Thanks for your time!
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Yeah well, that makes two of us...scotties22 wrote:It has too much of a belly...could use a tummy tuck.
Actually I'm not that happy with the slot myself. I think it's too... high? I didn't quite make it down to those "4mm behind the button" in fear of sanding through. But it still works. And I see I forgot to polish the inside. But I feel better about it now I got your approval!scotties22 wrote:The button and slot are looking good too.
I don't think there is, but I'll take a closer look! This time I didn't take it apart until final polishing, made the whole pipe at once so to speak, so if I failed this part again I'm left clueless!scotties22 wrote:Looks like you might have a slight gap at the stem/shank junction. Make sure you keep them together when you are sanding.
You're right of course! I don't know what drove me to make the rim completely rounded, but I promise I won't make it like that again!sandahlpipe wrote:On a billiard, do have a very slight curve on the bowl up to the rim, but when it comes to the rim, still leave a little bit of definition on the outer part of the rim.
In addition to the belly, you've got a little bit too much meat above the shank. If you look at the top view, you can see where there is more on the bowl on the shank side than the rest. Getting the taper correct will help you there.
Don't worry about sanding through behind the button. As long as your slot is straight and about 1.5mm or 1/16" like what I do, you've easily got room to get the bite zone down to 3mm. I've made stems for myself that have been just under 3mm and no issue. For production, I usually go to 3.5mm, which still leaves 1mm on either side. That's plenty of material if you're using good quality ebonite. You've got to sand through at least one stem to know how far you can go.Lundell wrote:scotties22 wrote:I didn't quite make it down to those "4mm behind the button" in fear of sanding through.
I'm not using ebonite, it's acrylic. I don't know if that is better or worse in this case. And the slot is more like 2mm because, well, I messed up.sandahlpipe wrote:Don't worry about sanding through behind the button. As long as your slot is straight and about 1.5mm or 1/16" like what I do, you've easily got room to get the bite zone down to 3mm. I've made stems for myself that have been just under 3mm and no issue. For production, I usually go to 3.5mm, which still leaves 1mm on either side. That's plenty of material if you're using good quality ebonite. You've got to sand through at least one stem to know how far you can go.
Nevermind! I found the answer on that myself!Lundell wrote:Since I don't own a lathe, I'm glueing my pre-made tenons. There's no issues doing that with ebonite is there?