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Seriously though, I got some vulcanized rubber rod from JH Lowe to practice stems with because it was cheap. It's only 1/2" in diameter and the bit end seems tiny. I've noticed that Pipe Maker's Emporium sells ebonite rods and they're almost an inch in diameter (but pricey). My other problem is that I'm using Pimo's shank-end tool, which kinda dictates the size of my shank. It seems like I'd have more 'freedom' going the bigger ebonite/ground down forstner route....? Thanks

For sure you would.

I am looking at an Oom Paul and I want to drill the mortise at 1/2" I think for the angles I need, so that will require a pretty fat tenon, and a pretty fat shank on a rather short, saddle type stem = order a rod from PME.

Likewise I have a horn on the go that I am just not going to touch until I get some 1" rod - the shaping only makes sense with an almost rectangular stem.

If you have a lathe, you can turn the tenon that way - just mount the stem up against a live center and cut carefully.

Sorry, thought this was an entirely different topic.

/me shows 1.5" diameter rod, waves it menacingly....

In all seriousness, the 1/2" rod that Tim sells is great for churchwardens. But for most other pipes, it comes up... short.

KurtHuhn wrote:In all seriousness, the 1/2" rod that Tim sells is great for churchwardens. But for most other pipes, it comes up... short.

It's been great for practice, since it made my initial screwups not-so-costly; but since I (stupidly) made the shank the same diameter as the stem AFTER drilling the mortise, I've ended up with a dangerously thin shank.....ah well. Practice.