PITH 2018!!!!

[ricebiscuit]

Is it too late to join? I would love to throw a pipe in the hat this year. Finally got moved into a space about a year ago where I can set a shop and work on pipes again.


Rick - Congrats on the addition! My .02 on the pics - Top pic is starting to get a "racing" style eggy bowl with the forward cant. Bottom pic similar to the first, adding stylistic moves that are going away from a classic author. Neither are unpleasing to the eye, they just aren't "classic" (Comoys 256 or a CK in my book). Middle pic is the winner if you are going for a classic author. I think you could stretch it a little bit. 1/2" max. Length added to both shank and stem would help - Top pic is stretched about a 1/4" verses the original bottom pic.

[RickB]

Awesome - thank you! I did end up redrawing this one based on the other feedback, but this helps for sure - I may need to tweak my plan a bit, but it's not too late for that.

[scotties22]

Make the middle one, with a little more bend on the stem, and see where it goes. You'll get to a point of madness if you just keep drawing them.

And HOLY SHIT!!! 9lbs 12oz?!?!?!?! I thought our son was big at 9lbs 3oz. Good Job Lady! If you have another you better start to the hospital as soon as you have your first contraction...seriously

[RickB]

Make the middle one, with a little more bend on the stem, and see where it goes. You'll get to a point of madness if you just keep drawing them.

I hit that madness point for sure, so I've started carving... we'll see how it goes. I actually work in graphic design and this reminded me of the process of finding the right font for something - eventually the words stop looking like words and start looking like they're spelled wrong - it's really a weird feeling (I actually suspect that it's related to this phenomenon: https://gizmodo.com/5912580/this-crazy- ... -grotesque).

And HOLY SHIT!!! 9lbs 12oz?!?!?!?! I thought our son was big at 9lbs 3oz. Good Job Lady! If you have another you better start to the hospital as soon as you have your first contraction...seriously

So funny story, that's what our nurse had told us after our first kid was born after about an hour of active labor - prompted us to go in for a pair of false alarms over the past couple of weeks, and the hospital folks told us to wait until her contractions were 5 minutes apart for an hour. She woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and her water broke - her contractions went from about 8 minutes apart but sporadic to 3 minutes apart and consistent. I thought I was going to deliver the (not so) little dude on the bathroom floor!

[DocAitch]

I thought I was going to deliver the (not so) little dude on the bathroom floor!

Just to point out a pet peeve about terminology from a number of years doing OB. The attendant (you, the physician, or whoever), does not “deliver the baby”, momma does that. In most cases, you stand there and CATCH the baby. If things go badly, then the attendant has to do something.
DocAitch

[RickB]

I thought I was going to deliver the (not so) little dude on the bathroom floor!

Just to point out a pet peeve about terminology from a number of years doing OB. The attendant (you, the physician, or whoever), does not “deliver the baby”, momma does that. In most cases, you stand there and CATCH the baby. If things go badly, then the attendant has to do something.
DocAitch

Ha - well put and very true, as she definitely was the one doing the work. I thought I was going to have to CATCH the baby on the bathroom floor. I need to do a better job of getting that right in all cases in the future.
The Emergency Dispatcher was telling me to go get two big blankets or towels, a shoelace to tie off the cord, and a safety pin (for some reason that was not disclosed to me). Glad the EMS folks got there.

[mightysmurf8201]

Is it too late to join? I would love to throw a pipe in the hat this year. Finally got moved into a space about a year ago where I can set a shop and work on pipes again.


Rick - Congrats on the addition! My .02 on the pics - Top pic is starting to get a "racing" style eggy bowl with the forward cant. Bottom pic similar to the first, adding stylistic moves that are going away from a classic author. Neither are unpleasing to the eye, they just aren't "classic" (Comoys 256 or a CK in my book). Middle pic is the winner if you are going for a classic author. I think you could stretch it a little bit. 1/2" max. Length added to both shank and stem would help - Top pic is stretched about a 1/4" verses the original bottom pic.

You've been added to the list. Welcome!

[RickB]

So uh... trying to bend this stem was definitely an adventure. Got it where I wanted finally just to realize after the fact that I'd bent it to the side as well. Used my standard kerosene lamp method and that was a real bad choice, turns out.

Hopefully I'll get the scorch marks out when I finish dialing in the lines. Also hopefully my wife will forgive me for the current smell of our kitchen/house.

Anyone have recommendations for a heat gun?

