Tiny dublin

[andrew]

Here is another dublin-ish pipe. It's pretty small. Weighs 23g and it's 5 inches long. The bite is very thin. Overall I like it. This was my first attempt at "shape first" so it's not too adventurous. I'd like to see what the group has to say. I have thick skin, so don't worry about offending me. Here it is:






Thanks for looking.

[ND Pipes]

nice little baby...

[flix]

So this is the one you mentioned. It looks pretty good in symmetry and the ornamentation is very nice. One issue I see is the transition from the shank to the bowl. It doesn't quite look right to me. Can't quite put it into words....sorry about that!

Are you going to abandon drill first?

[andrew]

I don't think I'll be abandoning drill first completely. There are some classic shapes that I don't think I'll be comfortable doing freehand for quite a while, but for the most part I'll be doing shape first from now on. I just finally got up the guts (and modified my end mill bit) to shape first. The end mill is not the best thing for drilling out the bowl. It's a little too harsh. I think I'm gonna need spoon bits. The time for making the pipe was a little faster too. I don't know if that is typical, but it feels like once I get this down my production time will decrease by quite a bit.

[andrew]

I think the shank/bowl transition should be a little softer than it is. Most of the radii on the pipe are more gradual, the bowl/shank is more dramatic (not necessarily in a good way). Does that make sense?

I will need to upgrade from the crappy harbor freight drill press that I have right now. It was the cheapest drill press that harbor freight carried, but hey, it got me started so it isn't that bad .

[Sasquatch]

It's... unusual... to see what amounts to a straight shanked pipe connected to a stem the flares up for termination, and in this case, the pipe is stuck between having a curved line along the top of the shank and not. Result is, that part of the stem looks real heavy and basically out of place. I think if you cut more of an arc into the shank this will take care of itself and the heaviness will balance against the bowl, rather than just being the heaviest part of a heavy shank.

The button looks VERY large to me unless the pipe is only 2" long. I realize it's a small pipe, but that button isn't finished in my world.

What's the relation between the angle on the stem shoulder and the angle of the bowl, or the angle of the shank?

I think this pipe has potential, but a bunch of material could come off it in various places and really sharpen up the idea of the shape.

[andrew]

The button is 5/8" wide and 1/4" tall and 3/32" thick. Is that too big?
I see what you are saying about the shank and the flare. The tenon is 5/16" diam. I don't have much to work with in the top of the shank. It's already just a hair over 1/2" diameter.
Would it clean things up if I removed the flare and thinned out the mortise/tenon on the stem? The more I stare at this flare the more I want to remove it.

[andrew]

All right. Goodbye flare. I'll take it off tonight. A little bending, some more sanding... I'll post new pics after it's done.

[Sasquatch]

Particularly on a real small pipe, I'm gonna say "Yes, 1/4" tall is too big".

The flare isn't wrong, it's just that it's too much for that shank - if you have a curve, have a curve, a nice smooth one. If there isn't room... well, hell, that's why making little pipes with a nice shape is kinda hard! This wouldn't be fun if it was easy!

[andrew]

I'll take the button height down a notch too....

[baweaverpipes]

Apologies, but that stem is too long and should NOT be on that pipe!
Please take another look at the pipe in relation to the stem. Is there any flow? Does one compliment the other?

On the other hand (both of mine are left), I have ten thumbs, work with a hatchet and like Rod Davies pipes, so what do I know?

[andrew]

Do they make blasting cabinets with two left handed gloves?

You must have one 'o them fancy ur'pean units with the uni gloves.

The stem and pipe are about 1/4" different in length. The stem is too long... irritating.

Well, when I'm done with this thing that should be taken care of... or I'll have made it worse. It's a toss up.