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My 13th pipe! This one is nothing spectacular. I had a small block of briar so I thought I'd do a small pot with it. Didn't have enough briar to do much else. I'm using this one as a test pipe to smoke myself. I re-ground my tobacco chamber bits to be more conical instead of rounded on the bottom and want to check the smoking qualities of my rework. Also my first attempt using acrylic for the stem. Also will be my first smoking experience with a delrin tenon. Hopefully after I smoke this one I"ll know if my building procedures make a good pipe!
The pipe is a small pot. 5 3/4" long the bowl is just under 1 1/2" tall and the tobacco chamber is just under 1 1/4" deep
The briar was loaded with pits and crevices so it might be a good thing this one was for me!
Design-wise, I think the pipe would have looked much better with a small ebonite band between the shank and stem. I struggled with the shank/stem junction on this one probably due to the acrylic. I wasn't used to the way it worked.
Take a look and let me know what you think! Any suggestions or comments will be appreciated!
David
David, I'd be very interested in hearing how the acrylic feels on the teeth, and how it holds up. You've made a very snazzy little pipe! I keep scrolling down to look again, and I like it without the band. I'm impressed.
Overall a very nice pipe. That is some snazzy acrylic. Where did you get that stuff? Only constructive comment I have is the shank/bowl junction looks a little too fat. However, the overall lines look good.
I primarily use acrylic in my pipes and I found that if you turn the stem to the desired diameter and then bring the wood to it, the pipe is much easier to work as you are making the softer material fit the harder material. (not sure if this was your issue or not, but that is what works for me).
Mahaffey, acrylic is harder to work than ebonite. Likewise, it is a harder feeling material when clenched. The benefits are that after it is made, there is no buffing maintenance required. I do occasionally clean mine up with a cloth, and on occasion I have been known to wash them in the sink with some diswashing liquid (off the pipe, of course).
I have always preferred acrylic on my personal pipes due to the maintenance issues, however, serious pipe collectors prefer the high quality ebonite or cumberland, and I do use this material on my highest grades of pipes for that reason (and stamp them accordingly).
The acrylic is a lucite rod I bought from PipeMakers Emporium called "tiger". I bought it with the intention of using it mainly as a stem inlay but thought it might make an interesting stem.
Marks, thats exactly the problem I had with the stem/shank junction. I am more used to ebonite which sands at close to the same rate as briar. My first attempt at using acrylic and I was not familiar enough with it to know that it is a little harder. As a result, no matter how much I sand the junction, it won't even out. Part of the learning curve, and why I tryed it on a pipe I planned to keep for myself.
I also wanted to try it for maintainance reasons. I'm a biter, but I hate putting softy bits on my pipes. A couple smokes with an ebonite stem and it'll have teethmarks on it. The acrylic is definitely a harder mouth feel so I'll have to smoke it a few times to know how it will work. I was going to smoke it last night but got a new shipment of tobacco to try, and I wanted the first smoke in this pipe to be a tobacco I'm familiar with to test the smoking quality.
PapaDuke, it might actually be a bit too big for those quick breaks at work. Although the tobacco chamber is just under 1 1/4" deep, its 7/8" in diameter so it will hold a good portion of tobacco. I can't wait to test it out!
Ok, I hate to pat myself on the back, but since I made this one and I'm the one smoking it, I guess I'm the only one that can say anything about it! This is one darn fine smoking instrument! I am very pleased. This pipe was the 4th I've made with hand cut stems, and the 3rd with delrin tenon. And I attribute its smoking qualities to the delrin.(I could be wrong because I'm no expert) Delrin makes the job of bottoming out the tenon in the mortise a heck of a lot easier than turning a tenon with my old PIMO tool. I can sight through the draught hole of this one with a strong light and there is seemingly no transition or gap between briar and tenon. And since I used the same draught hole size as the last one I made for myself, I can only conclude the nearly invisible transition is the reason it smokes so well. Two bowls of tobacco smoked so far and no pipe cleaner needed while smoking! First bowl was my "over the hill" tin of Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe, love the stuff fresh, but it tends to lose flavor quickly after the tin is opened. But, even though the flavor is gone smoking it in all my other pipes, this pipe brought back that "newly opened tin" flavor. The tobacco is a little dry yet it still smoked very well. The only problem was I smoked for nearly 40 minutes until I ran out of time and dumped nearly half of the tobacco out unsmoked. Second bowl was a rather moist aromatic that I figured would be a good test of the pipe. If it was going to gurgle, this tobacco would do it. No gurgles, no tongue bite, and no pipe cleaners! And an awesome flavor! I am very impressed with the smoking qualities of this pipe. Can't wait to try GLP Montgomery in it and see how that goes. The big problem is now I've got 7 other pipes that pale in comparison and need to be replaced. Got to find the time to make more for myself, and a few to possibly sell so I can have the funds continue with this great craft!
