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I have two questions that have arisen from making my latest. The idea was to make a poker/cherrywood/dublin-type sitter. It is turning out ok, but it has some issues. Now it should have been obvious to a guy who teaches science for a living that just because you give something a flat bottom doesn't mean it will sit balanced. It really shouldn't have taken much thought to realize that the stem sticking out of one side will throw off the balance. So my question is: are there any tricks for figuring out the center of balance when designing a sitter?

Second, the stem is a pre-form acrylic but I did extensive modification to it and I am pretty happy with how it came out. However, it whistles. I drilled it out with a tapered 1/8 bit and the sun shining through it looks like it has a nice smooth flow but with more than a slight inhale I sound like I am playing the flute. Any tips on how to avoid and/or fix this problem?

Thanks once again everyone, Nathan

I don't have any special technique for making a sitter sit. I just put the stem on it prior to shaping and keep checking as I shape it. I also make sure there's plenty of meat on the bottom of the bowl so that I've got enough to play with to make it sit correctly.

For your stem, is it one of those acrylic stems with just a 1/16" hole at the bit and no slot? Or does it have a slot? If it hasn't got a slot, make one, and be sure to funnel it well. If it does have a slot, perhaps it just needs cleaned up with a flat micro-file. Or, on some acrylic stems, I've seen a slot, but it isn't funneled - in that case you've got to create a funnel. The easiest way to do that is to use a small drill bit in a dremel - I prefer a .050 bit, but a 1/16" bit will work just fine.

Thanks for the help, Kurt. The stem did have a slot but I will try to funnel it out a little more and see if that helps. I also just threw up a quick pic of the "tree stump" as I call it. It has a lot of issues, but oh well, the one I have started working on now looks quite promising.

A little bevel front to back goes a long way for balance.

I really like the look of your tree stump, nice pipe.

Nathan,

How did you do that rustication? Looks cool.

I used a wire wheel to gouge out the line effect. It only works if you don't have to bring the lines together. Since the top and bottom are flat it works ok here, but as Sasquatch has pointed out, if you bring the lines together at the bottom it looks like the end of a sausage.

So that rustication works on a flat bottomed pipe real good, but not on a rounded bowl..... never thought of it like that.