"What do you do when you have a block that just isn't great?"
Well, we're famous high-grade pipe makers, all of us, so that never happens, right? No, of course we all have a block or two or two hundred that are just not incredible, you find a funny cut, washy grain, whatever, but I mean, for most of us, that's not garbage, we need to use it.
So. Make a pipe.
I had a super boring block, cut a billiard shape and drilled it. First pic here is after those operations, and I'm fitting it to a rod, cutting the rod just undersize because reasons. I am NOT spinning the stummel connected to the rod. The stummel isn't being worked on here.
And yes, I know this is gonna be a boring rusticated pipe, so I planned ahead a little and put some boxwood on a black ebonite rod.
Once that's fitted up, I can cut the rod to length - billiard outright so stem = stummel, roughly.
Next gonna knock a pile of material off that stummel. Working fast here.
Files, discs, belts, whatever, get 'er done, dial it in. Still moving fast, rough shape, rough stem.
Now we get to the nitty gritty of shaping, time to slow down some.
Getting there, bowl has definition, but still bulges in a few spots, the shank needs slimming yet.
And yeah, still not flat on the bottom, bowl sag has to be ground off.
Now, texturing complete, working hard on the stem, and that little extra meat (remember I undersized the stem just a hair) can be knocked off at the transition, and the pipe looks a lot less "cut away" where the texture starts, no big drop off there (saving the slight taper on the shank).
Eee, let's hope that inclusion sands out! (It did).
Polish behind the button as hard as you like BEFORE you finish the button.
And then fuckin Voila, a reasonably attractive pipe.
Now, that plain-jane piece of crap took me about ten years to learn how to make. That's a nice crisp straight stem, a decent set of proportions, and some subtle curves. Which is why it's so jaw-droppingly boring. There's kinda nothing wrong, is all. And if you can manage that, you'll sell your pipe.
These photos have all kinds of info and teasers in 'em, I'm happy to answer questions for any who care.