[oklahoma red]

So uh... trying to bend this stem was definitely an adventure. Got it where I wanted finally just to realize after the fact that I'd bent it to the side as well. Used my standard kerosene lamp method and that was a real bad choice, turns out.

Hopefully I'll get the scorch marks out when I finish dialing in the lines. Also hopefully my wife will forgive me for the current smell of our kitchen/house.

Anyone have recommendations for a heat gun?

DeWalt

[Doug535]

So uh... trying to bend this stem was definitely an adventure. Got it where I wanted finally just to realize after the fact that I'd bent it to the side as well. Used my standard kerosene lamp method and that was a real bad choice, turns out.

Hopefully I'll get the scorch marks out when I finish dialing in the lines. Also hopefully my wife will forgive me for the current smell of our kitchen/house.

Anyone have recommendations for a heat gun?

Rick, not sure what others are using, but I'm using one I picked up off of Amazon for $30 w/free shipping if you're a prime member (I have no affiliation with Amazon) Search on Amazon for Tacklife HGP70AC.

[RickB]

Thanks y'all. I was looking at one but it only had two settings and I think both were too high. Also when y'all talk about wearing leather gloves, are we talking normal work gloves or like the heavy duty welding gloves?

[DocAitch]

Rick, the secret of heating the stem is to do it gradually. Keep the stem in the stummel and keep it moving back and forth and rotating. Takes a while with fatter stems. Test for floppiness on occasional, but I suspect that it will take at least 3 minutes. Hit the bathroom and have a snack before you start.
I also don’t use gloves, but soft leather should be fine. I occasionally singe my knuckles.
I use a Kobalt from Lowe’s and it works fine. I think I have it set on 600 degrees on the high setting, but used an alcohol lamp in the last century.
Good luck.
I won’t even think about an Author until after Chicago, but it will nice to review all of your homework before I start.
DocAitch

[scotties22]

I have a Grizzly heat gun I picked up on Amazon for like $30. A little over medium on the heat. Keep the stem moving and concentrate more on the thick part right where you want the bend to start. The button area will heat up super quick so don't spend much time heating that. It usually takes me about 3 minutes to get the stem hot enough to bend.

[RickB]

Thanks y'all. I ended up picking up a Porter Cable for $27 on Amazon because it had a variable heat dial and all I can remember is George yelling at people for cranking them up too high (the others I'd looked at were either 900/1100 degrees or 130/700/1100).
Straightened out my little sideways bend I'd put in there and got it bent back to about where it's supposed to be. Definitely takes awhile to get it warm enough for these thick ones, but beats the shit outta what I'd been doing before.

[RickB]

Also here's my "it's still early but hopefully these here shits are looking okayish so far" check in pic.

[JMG]

That top one is looking really nice. The bottom one's shank line is too straight. Great job.

[RickB]

That top one is looking really nice. The bottom one's shank line is too straight. Great job.

Thank you! I've cleaned them both up a lot and am trying the Scottie method of putting them down for a day, inspecting and fixing high points, and putting them back down. Shaping on the bottom one is better than it was. Side profile on the top one is still better but I got the shank too narrow from the top and it looks... wrong. I did make two for a reason though, so whomever gets mine will get to pick. If that narrow shank doesn't end up as a dealbreaker, the top one will probably end up as a nicer looking pipe.

[MrGuy]

Hey folks, I’m afraid I’m going to have to drop out of the pass. The daughter has been having some difficulty and we found out today that she’ll need to be scheduled for another surgery this Summer. Should be relatively straight forward but we don’t have any surgeons here who will work on her, have to go the the children’s hospital for this one, again If I finish what I’ve been working on in a decent amount of time, I’ll probably post to give it away on the board. Sorry to have to flake on my first entry.

[RickB]

Shit man, sorry to hear that. More important things than pipe making, so take care of your family. Best hopes for your little girl, bud.

[Isakowitch]

Hello people. I'm afraid i'll have to drop out aswell. I'm so sorry, i really dont want to be "That guy" however, i've just found out i have an illness in my legs (Henoch Schönleins Purpura (basically its a bloodvessel infection, and it's attacking my legs)). Worst part is ive had it before, but i thought it had gone away, I've been stepping down medicine wise for a long while now, but now that it's returned i know i will have to get back on higher doses again (Prednisolon). TL;DR - I have a illness in my legs that prevents me from standing up for longer periods of time, and are attacking my joints, in my legs. Sorry.