shank extension

[Doug535]

So I have a slight dilemma, I had to shorten the shank due to a flaw. Gimme some ideas as to what you would do. I have a mock up of what I was thinking using a reverse tenon, thoughts? For reference it would be approx 3" from front of bowl to the end of the ring as it is pictured.

[LatakiaLover]

Dunhill turned to bamboo when there was a briar shortage after WWII for the same reason --- bowl flaws can often be blasted, but shank flaws are often fatal.

The most common error when extending a shank with bamboo is choosing a piece that's too large in diameter. The "rule" among experienced makers is select what your eye thinks is a perfect piece, then force yourself to go down a click.

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[Doug535]

Dunhill turned to bamboo when there was a briar shortage after WWII for the same reason --- bowl flaws can often be blasted, but shank flaws are often fatal.

The most common error when extending a shank with bamboo is choosing a piece that's too large in diameter. The "rule" among experienced makers is select what your eye thinks is a perfect piece, then force yourself to go down a click.

.

So smaller bamboo is no problem. Do you think it would be better to do longer bamboo or shorter as pictured in my post?

[LatakiaLover]

An argument can be made for either option.

I'd say make a sketch or two, use your imagineizer, and see which one speaks the loudest.

Either way you'll end up with something nice and learn a lot.

[sandahlpipe]

I think you should usually use at least 2 knuckles whenever possible. When I do bamboo, it starts with bamboo selection, not parting off a broken shank. If a shank is broken, I toss it aside and move on, because getting it to look right takes a lot longer than starting over and my shop time is more limited than my briar supply.

[Doug535]

I think you should usually use at least 2 knuckles whenever possible. When I do bamboo, it starts with bamboo selection, not parting off a broken shank. If a shank is broken, I toss it aside and move on, because getting it to look right takes a lot longer than starting over and my shop time is more limited than my briar supply.

Fair enough, then would it by wiser to extend with say, a different wood or faux ivory or something along those lines? This stummel has some decent grain and I don't wanna just pitch it although I do have plenty of blocks. This is basically me wanting to try and learn a different technique also while saving it.

[sandahlpipe]

If it’s just practice, it doesn’t matter much. It takes a lot more skill to gracefully change directions than to design something correct from the onset. Think of it as now you’re starting from a square one but with a design constraint. Just replacing one material with another isn’t an artistic solution, just a practical one. So take the time to sketch out what you have with different design elements till you have what you want, then go for it. The challenge is getting the final product to not appear as if you changed course.

[DocAitch]

I am not clear on Jeremiah's reason for not finishing that stummel, perhaps because our methods are so different.You are also at a different place than Jeremiah in your artisanal development, and finishing the stummel is probably worth it to you.
I think your enhancement will work for a billiard, or if you want a Lovat like George pictured, add a node or two. A piece of ebonite between the bamboo and the briar makes the transition between briar and the bamboo a little easier to accomplish, but that introduces a second joint that may fail.
Use good epoxy.
G Flex has worked well for me and peels off neatly at that critical jelled stage ( about 2-2 1/2 h at 90 deg F)
DocAitch

[sandahlpipe]

To clarify, to the trained eye, it's immediately apparent when the design wasn't planned out a certain way from the beginning. When I first started making pipes, unless there was a flaw in the chamber, I would find a way to make a pipe out of it by any means necessary. The result was that I had no consistency in my early work, either in quality or aesthetics. It wasn't until I was encouraged to put aside my flawed pipes and start fresh that my work began to show improvement. If you have the time, it's no harm done in finishing a stummel, but it's a different skillset you're working on to fix a flawed stummel versus execute the shape you originally designed, and the one skillset doesn't directly translate into the other. Similarly, the skillset needed to make pipes isn't the same as that required to repair them, and they don't translate. Early on, I think the most important skillset for an aspiring pipe maker to develop is execution of a shape from start to finish. Once you've shown you can execute, if you want to go back and redeem stummels from the scrap bin, you can hone a different skill. Just my 2 cents.

[Doug535]

To clarify, to the trained eye, it's immediately apparent when the design wasn't planned out a certain way from the beginning. When I first started making pipes, unless there was a flaw in the chamber, I would find a way to make a pipe out of it by any means necessary. The result was that I had no consistency in my early work, either in quality or aesthetics. It wasn't until I was encouraged to put aside my flawed pipes and start fresh that my work began to show improvement. If you have the time, it's no harm done in finishing a stummel, but it's a different skillset you're working on to fix a flawed stummel versus execute the shape you originally designed, and the one skillset doesn't directly translate into the other. Similarly, the skillset needed to make pipes isn't the same as that required to repair them, and they don't translate. Early on, I think the most important skillset for an aspiring pipe maker to develop is execution of a shape from start to finish. Once you've shown you can execute, if you want to go back and redeem stummels from the scrap bin, you can hone a different skill. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks Jeremiah, great info that I will follow. I guess I'll start a maybe I'll get back to it box and see what I can do with them later. I can see from a production standpoint why you would choose to pitch it though. I ended up putting a horn extension on it and have not completed it as of yet.

[LatakiaLover]

It wasn't until I was encouraged to put aside my flawed pipes and start fresh that my work began to show improvement.

Which was also when your kids started using your shop and making pipes.

That's one helluva co-inky-dinky, right thar...

Is there something you'd like to tell us, Mr. J?

[sandahlpipe]

Oh no. It was a couple of years before my kids started making pipes, and the flaw in that line of reasoning is that it takes about the same amount of time to fix a flaw properly as it would to start over. The pipes my kids make are nearly always started from scratch. I'll admit that a few pipes I'd tossed aside ended up not being all that bad, but most of them are just toast.

[JMG]

George, what's the little pin looking thing in at the front (bowl end) of the bamboo on that Dunhill?

[LatakiaLover]

That's how it's attached. Pinned instead of glued.

The full story is partway down this thread from another forum:

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/c ... amboo-pipe

[JMG]

That's how it's attached. Pinned instead of glued.

The full story is partway down this thread from another forum:

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/c ... amboo-pipe

Well...I'll be.

With that pin going across the airway, does it restrict the passing of a pipe cleaner?

[LatakiaLover]

It doesn't go across as a final thing. The "bridge" portion is cut (drilled) away, then the remaining pin segments on each side are staked in place.

An elegant, permanent, mechanical connection.

[JMG]

It doesn't go across as a final thing. The "bridge" portion is cut (drilled) away, then the remaining pin segments on each side are staked in place.

An elegant, permanent, mechanical connection.

Now I understand. I'm not too sharp on the uptick, sorry.

[LatakiaLover]

It's counterintuitive, to be sure. Very few people have said "Ah ha!" on the first pass without seeing a diagram. Key is knowing that staking soft(ish) metals is a legit technique. It just isn't seen much anymore.