Untitled

[ckr]

I had considered;

The Agony of Defeat
The Last Millimeter Is The Toughest
My New Pipe Collection
Why Do I Do This To Myself

and there are probably several others also come to mind. I had selected a block with some decent grain and went for a Belge. I had cut the block down on the bandsaw and noted a couple of small pits. So in the back of my head I thought great, might end up a canidate for a blast.

After shaping the shank and getting the mortise and airway done I flipped the block did the top, flipped again and drilled the chamber. First time I used a conical spoon bit and I stopped when I thought the airway should be exposed. Nope not there. Down some more and still no airway. I poked and prodded and Nuttin'. Done some more. I must have stopped 7 or eight times before it finally showed up. In between the stops I came to the conclusion the airway was short so I ment in another two millimeters. When I finally got the spoon bit level with the airway the overshot was noticable so I had to round out the bottom with another bit.

Anyway, I went on to shape the bowl. Once rough shaped the grain was absolutely stunning. Straight and tight up the front and decent the rest of the way around. There were some chatter marks as I took it down rather quickly so I had to start with a pretty heavy grit paper about the time I hit 400 grit I was convinced I had a great smooth going. There was a slight pit on the rim so I had to get that out.

I turned the block again and tried taking it down with a fostner bit, no luck, it was tearing on the edges. So I had to cut it down with a chisel. That went well and but just before I went to hit the switch on the lathe my hand musta slipped and the chisel caught the block. Oh the obsenities coming out of my mouth.



Determined, I took it down again and I don't feel as though I ruined the shape. It had plenty of height to begin with.

Another bitch about this pipe was the damn pencil thin shank extending about two inches. The thing is so friggin fragile it would snap with the slightest bump when spinning. I went as thin as I dared but I am sure someone would say go thinner. Yeah right.

So far so good, great grain, the shank survived and no pits so I have forgotten blasting.

So back to the bandsaw, trim the excess and onto the disks. Every thing was going well. The front curve fell in place along with the sides and I am down to the shank/bowl junction. The last bit of shaping needed. What do I get. Pits you might think would be bad enough, but no I get a fissure - not just one but two. And one is deep as hell.

Well I backed up and thought about it. "Hmmm, cut in a bit more and maybe you'll get lucky." Just not playing the right cards today and that was useless.





The attempt was made, and after quite a bit of sanding I just plain gave up. No way are these two babies going away. So I figured "I got another one for my collection".



Yep, new collection - Black Blast Rejects.

[sethile]

Sorry, my friend! I've had several experiences like the one you describe here... It seems like some pipes are entire life adventures all wrapped up into one project! Well you quoted it, the old Wide World of Sports tag line, "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat". Some days, that's pipe making in a nutshell, at least for me.

May you and the rest of us have enough thrills to keep us encouraged and able to struggle through the defeats. For us, it's man against nature (the nature of the materials, and the nature of man), and sometimes it's also man against the machine, if not rage against the machine

[wdteipen]

I have a similar pipe on the bench now except the fissure goes all the way to the chamber. Great shape and stem treatment. Great grain and then whammo! I didn't notice it after drilling the chamber. It's also too far down to just shorten the bowl without greatly compromising the overall shape. I'm finishing the pipe anyway for the experience and experimentation. I filled the hole and plan on trying my hand at precarbon coating the chamber and smoking it myself to see how long before it burns out.

[ckr]

Scott that is so true.

I don't know about the rest here, but days like this are a part of what makes pipemaking so rewarding to me. Every time I pick up a block what is locked inside is an unknown. It is a challenge. Is it going to produce the eusthetics that everyone will appreciate or is it going to disappoint and be beyond what you are capable of compensating for. For me, when I lose the battle it is then that much is also learned and this I think helps me to improve. If every block were perfect and there was no challenge would the hobby be as enjoyable as it is. For me, if that were so boredom would quickly follow. I don't think I would feel the thrill of victory without the defeats.

It very well may be that these pits, cracks and fissures are really the unsung heros of pipemaking as they push and drive us to higher ground.

Of course, some may feel differently.

[Alan L]

I understand and appreciate the sentiment so admirably expressed above, but that didn't stop me from letting loose a string of expletives and launching what was gonna be a lovely birdseye-grained snifter across the shop at great velocity when I found a big fissure that went from the bowl out through the side in three places last week...