1st Briar Pipe - Lovat

[Sorringowl]

It is with great humility and a lot of blood, sweat and tears (literally) that I offer up to you my first whack at this pipe making sickness (which I know I have because I'm already planning my second pipe): My version of a pipe (which, to me, just happens to look like a Lovat), warts and all.

This took about 20-24 hours of work (and I'm still not done--need to figure out sanding and buffing [...and shaping...and drilling...and staining...and pipe making...] some [a-whole-lot] more); and after many months of trying to set up my old, cast iron lathe to turn true, I just gave up and used my g.d. drill press. The stem is hand cut as well and...well, that's a whole other ball of wax that I don't wanna think about right now...

So, I'll cut the preamble now and just let you tell me where I can improve. Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated and a great thanks to the many makers and aficionados for all their expertise, comments and wealth of knowledge (Sas, you know who you are). I could not have been infected with this wonderful disease without you.









this one's a little fuzzy (sorry)




Oh...did I mention that you ruined my life?...Now all I can think about is pipes, pipes, pipes and making damn pipes!....Thanks a lot.

[Tyler]

1st? Really?!?

I can only think of one other first pipe that impressive. I'm not going to say who it was, but you are in good company.

Wow.

[e Markle]

1st? Really?!?

I can only think of one other first pipe that impressive. I'm not going to say who it was, but you are in good company.

Wow.

He's referring to Alfred Dunhill who also got his start on this forum.

Nice first pipe.

[Boekweg]

Very nice 1st. pipe indeed!

[wdteipen]

I agree. Very nice first.

As for areas of improvement, there appears to be a bit of rounding of the edges at the stem/shank junction. I find it a bit tougher to get a seamless transition with acrylic stems because the acrylic is significantly harder than the briar. I find that files work better to remove material evenly followed by nail files to sand smooth a the coarser grits. You have to be careful with sandpaper because it removes briar material easier than acrylic and can result in the uneveness you see here. Ebonite responds to sandpaper more similar to briar so it's typically less of an issue when using it.

To me, the bowl seems a tad heavy in comparison to the shank diameter but that's a pretty minor criticism.

Lastly, the stem width would look better if it was the same width as the saddle. And for a nice finished look, I like to wrap some 180 or 220 grit around a wooden dowel and sand the stain out of the tobacco chamber.

[Sorringowl]

Tyler, Ernie, and Boek,
Thank you for the compliments. Much appreciated (and I am humbled).

Wayne,
I agree with all of the points you mentioned, especially, the heaviness of the bowl in comparison to the shank.

This was my first time working with acrylic (or any kind of real stem material--had done a few stems, previously, in maple wood, which is, uh, much easier to shape, haha. I found that the more I sanded the shank/stem junction, trying to even it out, the more the roundness at the stem became pronounced.

I tried using files to even things out at the shank/stem at one point but my facility with them is not great (and I think I need to get some more flat files) so, I figured I quit while I was ahead (and still had some briar left). You mentioned using files and then nail files.
Couple questions, if I may (and please, if anyone could share their experiences, I would be grateful):

1. Is a flat, wide file the best kind of file to use to get things even/round at the stem/shank junction?
2. Re: Nail files: Do you mean metal nail files? or emery board type files? or both?

With the stem, I was trying to originally do a fishtail type of stem but I blew it and it came out too narrow So, I'll just have to try again on the next one.

And yes, forgot to sand the inside of the bowl (thanks for pointing that out) and then, I couldn't wait to smoke out of it before I posted these pics (haha). I guess I'm a little impatient.

Thanks for your advice, gents.

[wdteipen]

The rounding at the stem/shank junction is better than some factory made pipes including Peterson's and others that are highly regarded. My suggestions are pretty critical of a pretty good pipe but meant to help you kick it up a notch. The nail files I like to use are the foamy fingernail files you can get at Walmart. Flat files (and rasps for rougher shaping) work best for straight lined areas like the shanks on straight pipes. You can also use a flat file with sandpaper wrapped around it in lieu of the nail files. I like to use round files for shaping rounded or sloping areas of a pipe. Another option is to fold your sandpaper a few times to stiffen it up.

[Sasquatch]

Frank, it's an excellent effort. Looks just like a pipe, dude.

Tooling - flat tools make flat areas, rounded tools make rounded areas. This sounds dumb and trivial but it's not. A master carver has a hundred wonky-looking gouges as his disposal, some of which would only be used once a month or less. A back-bent alongee V-tool is absolutely useless about 99 percent of the time but when you need that tool, it does what it does like nothing else (what does it do?? I've NEVER used mine. There's 60 bucks down the drain). When carving, you know you are using the right tool because between the motion your hand naturally makes and the shape of the tool, there is no disjunction.

Move this to pipes - if you want a clean sharp flat edge, a clean sharp flat file will do it. It naturally knocks little bumps and unevenesses out. If you want to make an inside curve, get a half round file on the job. There are "outside" curve files, but they're pretty rare (surforms too).

We all use what we've got. If you've got a 30 dollar jeweller's file, you don't need an emery board. But ... I've got emery boards. Or rather my wife does. Or rather she used to.

And lots of this comes down to practice - there's no replacement for having a couple hundred hours with a tool in your hand. Bob Vila comments in a book I have that his father used to build a lot of stuff, and Bob was deeply impressed by how all the tools just seemed to become part of his father's body when they were picked up. This only happens with time spent - true mastery of the tool and "oneness" with it are the same thing.

At any rate, if you feel that I had something to do with you making a pipe that nice on your first real go, then ... well, shit, I guess I'm some kinda transcendental pipe guru, huh?? Swami Sasquatchananda?

[Sorringowl]

Wayne (and Sas),
Thanks for the tips on filing and sanding. It is much appreciated and makes a lot of sense.

Couple really important things I learned on this first pipe that correspond to what both of you have said (and might help others, like myself, starting out):

1. Nothing substitutes for experience: At some point, I thought my time would be better spent on my next pipe (and future pipes), rather than trying to get this first one perfect. Also, more than a few times, after sanding and filing for what seemed like hours (and was), I literally would get dizzy and lose track of what I was doing and where I was (seriously--I felt like I was in the zone but I couldn't tell you where that was). From my experience with making furniture, I know that you're not going to get it right the first, third, or 10th time. But once you do it about 50 times, well, you'll start to get it and think about it a lot less.

2. Work with what you have: For months, I was trying to get my lathe to run true and outfit it with accessories that I neither knew how to use nor could really afford. In the meantime, my homely, 70 year old delta drill press, was standing there like a crotchety, but very capable, old man, saying, "hey dummy! I can drill holes and buff!" and after awhile, I had to agree and give in.

And yes, Swami Sasquatch, my biggest hope in this first attempt was that you (or someone--anyone) would tell me that this looks like a pipe (or, at least, vaguely reminds them of one). So, again, thanks to you and all the makers here for all the great advice. This grasshopper has much to learn (so much that grasshopper gets a little dizzy if he thinks about too much), so, I'm off to the shop to work on my second pipe. If all goes well, hopefully that will look like a pipe too.

[HumblePipe]

Beautiful work, this pipe is extremely classy and elegant. Bravo, sir, bravo!

[Sorringowl]

Thanks, Humble. I appreciate the kind words.