Drawing Templates

[thejayrob]

Hey everyone. I'm very new to the pipe making scene. In fact i've only shaped three hobby pre drilled kits. And you could tell Im new. my question is this. Do you guys dedicate any time to drawing pipe shapes? Does drawing pipes help you in your pipe shaping and coming up with new shapes and modifications of more traditional shapes? There are so many youtube videos of guys who use templates to do ruff shaping. Do you think drawing pipes will help newbie pipe makers develop skills? Thanks guys.

[jogilli]

help.. I don't know but I'm sure it must in some sense.. I have a moleskin pad I carry with me nearly everywhere... and I can't tell you how many pipes I've designed on airplanes, trains, and when bored during conference meetings...actually my notepad at work has been known to have designs drawn on the last few pages.. so moral of the story .. i draw them and then make them...... and at times I make templates of them.. that are then adapted during shaping depending on the briar block being shaped

james

[d.huber]

I find sketching really helpful as a way to think through ideas. I usually sketch in my down time at work or if I'm in transit to or from work. However, and I'd wager I'm in the minority here, my sketches rarely turn into pipes. I usually pick up a block that's calling to me and shape it until the excess is gone and the pipe is left in my hands. If you could see my sketches, you'd probably laugh. I couldn't draw a polar bear in a snowstorm.

[thejayrob]

Cool. Thanks so much guys for your input. I didnt know how much emphasis I needed to put on my drawings vs just letting the briar decide whats going to happen. Thanks guys.

[oklahoma red]

Ahh, another Okie enters the dimly lit ring.
Welcome from 50 miles away.
Chas.

[andrew]

I draw on blocks. No more paper sketching really.

[caskwith]

I sketch a little bit when I have ideas, usually when bored etc. As to actually designing pipes it depends on what I need to do. If customer asks me to make a certain pipe then the first thing I will do is try and get a picture of the that pipe online or more often they send me one anyway. I'll take that picture and copy it out, if it's a good pic then i'll print a profile shot of it in 1:1 scale. I stick this image onto some thin card then i can use it to choose and mark out the block. If I am designing from scratch I work on graph paper as i find that the easiest way to lay things out. I do all the basic work on pencil, get the drill lines correct etc then once I am happy I can go over it in ink and erase the construction lines, again I stick to card and use this as a template. Doing it on paper means less screwed up blocks for me and the resulting templates can be kept for future use or scrapped if the design fails, I also make notes on the templates as I leanr along the way.

Sometimes of course you pick up a block and you see a special pipe inside it, in these cases if the design may be complex I will trace the shape of the block onto paper and work from there but more often than not I draw straight onto the block as it will be a unique pipe anyway.

[wdteipen]

I sketched pipe ideas a lot early on and still do on occasion. I used to make templates out of clear blank stencil sheets based on profile sketches. I could see the grain through the templates so I could orient it on a block correctly. I still use templates on cross-grain block for traditional shapes since the grain orientation isn't as important. These days, when I make a pipe using a plateaux block I draw the shape directly on the block based on the grain orientation. In shaping before drilling, I imagine templates wouldn't be useful at all. I've not made that leap but intend to soon.

[The Smoking Yeti]

I sketched pipe ideas a lot early on and still do on occasion. I used to make templates out of clear blank stencil sheets based on profile sketches. I could see the grain through the templates so I could orient it on a block correctly. I still use templates on cross-grain block for traditional shapes since the grain orientation isn't as important. These days, when I make a pipe using a plateaux block I draw the shape directly on the block based on the grain orientation. In shaping before drilling, I imagine templates wouldn't be useful at all. I've not made that leap but intend to soon.

Even though I'm doing shape then drilling, I find sketching helpful. I'll even trace an outline and sketch it onto the block. However, I just use it as a guideline, and I often change the pipe mid-way into the block. I think the biggest thing sketching does is it helps me formulate my ideas.

[ToddJohnson]

I've never used a pipe template. My good friend Jody, however, has never made a pipe without a template, I don't think. It depends a great deal on how you work. If you're just starting out, I think using templates is probably a good idea. When you encounter flaws, don't chase them. Make the pipe that you intended to make from the beginning. Live with the flaws or rusticate the pipe. You will gain the greatest amount of skill by trying to translate your original shape ideas into a 3-dimensional briar object.

TJ