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Finished this today. I haven't been posting any pictures so far since I'm so new but I thought I'd let you know that I am making pipes and learning a lot from you guys. I really appreciate the help. After I make a few more pipes I'll post better pictures. The stem is actually blue cumberland but it doesn't photograph well. The bottom 2 pictures are the true color of the briar.
This is a small pipe and I learned small pipes are bitches. The button width is around 0.375" and not very comfortable as a result. This is the second one of this type that I've made. I've got one more block drilled and ready to go for the final one of this type, for now, so comments welcome. I'm pretty sure I'm going to flare the stem somewhat to make a wider button.
I know, make 20 more.
Edit: Here's a picture that shows the size. One inch squares. The pipe weighs 19.2 grams. It's a light one.
You did a decent job at orienting the grain on the block and the stummel is proportioned fairly well. For a lovat, the stem is too long. Maybe about a half inch shorter would be about right. The bowl/shank junction could be a bit more crisp, but it's not terrible. The chamber is too wide for the bowl, though. Not that it would burn out, but it just looks off. Also, it appears that your stem is bent upwards by maybe a degree or two. It is probably due to a mortise that isn't quite perpendicular to the shank. Or you removed too much material from the bottom of the shank.
The stain around the shank by the stem looks bad. I don't know whether you buffed it off or whether you fitted it after staining the stummel. Make sure your base coat is even. Along with that, the saddle on the stem is a little bit rounded. It should turn out crisp. When you're sanding the saddle, try to make sure it's not getting rounded over.
That's it for now. Keep making pipes!
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Fail early, fail often. Your success depends on it.
Thanks Jeremiah. You are correct on all counts. That's why I'm refraining from posting until I improve a bit. I learned a lot from making this pipe. The two hardest things for me were sanding the shank/stem transition and getting the top & bottom of the stem balanced (which it isn't). I don't have a lathe so I had to hand sand/file to correct a mismatch between the shank/stem (several times). I thought about re-staining the shank/stem transition but decided to finish this one up and move on.
Last edited by BobR on Sun Jul 06, 2014 1:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
