pipemakersforum.com

A stupid question from a stoopidur person. I keep reading how hard it is to drill properly, I hold tolerances of around .0005" on my folding knives, since I do not have a lathe in my shop I'll be drilling on my mill, may make some jaws and do some of the shaping on my rotary table. Is this a case of "even though you know how to do something similar pipes are different" like in knifemaking or is there something else in play? I tend to do a lot of research before I start projects and am trying to figure out what I should be aware of.

Making a pipe is a totally different animal. If you are familiar with tools and working with your hands then you will find some of the processes easier to learn. And more than likely the drilling will come more naturally to you than for others. However, get the notion that you can make a knife so you can make a pipe pretty damned easy out of your head. There is some crossover, just like with any wood working/turning, but you have an entire new skill set to learn too.

The best thing to do at this point is get a piece of that walnut you were talking about and draw a pipe on the side. lay out your drill lines and drill it. Doesn't matter how you drill it...your mill is fine, a hand drill works too ( I drilled my first 3 pipes with my crappy cordless drill from Lowe's). The only thing to work on right now is getting the airway to come out dead center of the chamber and making sure your mortise and shank face are square. Try it and find out....till then there's not much more advise to be given.

I don't think for a minute it's gonna be easy to make pipes because I make knives. I'm trying to nail down the primary issue with drilling before I start in on wood. I do appreciate your and everyone else's advice.

My practice drilling was all done on scraps of 2x4. I drew straight pipes, laid out my drill lines and went to work. I did that while I waited for my briar to get to me. I even made two pipes out of Cherry in that time. There really isn't any secret to be discovered. It's trial and error until you find what is going to work for you.

Thanks... I imagine I know what y'all are thinking.. "here's comes another interweb turd maker that's gonna try to sell $1500 pipes." I was taught knives very old school, my teacher has thrown my knives into the woods or dropped them into the bottom of the forge to turn into a sparkler. I made 50 knives before I tried to sell one, I sold a lot of $60 knives to "pay my dues." I'm not looking or expecting an easy path. I'm not smart but I'll work hard and listen to y'all.

The main issues in drilling are sloppy planning, and drill bit flex/walking.
The first is just a matter of lining up the holes, and having a way to make sure they meet correctly. This usually means a chuck with pins that the block spins on so that when the airway is drilled, the block is then spun on the pins so that the tobacco chamber is then on the same plane as the airway.
The other problem is solved by starting your airway with a stout pilot bit and backing your drill bit out often to clear chips.
Of course theres other ways to screw up the drilling, and other ways to overcome issues, but basically sloppy planning and drill bit drift are probably your two biggest enemies.

Will46r wrote:Thanks... I imagine I know what y'all are thinking.. "here's comes another interweb turd maker that's gonna try to sell $1500 pipes." I was taught knives very old school, my teacher has thrown my knives into the woods or dropped them into the bottom of the forge to turn into a sparkler. I made 50 knives before I tried to sell one, I sold a lot of $60 knives to "pay my dues." I'm not looking or expecting an easy path. I'm not smart but I'll work hard and listen to y'all.

It is perfectly understandable that you would feel this way because of the timing of your arrival, but please understand that this forum exists, in large part, for new guys. There is no shame in being new, and you are quite welcome, as are all other makers.

Discussions like the "turd" conversation pop up from time to time. It's all part of it. Don't let it discourage you from jumping in an learning.

Tyler wrote:

Will46r wrote:Thanks... I imagine I know what y'all are thinking.. "here's comes another interweb turd maker that's gonna try to sell $1500 pipes." I was taught knives very old school, my teacher has thrown my knives into the woods or dropped them into the bottom of the forge to turn into a sparkler. I made 50 knives before I tried to sell one, I sold a lot of $60 knives to "pay my dues." I'm not looking or expecting an easy path. I'm not smart but I'll work hard and listen to y'all.

It is perfectly understandable that you would feel this way because of the timing of your arrival, but please understand that this forum exists, in large part, for new guys. There is no shame in being new, and you are quite welcome, as are all other makers.

Discussions like the "turd" conversation pop up from time to time. It's all part of it. Don't let it discourage you from jumping in an learning.

We've been going through this for years in the custom knife world..... interweb experts giving technical advice even though they have no metallurgical background and haven't finished 5 knives. I'm hear to learn, I'm gonna ask stupid questions I can't find through research. I appreciate y'all sharing your hard earned kniwledge

Ask away but before you do use the search function, there is a huge wealth of information and lots of questions are already answered or at least partly covered. If you have already done some research not only will you find answers quicker but you will also ask better questions as you will have some background to work from.

Tyler wrote:

Will46r wrote:Thanks... I imagine I know what y'all are thinking.. "here's comes another interweb turd maker that's gonna try to sell $1500 pipes." I was taught knives very old school, my teacher has thrown my knives into the woods or dropped them into the bottom of the forge to turn into a sparkler. I made 50 knives before I tried to sell one, I sold a lot of $60 knives to "pay my dues." I'm not looking or expecting an easy path. I'm not smart but I'll work hard and listen to y'all.

It is perfectly understandable that you would feel this way because of the timing of your arrival, but please understand that this forum exists, in large part, for new guys. There is no shame in being new, and you are quite welcome, as are all other makers.

Discussions like the "turd" conversation pop up from time to time. It's all part of it. Don't let it discourage you from jumping in an learning.

You're a real jerk you know that, Tyler.

JMG wrote:

Tyler wrote:

Will46r wrote:Thanks... I imagine I know what y'all are thinking.. "here's comes another interweb turd maker that's gonna try to sell $1500 pipes." I was taught knives very old school, my teacher has thrown my knives into the woods or dropped them into the bottom of the forge to turn into a sparkler. I made 50 knives before I tried to sell one, I sold a lot of $60 knives to "pay my dues." I'm not looking or expecting an easy path. I'm not smart but I'll work hard and listen to y'all.

It is perfectly understandable that you would feel this way because of the timing of your arrival, but please understand that this forum exists, in large part, for new guys. There is no shame in being new, and you are quite welcome, as are all other makers.

Discussions like the "turd" conversation pop up from time to time. It's all part of it. Don't let it discourage you from jumping in an learning.

You're a real jerk you know that, Tyler.

Sorry.

I look at it as all your life experiences in crafting items can be drawn on for pipe making, the more detailed crafting you have done in the past the more helpful, but it takes time to get your eye trained for pipe making if you will. Just like establishing a curve profile on a knife, many people have the metal working talent to do it, but it takes time to see a professional profile of a blade And the blade craft experience to know how to anneal the blade for optimal working potential.
Past experiences help you greatly in the learning curve no question IMO.