Attempted my first hand cut stem today... I suck at life! Anywho...here's my question. Do any of you guys know if PIMO has different size guide pins for their tenon turner? (I didn't notice any)
Here's my problem...I drilled my ebonite with a tapered bit from Jamestown Dis. and when I go to turn the tenon the the PIMO tool (can't afford a lathe, boo) the air hole is larger than the guide pin which allows it to wobble and jack up the tenon while cutting. Any advice?
"No reserves, no retreats, no regrets"
"When you're dumb...you've got to be tough." - my dad
It's been a long time since I've used one of those things, but I seem to recall the guide pin being 1/8" or a hair under. Maybe try drilling with a 1/8" bit so that the guide pin fits okay. Then, after the tenon is cut, ream it with a 5/32" bit to open up the airway.
Not the answer you were looking for, I know, but you're limited by the physical laws of the universe here....
Yeah, a lathe isn't happening, unfortunately. I'm moving out of the country in 3 weeks and even if I wasn't my wife would kill me if I bought one. Now I'm stuck with about 2 dozen pre-molds that I have no idea what to do with, .
"No reserves, no retreats, no regrets"
"When you're dumb...you've got to be tough." - my dad
JMG wrote:Thanks guys. Any ideas about some premolds that I have that happen to have large airways? How would you go about turning those on the PIMO tool?
How much larger are the airways? Could you turn a piece of drilled delrin/ebonite to fill the spread? Since you're using a tenon tool, I'd be happy to turn something for you if you need it.
If that's too much work, you might just call PME or wherever you bought those and see if they'd exchange them for you.
JMG wrote:Thanks guys. Any ideas about some premolds that I have that happen to have large airways? How would you go about turning those on the PIMO tool?
How much larger are the airways? Could you turn a piece of drilled delrin/ebonite to fill the spread? Since you're using a tenon tool, I'd be happy to turn something for you if you need it.
If that's too much work, you might just call PME or wherever you bought those and see if they'd exchange them for you.
Thanks a ton for the offer, but if I can't figure something out, I'm just going to let well-enough alone. With the move coming up, I won't be able to make pipes again for quite some time, so I guess I just need to not sweat the small stuff. I really do appreciate the offer, though.
"No reserves, no retreats, no regrets"
"When you're dumb...you've got to be tough." - my dad
What I did when I was using a tenon tool and molded stems was replace the guide pin with a small drill bit that was just slightly bigger than the hole in the stems. It'll follow the hole right along and give you a nice concentric tenon.
John - I made a new guide pin for mine that is sized for a 5/32" draft hole instead 1/8" draft hole. The part that fits in the tool itself is 1/4" diameter so I just took some 1/4" stock and turned the business end down to .153". I'll make you one if you want.
You can see the small end of the pin on the left is larger than the stock one on the right.
I don't have a lathe in my shop so I "turned" the pin in my old drill press.
"Cut your own wood and you warm yourself twice." - Henry Ford
Thanks for the help, guys. I experimented this morning with putting different kinds of tape around the guide pin to increase the diameter. Scotch, electrical, and packing tape either gunk up or melt due to the friction. However, last night Nate King suggested masking tape...it worked like a charm. It's still a pain to have to take the pin on and off to put tape on and take it off, but on a budget it will do. I have the tenon fitted now, and will hopefully finish shaping the stummel today. This block has some some really nice grain...hopefully I will be able to turn out a decent pipe. Until then...
"No reserves, no retreats, no regrets"
"When you're dumb...you've got to be tough." - my dad
Glad that worked to at least get you through John! You should order a lathe now and have it sent to PNG. You'll have to set up some form of waterfall generator or something though.
I suck at life! Anywho...here's my question. Do any of you guys know if PIMO has different size guide pins for their tenon turner? (I didn't notice any) 
And I've never thought of you as a half-ass. Definitely a full-ass, I'm an optimist! 
