sea form shaped first
sea form shaped first
Well, I finally finished this bugger. I don't think I'll carve anything with hard to get to places for some time. Sanding and the like was a royal pain. Please let me know what you think. Criticism is encouraged. I have a lot to learn from you guys.
That is a way cool pipe. I must say that is the first I've seen where I like that stem color.
The stain is very nice too. Looks like a very hand friendly shape.
My only criticism would be the shank/stem interface.
I see what you were going for w/the recessed joint, but it somehow doesn't work well,
does it? Perhaps a bit more flair to the wood, deeper recess and a slightly slimmer stem
would have gotten it done a bit better.
All in all, a very nice, intricate pipe shape.
Nice going.
Steve Morrisette
The stain is very nice too. Looks like a very hand friendly shape.
My only criticism would be the shank/stem interface.
I see what you were going for w/the recessed joint, but it somehow doesn't work well,
does it? Perhaps a bit more flair to the wood, deeper recess and a slightly slimmer stem
would have gotten it done a bit better.
All in all, a very nice, intricate pipe shape.
Nice going.
Steve Morrisette
Very neat! I love the direction you went with this piece. I will echo Steve's thoughts though. There's somthing amiss with the shank/stem junction. It looks a bit forced. Not very organic. I think it is the solid line that separates the shank and stem. There is no flow between the two pieces. No continuity.
Thanks for the comments, guys!
The stem/shank junction might have gone a completely different direction if it weren't for the fact that I forgot to square the shank with the forstner before drilling the mortise. Here's a secret admission (shhh): the stem doesn't fit exactly flush against the shank recess, but the recess hides the little gap... no one would know. Anyway, the idea was to have the stem somewhat resemble a mollusk reaching out of it's shell and the recess kind of helps that illusion. A deeper recess and more flaired shank would be better, now that you mention it. It was a bit more flaired before I started in with the sandpaper... the dremel bits left a couple deep tooling marks. I tried a skinnier pre-fab stem in there to see how it looked, but felt that it had to fill the recess to look like a creature.
If I could have, I would have bent that fat stem portion that's straight... but it is too fat to continue the curve out of the shell. Oh, well. I guess design ideas have to "bend" to material and practical realities. I think one problem is the angle of the stem coming into the shank, it's not quite right... too low.
The stem/shank junction might have gone a completely different direction if it weren't for the fact that I forgot to square the shank with the forstner before drilling the mortise. Here's a secret admission (shhh): the stem doesn't fit exactly flush against the shank recess, but the recess hides the little gap... no one would know. Anyway, the idea was to have the stem somewhat resemble a mollusk reaching out of it's shell and the recess kind of helps that illusion. A deeper recess and more flaired shank would be better, now that you mention it. It was a bit more flaired before I started in with the sandpaper... the dremel bits left a couple deep tooling marks. I tried a skinnier pre-fab stem in there to see how it looked, but felt that it had to fill the recess to look like a creature.
If I could have, I would have bent that fat stem portion that's straight... but it is too fat to continue the curve out of the shell. Oh, well. I guess design ideas have to "bend" to material and practical realities. I think one problem is the angle of the stem coming into the shank, it's not quite right... too low.
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James Sunderland
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 12:28 pm
- Location: Orange County, CA
- Contact:
I think that there are a lot of good ideas happening with this pipe, a few things that i would consider if i was making that pipe is.
And this is just for my sytle
* lighter finish, i think that finish is good but i like a natual stain for a natual shape + it might be better with the green stem.
*I would focus on mimicing the same curves with the stumble and stem
* The stems own junction looks a little webbed which works but i would try cutting in a little deeper. but i'm not sure that would work.
Overall great ideas, great finish and enginering
it's always tough to get it all right the first time when trying so many different things. Can't wait to see the next one!
And this is just for my sytle
* lighter finish, i think that finish is good but i like a natual stain for a natual shape + it might be better with the green stem.
*I would focus on mimicing the same curves with the stumble and stem
* The stems own junction looks a little webbed which works but i would try cutting in a little deeper. but i'm not sure that would work.
Overall great ideas, great finish and enginering
it's always tough to get it all right the first time when trying so many different things. Can't wait to see the next one!
Thanks for the input, James.
The finish is actually lighter than shows in the pictures. The lighting was harsh, so it didn't "penetrate" the wood. I had intended for the finish to be a lighter "golden contrast" and hoped for a little blueish bleed, but I think the Pimo black stain is tinted toward red or the wood is reddish. I only used black and yellow so where did all that red come from?
I would have liked to have that stem detail meet at a sharper acute angle, instead of the roundish web between, but practically, it's darned near impossible to get into such a tight spot to sand and polish. If anyone has a trick for this, I'd love to hear it.
Yeah, I don't have enough mastery of the materials and tools to excute exactly what I had in mind and I realized that what I wanted to do was a bit more ambitious than my skills. For now, I have to let the materials, tools, and my mistakes take me in their direction and go with it. Someday, maybe, I will be able to impose my will on a block of wood and a chunk of ebonite. I wonder if any of the professional pipe makers here ever get exactly what they pictured in their mind's eye out of the raw materials?
The finish is actually lighter than shows in the pictures. The lighting was harsh, so it didn't "penetrate" the wood. I had intended for the finish to be a lighter "golden contrast" and hoped for a little blueish bleed, but I think the Pimo black stain is tinted toward red or the wood is reddish. I only used black and yellow so where did all that red come from?
I would have liked to have that stem detail meet at a sharper acute angle, instead of the roundish web between, but practically, it's darned near impossible to get into such a tight spot to sand and polish. If anyone has a trick for this, I'd love to hear it.
Yeah, I don't have enough mastery of the materials and tools to excute exactly what I had in mind and I realized that what I wanted to do was a bit more ambitious than my skills. For now, I have to let the materials, tools, and my mistakes take me in their direction and go with it. Someday, maybe, I will be able to impose my will on a block of wood and a chunk of ebonite. I wonder if any of the professional pipe makers here ever get exactly what they pictured in their mind's eye out of the raw materials?