A Tinsky Pipe Kit

[user 1862]

Do not despair at the cost Blackhorse, all is not lost.
They made my tang stamps, and the price and turnaround were quite acceptable. Look under the "knife fixtures" category.www.riversidemachine.net

 

[Brewdude]

If I had a Blackhorse Hallmark...I likely would. Always wanted to get one of those stamps made. I guess there's ONE guy that does them for almost all the pipe makers. I'm certain it would be quite costly. Hence the reason why I don't have one. Maybe I should tackle one of my big crummy punches with some diamond bits and see if I can "carve" my own. Hmmmm.

Maybe I could make one that's a horseshoe and my initials or something. I'll have to think on this one!

Eureka! That's the ticket right there allrighty!! A totally unique and personal trademark stamp. Go for it bro.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Blackhorse]

Yes...another insanely beyond my capacity in terms of talent and tools...another in a long line. lol

We'll see.

Stepping back for a moment...If I put it in line with the other intended projects I've got it'd be, like, number 73. If I really really wanted to get it done and was totally psyched I could move it up though. That would make it somehwere in the twenties. With that in mind, I might get to it somewhere around May or Jund and finish it in time for next Christmas! Not bad. Sounds like a plan.

 

[MisterE]

BH, during the whole process what did you find most difficult or challenging?

I've never made a pipe before so I have no idea. It seemed like it went very quickly.

 

[Blackhorse]

Quick in Mexican time perhaps. In Oregon hours it was long and arduous!!! lol


There were two things that I found difficult. One is typical...slowing down...taking the time needed to do a proper measuring and then translating the measurments onto the block so that things were "square", meaning that the places that were supposed to be right angles were really 90 degrees...and that one corner matched the opposite corner in that same way. Getting it right before starting is something I typically have too little patience to do well. The other was translating those painstaking measurments into physical reality...via the cutting and filing of the block into the needed "pre-shape" to get a totally circular bowl and one that had the proper perpendicular rim and the canted bottom. Also, so that the shank ended up centered exactly on the center line of the axis of the bore and the sides of the shank were lined up properly. As I think I've said, I think that pipes that are 'standard' shapes, that are supposed to turn out a specific way...are much harder than doing something that's a freehand design....curves are easier than straight lines...circles are harder than following the contour perhaps presented by the flow of the wood's grain...etc. Now, if I had the right vices and cutting tools, the right angles, etc. wouldn't be so much of a problem. But as an example, once the block was cut into a square, the next "cuts" to get a 45 degree slab off was done with files. As I was cutting the briar down with the file I had to visually ensure that the resulting panel was an exact rectangle...all the way from start to finish...or it would have ended up as a trapazoid (or something) and the bowl would have been skewed off a bit. Painstaking is the term that comes to mind. At least, without the proper power tools, I have really good hand tools, so that made it OK. To do things this way you have to really LIKE doing things this way...you have to enjoy the feel of the tools cutting into the wood. ..or it would be a pain. Anyway, that's it.

 

[MisterE]

Yes, I've heard that "traditional" shapes are actually the most challenging to execute. Seems like you did well as I'd consider a poker a very traditional shape!

I used to visit the pipe making forum (the url escapes me now) and read a little about different aspects of the process. Apparently stems can be pretty involved as well depending on the style and taper. The kits usually come with a pre-made stem, right? It might be pretty tricky to make a stem without some sort of power drilling press, or some power tool.

Cool BH! Hats off to ya!

 

[Blackhorse]

I think most of the generic kits available out there come with pre-made stems. I mean, lots of online vendors offer pipe kits...and they all look just the same. The four prior kits I've done all came with a very generic stem...bargain basement level...used to save money and provide the kit guy with just enough to make a garden variety pipe. The Tinsky kit came with a stem that he hand cut, I assume, from a blank. It had that look. The button was crisp and some of the cuts were still very sharp re: edges. Like they were JUST cut. The bore was also primo...not just drilled straight through. It looked like it had been drilled just up to the button and then was thinner where it came through the end. Also, the finish was just at a 'pre-polish' stage and the steps to put the final shine to it were minimal. It was as though it had been either machined VERY finely or pre-sanded to an even matte surface. Very, very nice. But then I have little experience with this nice a stem so the steps on his end, to me, are guesswork.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

...I guess that's why some of the (scarcer?) Nording carver kits are intriguing, his stems look just like the ones offered on a lot of his retail pipes...I could be wrong, I'm just going based on Internet searches and pictures... I always wondered if a DIY kit had cheapo stems or not...

 

[JimmyV]

Beautiful pipe you made there and I'm actually in the process of talking to Mark about ordering a kit for a Hefty Poker myself. This thread definitely inspires me and I can't wait to get started on it. Mine will be a bent stem and I actually saw a Poker on the Boswell site a couple weeks ago that really caught my eye and am using that as a model and seeing what you've done really has me stoked to get the kit and start making mine. Great job and look forward to sharing my progress with my Hefty Poker.

 

[Blackhorse]

Good for you. Look at the gallery on the Boss site for more ideas. When you get ready to do the layout and shaping of the bowl, pm me if you want some tips.

 

[JimmyV]

Will do and I'll also be doing it with all hand tools and a dremel. Have rasps and files from when I went to guitar building school so I'm looking forward to this. Haven't really been able to get into the swing with the guitar stuff because so many tools are needed but I think I can tackle this.