Mahaffy, the acrylic stem is a different feel, yet I didn't find it uncomfortable in any way. I'm interested in seeing how it stands up to my smoking style.
Sorry for the long post, just had a lot to say about this one!
Hey don't make fun of our breaks
It's the only thing that keeps me from waisting the tax payers dollars! haha..
Good post and I really do like the pipe David.
You smoked for 40 minutes on that bowl? Then dumped half?
I can't smoke for 40 minutes if the bowl was the size of my bathroom sink!!
Too hyper I guess.
Also, I read somewhere that although the Tins are nice to have on the table and to pinch from, they make the worst containers for keeping your tobacco in after the seal has been broken? As much as I hated to do it I transfered all my tins to ziplocks. Which needless to say don't look half as nice as the tin!
One idea would be to cut out a thin piece of rubber to fit in the lid of your tin. Then when that Tin is done just remove the rubber seal for the next tin?
The Dunhill tins do have a rubber gasket thingy in the lid, and most other tins like that are fine and will keep the tobacco fresh for a couple weeks, for some reason the EMP tends to lose flavor, and several other people noted that as well on the tobacco reviews site. Next one I'll transfer to a glass jar and see if that works better.
Yep 40 minutes! The aromatic I smoked in it was close to an hour, and I only filled the bowl halfway! My thoughts when I was laying out the pipe were it would be a great flake pipe with the shorter bowl, but one pipe might last all day!
Very nice David! I think the stem would be a bit wild for me, but it's certainly an eye catcher. I see what Marks is saying about the shank/bowl junction. It looks a little thick to me too, but it's not unattractive, and it should hold up well. Reminds me of an old Marxman I have in my collection. I've heard they were specifically made to be extra robust for outdoorsman. I'm really glad to hear how well it smokes for you! Man, is that ever a treat... My #5 is like that. Lots of "issues" but has been a consistantly good smoker so far... Nothing like enjoying a good smoke in one's own creation!
Very interesting comments about working with the acrylics, and great tips from Marks! Wish I'd read that before may latest attempt (first hand cut stem and it's Lucite). This stuff is weird on a sander and it seems to have a tendancy to chip when drilling and faced using the drill press. I can see it's an excellent option if you and wan't a low maintenance stem, and don't mind the machining issues, and the glassy feel on the teeth, but I think I'll want to stick with German Ebonite and and maybe Cumberland in the future.
sethile wrote:Very nice David! I think the stem would be a bit wild for me, but it's certainly an eye catcher.
Very interesting comments about working with the acrylics, and great tips from Marks! Wish I'd read that before may latest attempt (first hand cut stem and it's Lucite). This stuff is weird on a sander and it seems to have a tendancy to chip when drilling and faced using the drill press. I can see it's an excellent option if you and wan't a low maintenance stem, and don't mind the machining issues, and the glassy feel on the teeth, but I think I'll want to stick with German Ebonite and and maybe Cumberland in the future.
Thanks Scott, I think the stem would be one of those love it or hate it things. Some people would love it and some would hate it. Kind of grows on you after a while. I bought the acrylic rod with the intention of using it as a stem inlay rather than a full stem, but thought what the heck, since this was an experimental model for myself I'd give it a shot. I faced and drilled it at 500 rpm on my lathe and didn't have any problem with it chipping. The only problem I had drilling, and it was minor, was the mortise I drilled for the delrin tenon was fractionally too large (probably a couple thousanths). I used the same drill bit and the same drilling procedure I use for ebonite and briar so I'm not sure why it was larger in acrylic. Maybe someone with more experience with this stuff will know. Drilling with the same bit in ebonite, I have to practically pound the delrin into place. Loved getting sandblasted while power sanding the stuff! 8O I think if I use it again I'll go with a higher grit sandpaper and wouldn't get pelted by the little grains of the stuff. It was an interesting experience!
bvartist wrote:
The only problem I had drilling, and it was minor, was the mortise I drilled for the delrin tenon was fractionally too large (probably a couple thousanths). I used the same drill bit and the same drilling procedure I use for ebonite and briar so I'm not sure why it was larger in acrylic. Maybe someone with more experience with this stuff will know. Drilling with the same bit in ebonite, I have to practically pound the delrin into place.
