Glorious failure

[josh_ford]

Hey guys,

I just finished my first pipe of '07 and it was very discouraging. I was doing my finishing sanding and realized there was a gentle glow on the inside of the tobacco chamber, which is obviously not supposed to be there. Unfortunately I had sanded way too deep, completely misjudged the angle of my tobacco chamber. I liked the basic shape of the pipe so I finished it anyway. It was good practice and I am still learning a ton from every pipe. This is number 10 for me.

Chamber: 3/4" x 1.6"
Length: 5 1/2"
Height: 2"
handcut acrylic stem and delrin tennon.






and here is a pic of another I just finished. It started as pipe #3 but ended at pipe #9 so I had to eal with some of my earlier mistakes but here it is as well:




Please give your honest opinions of both, I would really appreciate it. And I apologize for the pics, still definitely working on that aspect (the pictures sure looked better before I posted them, oh well)

Josh

[magruder]

Hi Josh,
Those mistakes will happen. I think you just have to push on. I like the first pipe and I like the "idea" of the second.
Keep going Man.
Best,
Steve Morrisette

[sethile]

Ouch! I feel your pain, my friend! That really hurts when your that far along on what looks like a really nice pipe!

I've often worried about that very same spot on some of mine. I have not sanded through yet, but I've worried about it, and I know some are thinner than they should be. I'm going to explore using a gauge to check for thickness from time to time. I've seen one used by several of the Danish makers. Something like this (from Kent Rasmussen):

I'm going to build a set of those... It might also help gauge symmetry, as well as thickness.

There is much to praise on this pipe. I really like the over all shape. Wonderfull stain, very nice finish. Nice use of the grain of the block (the flame and birdseye both look great!) .

I've learned so much here from the honesty of the critiques I have received, I'm going to take you at your word and get a bit critical... I'm real new to this too, so please take this with a couple grains of salt! I'm curiuos about the flat side on the bowl. I really like the shape otherwise. I think the asymmetrical flat side could work, but I'm not quite convinved somehow. Each side shot looks great (as a sperate pipe), but when you put it together it doesn't seem to work as well. Could the shank be a bit thick? I like the slight curve you have on the bottom of the shank, but would like to see more of it l, and then I'd like to see that followed in the top of the shank, which would also help me with the thickness. The shape of your stem is very nice, very graceful bend. It looks like it could be just a little thick behind the bit. I'm shooting for .15 to .16 or so there now, but I had some pretty thick ones at first, especially after sanding through one!

On the second pipe: Very unique shape, and interesting. I can see maybe refining that and making it a little more subtle in terms of the concave area. It looks great from the front, but looks a little severe from the side shot to me. The stem angle off of the stummel is a bit distracting. I think if it matched the angle of the shank instead of droping down it would look better, but considering that was your third pipe at first, it's amazing!

You're designs are very interesting, and I admire your creativity very much. My pipes have all been much less original than these. I suspect that will serve you very well in the long run.

Keep up the great work! I'm looking forward to seeing more...

[josh_ford]

Thanks a lot Scott, I really appreciate your criticisms.

First, the flat side of the bowl. At this area I had the 1/2 flame, 1/2 birdeye apearing so I tried to cut an angle that stressed the birdseye instead of being just halfsies. Unfortunately I totally sanded at the wrong angle so didn't really catch the birdseye and just made a big flat panel. I should have measured twice, cut once so to speak but I get so gosh darn exited about an idea I just go for it and bang, end up with a mistake.

As for the stem, it is a little thick. It was my last piece of stem material, though. and I didn't want to sand through it and then have nothing to repair it with. I was contemplating just taking the rise but then found the sand through spot and didn't worry about it. How do you guys measure that distance? Just measure the outside height and subtract your airway height or is there a more accurate way than that?

As for the second pipe it started as number 3 and then a year later ended as number 9 so a lot of the drilling and roughing mistakes I had to deal with. I drilled the mortise and the delrin tennon all by hand so the angles are all pretty rediculous. I now have access to a drill press and wow, that makes a differance. I still need a flat forstner bit, the surfaces weren't flush, but the drilling is looking a lot better (mine is quite concave, while pretty for crescent making, it doesn't really do its job in the pipe department).

Thanks for the critiques, keep up coming!

Josh

[Nick]

Nice pipes buddy! I really like the first pipe, number 10. Great shape. I'm not quite clear on where you over sanded though. Is the bottom too thin?

Hope to see you Sunday,

Nick

[sethile]

First, the flat side of the bowl. At this area I had the 1/2 flame, 1/2 birdeye apearing so I tried to cut an angle that stressed the birdseye instead of being just halfsies. Unfortunately I totally sanded at the wrong angle so didn't really catch the birdseye and just made a big flat panel.

I wondered about that. Figured it was either you were shooting for grain, or had a large flaw to deal with. I'm not able to get those grain transitions to work the way I want yet either (or at all really). Perhaps after making many pipes some makers develop a skill that allows you to see into the briar from what appears on the surface, picking just the right spot and angle for starting those transitions, and then refining them.

As for the stem, it is a little thick. It was my last piece of stem material, though. and I didn't want to sand through it and then have nothing to repair it with. I was contemplating just taking the rise but then found the sand through spot and didn't worry about it. How do you guys measure that distance? Just measure the outside height and subtract your airway height or is there a more accurate way than that?

