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I'm finishing my first kit pipe and I have read around alot and I'm lost in this world of endless choices. I have finished gun stocks before where you didn't have to worry so much about what products you use. I was in a woodcraft today and had no idea what to buy, I was just lost in the world of choices.

I ended up buying "Transfast" powdered black dye and I'm not 100% sure its ok for pipes it just for the stem of the pipe not the main body?

Some of my questions are:

is tung oil ok?
is boiled linseed oil ok?
is walnut oil ok?
is all blocked carnuba wax the same?
Whats a good way to start with shellacs?
What should I clean the pipe with if i smoked the block before I started to shape it?
How can I tell what stains are ok and which arnt?
After I sanded the pipe down to 1200 should i wash it in water or leave it alone?

Sorry if this is alot of questions. Just new to this and very interested in pipe making as I started with this one and couldn't believe how much fun it was to shape.

Welcome!
Use the search function for the forum here, you'll learn a lot that way.
Most use Fiebings alcohol based leather dye for stain then red or brown tripoli, white diamond then carnuba.
Search in finishing techniques with the keyword you wanna know about, lots of info on here for you already.
It's best to keep it simple at first, goin balls to the wall adds to many variables to learn where improvement is needed.

You need to start with an alcohol (ethanol) based dye. Some dyes dissolve better in alcohol than others, but any dye powder that is soluble in water should be soluble in alcohol. (That is denatured alcohol at the local hardware store paint section.)

For finishing, the most common finish is some variation on the Beal system. Google Beal Buffing System and you will see exactly what I am talking about.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

DOMD wrote: is tung oil ok?

I think that once it's cured it's "ok", but I have no idea. Personally it seems like wasted effort.

DOMD wrote: is boiled linseed oil ok?

That's probably about as "ok" as tung oil. Both are relatively inert once cured, but I don't know how they'll stand up to heat of smoking.

DOMD wrote: is walnut oil ok?

Probably fine. This, however, might end up opening the dreaded oil curing subject.

DOMD wrote: is all blocked carnuba wax the same?

Pretty much, yes. The carnuba flakes that you find are essentially melted and poured into blocks.

DOMD wrote: Whats a good way to start with shellacs?

Don't. At least not until you're satisfied with your pipe making efforts enough to wade into that pool of controversy. If you're never going to sell a pipe, use it all you want, but it has dangers of public perception that are very difficult to overcome.

DOMD wrote: What should I clean the pipe with if i smoked the block before I started to shape it?

What, like the rim of the bowl? A damp cloth and some elbow grease should take care of that.

DOMD wrote: How can I tell what stains are ok and which arnt?

Alcohol and water based stains are typically good to use on briar. I've read of some folks using oil based stains, but I ave no experience in that area. Leather dye is the standard, and it's very inexpensive.

DOMD wrote: After I sanded the pipe down to 1200 should i wash it in water or leave it alone?

Leave it alone. The water isn't going to help you at all. My pipes never see water during the shaping/sanding/finishing process, and I've never understood the fascination with wet sanding the wood. These are pipes, not concourse restorations of mid-1960s Ferraris. Seems like a waste of time to me.

Thanks so much for all the info really nice of you guys to take the time!

My question: What should I clean the pipe with if i smoked the block before I started to shape it?

I meant to say as like I started to break in the bowl before so it was kinda dark. I shaped it and it had all the wood dust and crap in it while I sanded and shaped it. What should I clean it with?

DOMD wrote:meant to say as like I started to break in the bowl before so it was kinda dark. I shaped it and it had all the wood dust and crap in it while I sanded and shaped it. What should I clean it with?

You can wipe it down will a little denatured alcohol or acetone to get all of the wood dust out of any inclusions or open grain. Or if you have a stubborn carbon stain from smoking it you may need some fine grit sand paper before you use the solvent wipe.

I always wipe my pipes down with solvent before I put on the dye.

So I can clean it with denatured alcohol inside the bowl and use sandpaper and bring it back to wood color inside the bowl then after all that say use bourbon to sweeten it and its ok to smoke?

Heres what I was finishing which is my first pipe kit. I still have a couple things to sand by its almost done. I'm also waiting for the carnuba wax I ordered to get here... What do you think? (yeah I know theres a gap where the stem goes in. The wood really fought me at times!)

I read its not good to clean bowls with denatured alcohol so happy I didn't but now I gotta go find some thing to clean the inside of the bowl out with. What are the best ways to clean the inside like you would an estate?

It looks barely smoked, so what's the difference? If it's for you, why would you want to make it "new" again?

Rad

What he said.

I use 80 grit sandpaper to ream out a bowl, but I fail to see the value of that here. Smoke it, cake it up a bit, and ... it's a pipe.

I got a little stain in there at the top?

That matters little. Fill it with tobacco and smoke it.

You made this pipe, smoke it and enjoy it. Never overthink it.

Hi Folks,

Interesting discussion. I'm also just getting started in this art, and I have a potentially naive, related question: Do you finish the inside of the bowl, or just let the carbon do its magic once you start to smoke the pipe? I ask, because it seems that with a good, moisture impermeable seal, you might be able to prevent cracking in woods which are prone to it.

Thanks!
Greg

You would probably be able to lengthen the life of certain woods by making them impermeable to water, but the cost is often that the treatment tastes awful - you could varathane the inside of a bowl but the burning urethane taste is sort of ... bad.

I think woods like olive tend to sort of carbonize due to the oil content in the wood - in a sense, some portion of the chamber is sacrificial until it chars up good. This is not the case in briar. Briar just doesn't burn (if it's a good piece) at the temperatures tobacco is smoked at in pipes.