle stem. ('cos i wanted one, rather than tapered one)

I know there is number of things going wrong but a man has to start from somewhere...

So, here she be:









Sorry about the poor photos.

Comments and critique are kindly welcomed as is harsh critique also if need be.

[sam a]

impressive start... now go make another.

[Ocelot55]

First of all Welcome!

Good job! All the basics are there. There is a lot to like about this pipe. You just need to start honing in on the details like the top and bottom lines of the shank, defining the rear lower cheeks on the bowl, and making sure all the scratches out of the stem.

You're already well ahead of the game. Now all you need to do is MAKE MORE PIPES!!!!

[Sasquatch]

That's a good start.

Typically for an early pipe, you have left excess wood around the transition area between the bowl and the shank (delineated with the red line), and the shank is tapering more than it needs to and running out quite a lot near the bowl. This long taper combined with the little bit of material that you too out sanding the joint between the stem and the shank also makes the saddle stem appear to be tapering in the opposite direction - it's "pinched" where they meet.

But this is all to be expected on early pipes, especially a shape that is unforgiving like a plain old billiard. So, go do it all again, make it tighter, more refined - keep the straight areas perfectly straight and make the curves perfect curves. What could be easier??

[jogilli]

I like it.. its a really good start.. listen to Sas and pay attention to his Crayons... the lines he draws are (unfortunately) normally correct...

ask questions when you have them, and once you get it down a little more.. buy a little better briar...


oh yea.. Welcome to the forum and the fun
james

[pipedreamer]

Welcome to the forum. I too must defer to SAS, as he is on top of this shape. The guys seem hard and picky, but they assume you wish to be the best you can be. You, have brought life to this briar,respect it, and honor your craft by continuing to make great smoking pipes and flowing lines. You have made a great start. either way you now have access to some of the best pipe makers and people that live today Make pipes!-Then make another.

[Sasquatch]

BECAUSE I AM HARD YOU WILL NOT LIKE ME, BUT THE HARDER I AM THE MORE YOU WILL LEARN!

I don't mean to sound like Gunnery Sargeant Hartman, but it is what it is. Unwritten in any critique on this forum is "Hey, I've been there, I know how hard it is to make a pipe just right, and in fact I fail pretty often in any number of ways myself." Any given pipe can be "right" in about 500 little ways, and there's really no way to learn them all except to make pipes, hear criticisms (which don't mean a pipe is bad, unsellable, which don't mean that someone should stop making pipes...they are just ideas for next time, subtle improvements which allow a guy to sell a pipe for more money next time) and apply the ideas to the next pipe.

[The Drinking Yeti]

Also, if aiming for a true billiard, I think the bowl needs to be shorter by about 1/4".

[T. Suominen]

Thank you for the welcomes and all.

I think Sas and his crayon lines are true and words correct, i was very aware of the green lines but the transition area between the bowl and the shank i thought i had pretty close, now it's obvious that it wasn't. Good, i'm a firm believer that the most effective (maybe not always the nicest) way to learn is by making mistakes. And BTW, i did not get any hard and picky vibes, straight pointers and advice was exactly what i wanted to hear, not any other BS... Thanks.

I'm here for the single reason of learning (and maybe a little virtual hanging out with the cool dudes), not to show off nor get ungrounded compliments.
Luckily for me the billiard is the simplest shape to do, all you have to do is get everything perfect and that's it!

Also, if aiming for a true billiard, I think the bowl needs to be shorter by about 1/4".

Yeah, there might be some chimney quality to it, but i think it has some to do with the fact that the stem is about 1/4 or 1/5 too short (a little brain fart of mine while cutting the stem... i had the lenght right, 1/2 stummel 1/2 stem and then... oh yeah... the mortise...) But the saddle compensates it quite well.

Anyways, i thank thee genlemen for the input. I try very hard to get some more shop time in my schedule, and be able to present soon some hideous monster vaguely resembeling a pipe.

Is it just me, but this pipe making business is turning me on!

(BTW, i apologize any spelling errors and such, for i'm not a native english speaker nor writer).

[ND Pipes]

nice pipe... keep the good work going!!

[T. Suominen]

Danke schön ND, i sure will try .

[Charl]

Welcome. Good start, make more

[T. Suominen]

Thanks, Charl.

[pipedreamer]

B.S.?? I was a Sgt.. 5th special forces. I take it all back. Eat em SAS.

[T. Suominen]

I'm sorry, have i offended people in the armed forces? If so i beg a pardon, for i did not meant to. I tried to say with my BS remark that my pipe making benefits more from simple comments that say 'this is wrong and so is this and this' than from 'it's just nice' comments. And now i'm perceived as one who don't like people who say it's nice... Hmm, maybe i won't dig my grave any deeper. All and all i might say that i'm a fan of sarcasm and i use it a lot, and the problem is that you can't catch the twinkle in my eye from my text.
And without trying to say anything too elaborately ('couse that will propably end in a disaster..) i simply say that i'm an ok guy (i think someone once actually said that i'm a NICE guy, don't know what that dude was smoking...) and i wish to stay in good terms with all you good people. Peace and love. (aaand now i've somehow offended hippies also...)

[pipedreamer]

You have more than one talent and with them goes responsibility. Consider yourself Unbitten, now make another pipe.

[T. Suominen]

Just waiting for the 'real life' to calm down a bit, then i'll just fade into the workshop .