First Pipe Progress Thread—Finished!

[ajpl]

Alright, here goes my first pipe. I'll be tracking my progress (and probably asking a ton of questions) here, so feel free to check back and offer any advice / criticism!

My lovely girlfriend bought me a plateaux kit from Mark Tinsky for Christmas, and I'm excited to dive in and get started. I'd like to start with a billiard, but I'm not sure this block is going to give me one without some work.

The stem is pretty wide, and the block proportion is about square (it's about three inches long, for reference), so I'm not sure I can achieve the 1:1 shank-length:bowl-height ratio generally accepted for a proper billiard without sanding down the stem (or buying a smaller one?). Any advice? Should I just make myself a nosewarmer?

Thanks guys! I'm looking forward to sharing my progress here.

 

[taharris]

Na, I say go ahead and make your Billiard.
So what if the stem is a little bit too long, you will love it anyway.

A billiard is a great shape to start out with, deceptively difficult.

Also, from the picture you posted it looks like you can add another quarter inch to the stemmel.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Todd

 

[Kyle Weiss]

The design proportions look okay as-is, but the stems are that wide to give you the opportunity to sand the shank (when it finally gets to that point) with the stem in place, and they should meet up okay. That part's not so hard, but as Todd said, getting a billiard shape is tougher stuff than it looks. I tried that by hand, and ended up with a sort-of cool looking rusticated pot, but hey. First pipes go that route. You're sure to love it no matter how it turns out, and you'll never forget the process or think any less about your first turning.

8)

 

[somedumbjerk]

you can easily get a billiard out of that! go to the pipe makers forum and look at the billiards that they critique for some ideas on what pitfalls to avoid. also keep in mind that this is a very very fun hobby, and to take your time with it. i tend to get impatient and my pipes suffer from it. also it will be one of the best smoking pipes you'll ever own, regardless of if you end up with a billiard or a pot.
or the fugly thing my first pipe ended up as... still smokes great!

 

[Clay]

This is a great idea!

 

[Bobostro61]

Be careful! Once you start you won't want to stop making them! Good luck on number 1. Can't wait to see the progress pics!

 

[ajpl]

Thanks, everyone!

A quick progress photo:

I'm about halfway done with shaping; I'll be making the chamber walls a bit thinner, and I need to start making it look more like a billiard and less like a lumpy poker. :lol: I got a little bit impatient with the rasp/file method, so I grabbed an orbital sander and strapped it sideways to a table with some motorcycle tiedowns. It worked... surprisingly well. Lesson learned: shaping on a sanding wheel is absurdly fun.

 

[greasemunki85]

word! looks like a lot of fun man. Hopefully one day ill get around to making one as well. I think its an experience, everyone should try.
Cant wait to see the finished product, its lookin good tho'

 

[Growley]

It's coming along nicely. Don't be afraid to take more off the bottom of the bowl. A lot of first timers make the mistake of making the bowl droop below the shank. If you look at any good billiard, you can basically set it on flat on a table and most of the bottom part of the wood will touch, if not all.

Keep up the good work.

Great thought with the orbital. Work smarter, not harder!

Brian.

 

[ajpl]

It's been a while, but I finally found some time to work on this thing. I also finished my shaping setup with an arbor and DA pad from Kurt Huhn, and it works magnificently well:

As for the pipe:

I was incredibly lucky with this piece of wood—so far there is only one tiny flaw (visible in the photo on the shank), and it looks shallow enough that it will come out as I start hand sanding. Keeping my fingers crossed against finding any new ones as I work.

There's still a little wood that needs to come off the foot of the bowl, and I need to work on my symmetry (harder than I thought it would be!). Any other feedback or criticisms as I sit down with the sandpaper?

 

[Bobostro61]

Lookin' good! You're almost there!

 

[ajpl]

All done!

As a first try, I feel pretty good about this one, but it's far from perfect. I'll try and upload a better picture of the top/bottom profile when I get home from work, but I really blew it on the billiard symmetry from that angle. I got a little aggressive with the sanding wheel. And yes, there's a gap between the stem and shank—I was an idiot and applied the black undercoat stain to the shank face, and then started sanding it along with the rest of the pipe. It's still black. :lol:

Comments and criticism welcome. Feel free to be harsh—I want to get better at this.

 

[i.keenum]

That is truly amazing for a first time piece.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Brilliant job. One of the best first pipes I've seen.

 

[BigCasino]

Nice work!

 

[monbla256]

Man! The classic Billiard for your first effort and ya NAILED IT :cheers: :cheers: Keep up this kinda work and you will be there

 

[Briar Spirit]

Quite the challenge taking on the Billiard shape, kudos to you for having the balls to try this shape for your first pipe, and you have done a stellar job too. The only thing I would pick you up on is to do some more work on future pipes with final sanding with the stem attached to the shank, you will find you get a 'flush' fit that way, on your pipe you can see a 'bevel' at the joint, this is down to sanding and/or polishing with the stem removed from the stummel. Aside from that your pipe looks perfect to me, fantastic job, I look forward to seeing your next project, and you know you're going to do another, a new Carver has moved into the 'hood. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

 

[Dutch]

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: