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Billiards...ugh. Critique and advice always welcome. 5 1/8 long, 2 1/4" tall. 7/8" chamber.

Very nice, but could be a little slimmer from about 1/2 way up the shank to about 1/2 way up the stem.
It looks like it bulges in this region (which may be an optical illusion).
Very nice finish, but the stem could use a better polish.
DocAitch

DocAitch wrote:Very nice, but could be a little slimmer from about 1/2 way up the shank to about 1/2 way up the stem.
It looks like it bulges in this region (which may be an optical illusion).
Very nice finish, but the stem could use a better polish.
DocAitch

Doc, I was thinking the same about the bulge. It's not really there, but I think what makes it look like that is that I took a little too much meat off the bottom of the shank...Wouldn't you know, it's a lot more difficult to put wood back on than it is to take it off! This pipe "did" have a decent finish, but unfortunately it's had a plethora of hands on it today...one of which may have been eating potato chips shortly before I took the photos...that may or may not have been one of my kids.

I was going to mention there was missing material from the bottom of the shank. Other than that, it looks really nice!

Yeah, the bottom of the shank got too much taken off, the top not enough. The result is that the shank angle is wrong (as established by the midline of the stem - yellow line). That's indicated here on the green lines - these should make right angles at the contact point of shank and stem - your shank is wandering off toward the bowl.

Blue line indicates the curve established by the stem.

The shank is short, probably would look better if is was up to where you have the black ring on the stem. That was a good idea visually, but it doesn't re-balance the pipe physically - you have a very fat stem, a very short shank, and the pipe comes up a little dwarfy because of it.




Bowl shape is real good though.

Sas -- what program/tool/app/thingie are you using to draw them purty lines?

That sort of thing should be the backbone of shaping critiques around here.

LatakiaLover wrote:Sas -- what program/tool/app/thingie are you using to draw them purty lines?

That sort of thing should be the backbone of shaping critiques around here.

I'm not sure how Sas does it but it is quite easy in PhotoShop Elements (I have version 10 which serves me well)
Right-click on the image and save the image where ever you wish (I just use the desktop).
Open it in PS and hit the "N" key which brings up the "pencil". Choose your line width and color and have at it. Save what you've done then repost it on the forum.

Sas, I think "dwarfy" is the definitely the right word for the overall composition of this pipe. If I'm honest, this is the most bent pipe I've ever done and I was a bit intimidated by the drilling and was afraid to go with a longer shank for fear of screwing things up. Baby steps I guess...and maybe I just need to sack up and try. Thanks for the lines...that's a big help. I knew I had taken too much off the bottom, but didn't realize about the top.

What do you say to the overal stem, apart for the rest of the pipe? Looking at it now, it seems like I should have removed some material from the top middle of it to slim it down.

Also, my attempts at a billiard always fall short on the cheeks so I really tried to focus more on that this time. Better, worse than previous attempts?

JMG wrote:, it seems like I should have removed some material from the top middle of it to slim it down.

It looks that way, but it may only look that way because the shank isn't great. It's hard to appraise it alone.


I use the paint program that windows comes with. I can make straight lines, but more importantly one of the selectable lines is a sort of math-y curve you can play with, and that's helpful as hell.

Old dogs, new tricks, something something...

Just when you whippersnappers thought you were safe. MuWAHhahahahahaha!

You think it needs yellow stripes? I find that a bit garish, actually.

Lord help us all! George has found a new toy!

LatakiaLover wrote:Old dogs, new tricks, something something...

Just when you whippersnappers thought you were safe. MuWAHhahahahahaha!

Oooohhh.....so close. I swear, one of these days when I make a decent billiard I think I will crap my pants in excitement.

Sasquatch wrote:You think it needs yellow stripes? I find that a bit garish, actually.

In the PipeWorld, yellow has never gotten any respect.

So, I'm going to do what offended entities the world over are turning to as their first option these days, and lead a protest march on Washington (with big signs n' shit) to raise awareness. Colors have feelings too, and I simply can't sit by and watch yellow get dismissed---or worse yet, labeled "garish"---anymore.

COLORISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! (how's that for a slogan? too polite, plus a four syllable word, you say?) OK...

LOVE YELLOW PIPES OR DIE! (Ahh... much better)

Imma get Trudeau on board with this too, Mr. Squatcher, so stand by.

(I'd rant a bit on BookFace, Instagranny, and SnipChit, too, but don't have the right vacuum tubes to plug into my computer yet for those.)

oklahoma red wrote:Lord help us all! George has found a new toy!

Yessir. Called Patina. Cost two dolla n' ninety-nine cent at the Apple online app store. You Mac users should get it for this forum if nothing else. Pictures here are worth a million words, not just a thousand.

Plus, you KNOW it's easy to use if I can manage it.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/patina- ... 8098?mt=12

IAWLL

LatakiaLover's drawing is spot on. Obvious taper on shank with taper stem is almost always the best way for a nice visual. Also starting the concave sooner on the bottom of the stem sooner than the top is critical in a bent taper. You did it well on this pipe it looks like.

Yep, you just need to draw on the yellow lines like George did. His version looks real nice.

Another look after coming back with "a fresh eye" said that the now slightly slimmed-down shank/stem tilted the visual balance toward the bowl, so removed some of the bowl's bulk by topping it a couple millimeters.

I also agree with Sas that the shank is too short as-is, so put a line where it looked right to moi.

(This drawing on photos thing is like crayons for grownups, innit? )