Same exact thing happened to me. In fact my epoxy joint on the Delrin tennon failed when I went to heat and bend the stem. I think partially as a result of the hole being slightly too large like you experienced, but I'm wondering if maybe the epoxy has a harder time sticking to the Lucite? I know it does have trouble sticking to the Delrin... Tried re-gluing mine this morning after roughing up the surfaces of the Delrin tennon and mortise in the Lucite. Hope it holds this time :dunno:
I cut 4 or 5 small groves in the delrin and use a small engraving bit in my dremel to cut grooves on the inside of the acrylic. So far its held together. I had to make two attempts at a stem for this pipe. Drilled the mortise for the delrin on the first one, too large, turned the stock around and drilled the other side just to see if I'd made a mistake but it was too large too. Cut another piece and drilled again, this time it was snug enough I felt ok using it. Maybe Kurt or one of the other guys that uses acrylic a lot can give us some clues why the holes are too large?
Acrylic and Lucite are not as forgiving to heat as vulcanite is. If you try to drill the mortis in acrylic in one shot, you're going to end up with a larger hole due to heat and pressure inside the hole hile drilling. Drill the mortis in stages, being sure that your drill bit stays cool hile doing so.
Also, vulcanite is a more flexible material, and will give slightly while drilling. This allows it to flex back into shape when you remove the bit. Acrylic is less flexible, more rigid, and doesn't yield very well to drill bits or to pressure. Instead it will stand it's ground, and get more material removed as a result.
At least that's how a materials sciences person explained it to me once.
Thanks for the amazingly simple answer Kurt, I'm not sure if that is my problem though, could be but I don't think so. I drilled a 3/8" deep mortise in 5 stages, taking the bit out and cleaning it off after every stage. Even when I was done with the mortise, the bit wasn't hot enough to be noticeable. I'll have to do some more trials and see if I can discover any conclusions. At least drilling test holes in lucite isn't as expensive as ebonite! Thankfully I have an easy solution for now, No more lucite stems until I find the reason!
This isn't because I know anything, but . . . read the second part of Kurt's answer again. Then imagine drilling steel. The steel doesn't flex, doesn't compensate for any discrepancies in relation to the drill bit, whereas the ebonite, being "hard rubber," does. Result, a larger hole in harder material. Make sense? Seems to t'me.
Yes, it's simple, and makes perfect sense, Thanks Kurt!
In addition to taking precautions about the speed of drilling (heat) maybe we will need a slightly smaller drill for the mortise in the Lucite than we will for the Ebonite or Cumberland in order to acheive the same fit with the Delrin tenon, right? Maybe just a slightly smaller 5/16" drill bit (I know they vary a little within standard tolerances because it took me a couple to find the fit I wanted between the Delrin and the shank mortise). Another option might be to slightly and carefully chamfer the outside corners of the drill at the top? I've seen this done for other applications.
Looks like my second epoxy job is holding on my first hand cut Lucite stem, and I'm excited about this pipe. I may have turned a corner (one of many more to follow I'm sure).
My thoughts exactly John! I think my drilling procedure is ok, so I'm turning to thoughts of more mechanical nature throwing off my drilling in the harder lucite, ie, drill bit alignment, jacobs chuck, tailstock, scroll chuck. Have to do some tests!
sethile wrote:Another option might be to slightly and carefully chamfer the outside corners of the drill at the top? I've seen this done for other applications.
Looks like my second epoxy job is holding on my first hand cut Lucite stem, and I'm excited about this pipe. I may have turned a corner (one of many more to follow I'm sure).
Scott, for a precision drilled hole, most machinists will recommend lightly grinding the leading/cutting edge of the bit as you mentioned. When I worked for a machine shop we did that as a standard practice for any new cutter we were using. And a good idea for pipemakers to do as well.
Can't wait to see the pipe! Glad to hear the second epoxy job is working better!
David