Great questions. I'd be interested in what the more experience makers are doing. I'm going more by feel, while measuring with calipers to see how I'm doing. If I start to feel a little give to the bit while pressing or pinching it hard between my thumb and fingers I know I'm getting close. My air hole for the last 3/4" of the stem is 1/16 (.0625). I then open that up wider with the slot, and it no doubt it get's a little thicker in the process. If I'm shooting for an overall thickness of .15 or less on the stem there, I've got about .05 of material on the top and bottom of the slot opening just behind the bit. I've only sanded through one, but it had a big impression on me! The bit and this area in general are still a trouble spot for me. I'd like to get mine thinner than I am.

Maybe Kurt will chime in. His stems, and especially the bits and that entire area are fantastic! I think he uses a 1mm bit for that opening area, which is really tiny (.039")! Not sure how he opens up the slot and keeps them that thin...

As for the second pipe it started as number 3 and then a year later ended as number 9 so a lot of the drilling and roughing mistakes I had to deal with. I drilled the mortise and the delrin tennon all by hand so the angles are all pretty rediculous. I now have access to a drill press and wow, that makes a differance. I still need a flat forstner bit, the surfaces weren't flush, but the drilling is looking a lot better (mine is quite concave, while pretty for crescent making, it doesn't really do its job in the pipe department).

Wow, I could never do that good by hand, Josh! I've gotten very spoiled where I really can't imagine not having a lathe for drilling stummels and stem work, although the drill press with some good jigs and techniques does a very decent job with most tasks. Scrimp and save, or steel your way into a lathe if at all possible. It's really a huge asset! The presision flat Forstner bits are really nice for cleaning up those transitions, but I found it very challanging using the drill press.

You are doing really great work with limited tools!

[KurtHuhn]

Maybe Kurt will chime in. His stems, and especially the bits and that entire area are fantastic! I think he uses a 1mm bit for that opening area, which is really tiny (.039")! Not sure how he opens up the slot and keeps them that thin...

Wow, thanks Scott!

Yes, I use a 1mm bit to make the slot cone. Then I go back in with a very small file from Nichols that has a leaf shape and is just about 1mm thick. I use that to clean up the burrs and high spots in the slot. When I'm finished, the slot height is barely over 1mm high. Then I go back with a safe-edge mill file and shape the button and the area directly behind it. I do a lot of checking with the eyeballs to be sure I've got the slot centered. When I think I'm getting close, I start checking with the calipers and sticking the stem in my mouth to test comfort (yes I do this...). After a while you develop a "feel' for it, and it goes pretty quickly. I normally shoot for .13 to .15 depending on the size of the pipe, but have gone as thin as .11 for picky customers.

Oddly, I've only had one pipe come back due to a bite-through, and that was due to an air bubble in the vulcanite that wasn't apparent from the outside.

[sethile]

Thanks Kurt! Great outline of your process.

Wow, .11? That's amazing! I may give the 1mm bit a try. I have a heck of a time getting down to .15 after using the 1/16" drill without it seeming risky, but I suspect part of that is my file work, or not getting the slot and stem perfectly parallel with the air hole.

[josh_ford]

1mm is pretty tiny, sounds like just what I need. My 1/16 bit ends up widening the slit anyway, which I don't really like. I think I'm just going to bite down and go for it on this next one and hope for the best. I've already screwed up the drilling so why not mess up the bit?

And Nick I sanded through right where the bowl begins to round out, on the inside. The last possible wide spot. You can actually see a little slit of light on the shot from the top of the bowl, that light shows my bane.

Do you guys think that thickening the wall with smoker's putty might make it smokable or should I just consider it a lost cause?

Thanks for all the input. I've got to thin out my shanks and bits and NOT sand through my bowls, sounds like good advice to me!

Josh

[KurtHuhn]

I just saw your problem, Josh. For a shape like that, you're really going to want to use a conical tobacco chamber instead of a rounded bottom. Otherwise, the area where the shoulder of the chamber is will always be too thin.

The concept is good. But, forget about grain accents when it brings a pipe out of symmetry. For now, try to keep the pipe's shape, and worry more about grain when you can reliably make an aesthetically pleasing pipe. I know that, for a long time, I couldn't figure out grain of briar. Then on magical da it hit me as I was looking over a big pile of briar, and I found pipe shapes screaming out at me from the various blocks.

[josh_ford]

Thanks Kurt. I've been thinking a lot about the actual shape of the chamber lately, I know next to nothing about it. How the shape effects the smoke for example. I've been afraid to experiment but I might just get a few more bits here soon to be a little more flexible with shaping. Part of the problem here too is that I was going to make this a billiard, and probably rusticated at that. When I saw the grain coming out while shaping, though, I wanted something a little more exiting and got this, hence the bent stem, straight shank, mini calabash whatever you want to call it shape that came out. I should probably stick to the plan a little more, especially since I'm just beginning, but the road is not nearly as fun to drive as the dirt road, even though you may end it with a pounding headache and a few nicks and scratches. I really like the look of this pipe but that bugger of a sand-through almost brought me to tears, quite heart breaking.

Thanks for all the input guys.

Josh