The Experiment is Concluded - ScoJo #9

ScoJo · Post by **ScoJo** » Mon May 29, 2006 5:56 pm

Okay, I can't figure out how to post images directly from the gallery I just created, so here is a link to the gallery:

http://www.pipemakersforum.com/modules. ... _album.php

I have to call this one finished before I really get tired of looking at it.

This is my 9th briar pipe and my first pipe with a hand cut stem. For those of you that were in Chicago, this is the pipe I was carrying around in an unfinished state. I learned a lot with this pipe (I learned a lot of what NOT to do - lol) and experimented with it quite a bit. First hand cut stem, first delrin tenon. First time working with boxwood (thanks for the piece of boxwood, Kirk - too bad I ended up cracking it - although in the pics you can't see the crack). Second attempt at a rusticated pipe - first time experimenting with trying to put a decent finish on a rusticated pipe. First time trying to turn the top of the bowl on the lathe. It will be the first one I stamp, but I haven't gotten up the nerve to do that yet.

I'm calling this experimentation pipe done and I'm firing it up tonight. I figure I have to sell one or two of these things so I can buy more materials, but they're really not ready for that yet. Maybe after I make about 20-30 more (although after about 6-7 more I figure I will run out of materials)...

flix · Post by **flix** » Mon May 29, 2006 6:06 pm

ScoJo,

Quite nice, I esp. like the rim. Handsome, very well executed indeed!

mahaffy · Post by **mahaffy** » Tue May 30, 2006 12:58 am

ScoJo, I think you do it something like this (using a thumbnail as an example):

Which is (replacing open/close brackets [] with capital IIs):
IimgIhttp://www.pipemakersforum.com/albums/album24/ ... .jpgI/imgI
Right-click on the image you want, choose "Properties," highlight and copy the address, paste it between the "img" and "/img" in brackets, and you've got it.
Nice job on the stem; looks like a good fit. You give me hope.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Tue May 30, 2006 9:11 am

Very nice buddy. I really don't have alot of critique. The bevel on the top of the bowl is a very classy touch. The finish is a bit monocromatic. The color is nice, but perhaps a touch of black or brown on top of the red might have added some depth. The top of the bowl/shank transition is very nice, but the bottom could use a bit of attention I think. At least in the pictures, it doesn't look quite like the back-bottom line follows the same arc as the front -bottom. If this curve were to be more pronounced, I think you would have a much more refined look. The stem looks great bud. Really sharp for a first try. Keep up the great work. So have you calculated out the Re number and the heat transfer stff for this piece?

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Tue May 30, 2006 10:06 am

That pipe is not nearly as awefull as you described on the phone. Perhaps the stem bend could be a bit more subtle. That being said, I would say that is a really nice job.

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Tue May 30, 2006 11:04 am

And here I thought he only fashioned smokeable war clubs!!

ScoJo · Post by **ScoJo** » Tue May 30, 2006 1:10 pm

hazmat wrote:And here I thought he only fashioned smokeable war clubs!!

Well, it is about 18" long...

Actually, more like 5.25" or so. Nick, I know what you mean about the stain - I had been trying to achieve a contrast type of stain on it, but I just can't manage to do that for some reason - this is my second rusticated pipe and they always end up monochromatic. Not sure what you mean about the line on the bottom - it is laying at kind of an angle, so that may make the photos look strange. This does have a 7/8" chamber in it (didn't realize how large that was until I drilled it), so it doesn't really lay that flat on a surface for pictures. Oh, and I have done extensive Re calcs, too. Turbulence has been exacerbated, though, by the drilling and the shape of the button on this my first hand cut stem.

John, I know what you mean by the bend in the stem. Although I think I made the look worse by the shape of the actual stem on its edges, which makes the bend look more sudden than it really is (the very edge has kind of a dramatic thinning in that area thanks to an oops moment with the disc sander - a last ditch effort to make the bit thinner).

Next time I need to go thinner on the bit, and after smoking this one time I have decided that the button is to large as well.

Stem fit is okay, but there is a small gap there. I know why it happened though, and I added that to my list of "things I learned not to do while working on ScoJo #9". It's quite a long list, but hopefully that will make #10 that much better.

ScoJo · Post by **ScoJo** » Tue May 30, 2006 1:15 pm

I read your comment again, Nick, and I think I know what you mean. For some reason I tend to make bent pipes that end up with straight, rather than curved shanks. I have discussed this with Tyler, and one of these days I'm going to sit with him and have him show me exactly what I am doing wrong that causes this. He thinks it might be the engineer in me that won't let me get that curve in the shank. That or my total lack of artistic ability, we can't figure out which it is.

Is that kinda what you were talking about? Or am I misinterpreting you?

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Tue May 30, 2006 1:43 pm

... the hell is an Re calc???????

It's a very nice looking pipe. The monochrome Nick was speaking to, I believe, has more to do with the fact that your image is very large and blurred a bit when it's seen full-size. It being compacted for easy 'net viewing doesn't help in that respect. If it really IS terribly monchromatic, give it a rub with some steel wool. Done lightly, this will knock the color off the "tips" of the rustication while leaving the craggy areas dark and will lend the look a bit more contrast.

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Tue May 30, 2006 6:40 pm

ScoJo wrote: He thinks it might be the engineer in me that won't let me get that curve in the shank. That or my total lack of artistic ability, we can't figure out which it is.

Doesn't one equal the other?

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Wed May 31, 2006 9:25 am

Yea, that's kind of what I'm talking about, I think. Lets soo.. OOHH!! OK, I'll do an image. Hang on...

