The first pipe

[mikea]

I started my first pipe this weekend and other than the knowledge that I can do it, I have decided that dust collection is a concern. I used a sanding bit on my drillpress to tweek the final shaping and I have this black gunk coming out of my nose. My apologies if anyone is breakfasting as they read this. The sanding went well and I eyeballed the thicknesses all around. I also used small files to smooth the transition from the stummel to the tobacco chamber. All in all a great experience. My wife was blown away now to the sanding stages....thanks all for the past feedback.

[jeff]

I think all of us have experience the curse of the black gunk. See Todd Johnson's post on respirators on this. It is pretty important that you invest a little cash in saving you respiratory system. You can pick up a very good 3m mask and filters at leonardsafety.com.

Congrats on the progress on pipe #1. I look forward to seeing the results when you post them.

Jeff