My First!

[FatRat]

Hi all, FatRAT here.

Just finished my first pipe. Had a blast making it, and even more fun smoking it! I spent a lot of time getting the smoke and stem hole right so there would be no abrupt transitions. To that end, I left a small gap (<.005 in.) between shank and stem so the tenon face would seat against the mortise face to eliminate any possibility of a gap in there. Also used a tapered drill in the stem. Seemed to work, smokes great, no gurgles!
My briar block was not of the highest quality. I ended up with black spots all over and an open flaw on the shank. C'est la vie.

Please comment, criticize, etc. I want to get better!

Thanks!

FatRAT

[wdteipen]

Very nice first attempt. The only suggestion I have is to define your shank/bowl transition a bit more, especially on the top of the shank. Looks great!

[Charl]

Nice shape for a first! Waiting for more!

[pennsyscot]

Great first. Nice job with the hand cut stem. I agree with wd's comment about having a more distinct bowl to shank transition. Please include more photos, so we could see the pipe from different angles and maybe a close-up of the button.

[FatRat]

Thanks for the comments, please keep them coming.
The area that I struggled with most was the stem to shank junction. I wanted to make a fancy spacer of some sort between the two but was in a rush to finish my first. The stem is made from a blank I got from PIMO. 3/4" dia to start, turned down and faired to .640" dia., existing smoke hole opened with a .156" dia. tapered drill (for woodscrews). I also opened up the button hole considerably all in an effort to decrease smoke velocity.

Here are a few more views:

[FatRat]

I didn't like the shank/stem junction. Just seemed to plain and the shank seemed a little long. I solved both problems by making a brass ring, gold plating it, and bonding it to the stem. It was a bit nerve wracking to chuck the stummel up in the lathe and turn the shank down. Took a while to indicate it true before turning. Here's a before and after:





It looks great in person. What do you think??

FatRAT

[clifton]

the first pipe is always fun... and a great learning experience... keep at it

[wdteipen]

The band turned out very nice and very gutsy move chucking a finished pipe and turning the shank.