Anyway, there are 3 more pipes that I put on my site for all to shoot to hell. I know they can use more work but I am not one to dwell. I find I gain more experience with every pipe I make and so I tend not to want to go back and rework the older ones. One day perhaps. I also modified my gallery so all the pics don't have to load at one time when you visit my site. The pipes, for the most part, are all in thier perspective folders.
The rhodesian is complete by hand. The only thing I used the lathe for was to cut the chamber. I totally blew the shank junction going to the bowl. I can rework it and give it greater angles but again, a practice pipe that I will start smoking myself soon. I used the bandsaw to rough it, sanding disk to shape and files to finish. Oh and one whole pencil in layout lines. I know the saddle is upside down. That was a personal choice at the time. But, is it that the half saddle always sits upward? I guess you wouldn't saddle a horse upside down and so I am tending to think my choice was wrong. Please keep in mind I made this choice before devoting countless hours to studying shapes. To date, I don't think I have seen a half saddle upside down on a professionally made pipe.
The banana was going to be very much different but the whole while I was shaping it, all I could see was this banana broken off. So there you have it. Hope it doesn't make the smoker hungry while enjoying a puff.
I think the stem should be bent more to match the radius on the end of the stem. Any thoughts? It would help to give it that flow imho. It's a very large chamber, being able to fit my index finger up to the knuckle. Hope its not too deep. Not sure what the norm would be for a pipe like this. Do you leave material on the bottom, keeping a more shallow bowl or go for the deep? For the most part, I have 1/2" walls all the way around. It thins very slightly on the face toward the lower part of the chamber to 3/8". Surprisingly light feeling for its size and very comfortable for a left handed person to grasp. All in all this is definitely the favorite of my works so far. (I wish the grain patterns wern't broken from side to side...) This being the second (real) pipe I started on and completed, I'm very happy with the results. Don't let that stop you from blasting me tho. Question on the miltary type stem. Does the airway need to be tapered to the chamber or can I have a flat at the end of the mortise? I can see problems with the flat and air travel and so I am leaning on the taper, but still waiting for the drills to arrive before completing this task. Too, should I chamfer the outside of the tenon? The inside?
The one called simply "briar" I have been working on for over 3 weeks now. It was one of the first shapes I started on and because I love it so much, I have really been taking my time with it doing more staring at it than shaping. I am at the critical stage on the stem now as I begin to work the radius into the stummel. I already blew one corner on the stem design. 8O Got too close to the sanding disk. All in all I like this shape tho. Anyone know what the shape would be called off hand? I'd like to rename it. Shouldn't be too long before it's complete.
I'm sure I could say alot more but I'll leave that up to you. Better for you to find the flaws than have me suggest where to look. I know I need alot more work on my stem/shank junctions. I really believe the metal lathe is the key to that. Even the mandril is not 100%. I have an issue with twisting my stems and finding that 180 degree twist will show that my stem/shank is not perfectly round. Is this common? Besides my idea of a steel bushing to sand up to, is there a better way to accomplish this perfect round? I don't like the idea of someone twisting my stem and feeling that ridge. Just don't seem right.
Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to do this. For me, life has taught that time is oh so precious. Your time in helping me to achieve my goal is very much appreciated.
http://www.fantasticsales.com/pipes
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