OK, check this photo out:

On the bottom of the bowl, otice how circle 1 has roughly the same curve on the front side as the back side. The front side of the pipe coincides well with circle 1, but the back side is a much mor compressed curve, following circle 2. My critique is that the line of your bowl/shank junction ought to be more like circle 1. Does that make sense?

flix · Post by **flix** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:20 am

Nick,
I think you're right. I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out...

ScoJo · Post by **ScoJo** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:07 am

Hmm - I'm sorry but I'm having trouble following this. Circle #2 only hits the bottom of the pipe in a very short point, so I don't understand the assertion that the pipe is following that curve on the back side.

Understand I am very open to constructive criticism, so this is not defensiveness. I'm just afraid I am not understanding the point you are making.

PapaDuke · Post by **PapaDuke** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:13 am

Yep I'd smoke that!

Love this pipe.
I love the angles of the stem, and the inlay or band on the stem..
Love the rustification and what was left un-rustificated.
The color the shape and the size!
Damn Nice Pipe!!
I pretty much love every part of this pipe!

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:39 pm

ScoJo wrote:Hmm - I'm sorry but I'm having trouble following this. Circle #2 only hits the bottom of the pipe in a very short point, so I don't understand the assertion that the pipe is following that curve on the back side.

Understand I am very open to constructive criticism, so this is not defensiveness. I'm just afraid I am not understanding the point you are making.

I think what he's trying to say is that the bowl isn't perfectly symmetrical front to back. You start off with a bit of a "curve" as shown by circle 2 that doesn't continue over into circle 1 as you approach the rim of the bowl. Instead of "rounding up" to match the symmetry of circle 2, you kind of straightened out that angle.

Since we're working with a 2D picture here.. look at the "left" side of circle 2 as compared to the "right" side of circle 1. I think you'll see it quite quickly.

BTW.. the hell is a Re calc?????????

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 3:19 pm

With all due respect, Nick, your critique may be judging the pipe based on it being something it is not. I think you are judging it on criteria that are more appropriately applied to more of a rounded, brandyesque shape. This pipe has a very deliberate and confident quality to its shaping, the lines gracefully flow from the bowl through the stem and the proportions are comfortable. Because of that I think it works.

That being said, I think that a little less of a heavy hand with the bevel would be an improvement. The angle is perhaps a tad extreme. Just a subtle bevel would be better IMO. I am not suggesting fixing it; just maybe keep that in mind on the next one.

That and a slightly smaller button and less extreme bend to the stem, but that has already been mentioned.

ScoJo · Post by **ScoJo** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:22 pm

hazmat wrote:
ScoJo wrote:Hmm - I'm sorry but I'm having trouble following this. Circle #2 only hits the bottom of the pipe in a very short point, so I don't understand the assertion that the pipe is following that curve on the back side.

Understand I am very open to constructive criticism, so this is not defensiveness. I'm just afraid I am not understanding the point you are making.
I think what he's trying to say is that the bowl isn't perfectly symmetrical front to back. You start off with a bit of a "curve" as shown by circle 2 that doesn't continue over into circle 1 as you approach the rim of the bowl. Instead of "rounding up" to match the symmetry of circle 2, you kind of straightened out that angle.

Since we're working with a 2D picture here.. look at the "left" side of circle 2 as compared to the "right" side of circle 1. I think you'll see it quite quickly.

BTW.. the hell is a Re calc?????????

Oh, okay. I think I misunderstood - I thought Nick was referring to the line created by the bottom of the pipe rather than the uniformity of the roundness of the bowl itself.

And "Re" refers to a Reynolds number. We were having an engineering geek moment, there. A Reynolds number is a dimensionless quantity defined in fluid mechanics that represents a ratio of intertial forces to viscous forces in a flowing fluid. A primary use of the Reynolds number is to determine for a given set of conditions whether the flow will be laminar or turbulent.

ScoJo · Post by **ScoJo** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:28 pm

John, thanks for your comments as well. After smoking it a couple of times, I am very aware that the button is too big. Funny how actually sticking the thing in your mouth will make that apparent right away. The bit is a little too thick, too.

As for the angle of the bevel, I see what you mean. I find turning part of the bowl like that very challenging, but something I would really like to get good at. It's very difficult to control. For that reason, I never understood the assertion that a "handmade" pipe could not be partially turned on a lathe. It takes a good amount of skill to do that well!

And as for the bend in the stem, next time I want to try to bend the stem earlier in the shaping process - I think that might help me. But then again, with the thickness I seem to be leaving there, it might not be possible unless I start lifting some weights.

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:28 pm

And "Re" refers to a Reynolds number. We were having an engineering geek moment, there. A Reynolds number is a dimensionless quantity defined in fluid mechanics that represents a ratio of intertial forces to viscous forces in a flowing fluid. A primary use of the Reynolds number is to determine for a given set of conditions whether the flow will be laminar or turbulent.

Thanks for clearing that up for us Scott. :think:

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 8:13 am

Scoj... let me qualify that I think you did a hell of a job on that pipe. After reading some of your older "war club" posts, I kind of expected something blockier and clunkier... but that's not what you produced. Let me qualify further that if I saw the pipe pictured here hanging on a pipe shop wall or in a case, I would have more than one look at it.. it's of the type that I'm regularly drawn to in terms of shape and finish, and it's very close in style to my favorite latakia pipe. You did a bang-up job on the hand-cut stem(I'm still grinding away on acrylic blanks that look more like stubby bananas with holes in them rather than something you smoke a pipe with) and overall, you're definitly leaving the "war club" market in the dust, methinks.

Thanks for the re calc info.. er.. I think I understood it.. :dunno: