Making my First Pipe

[dshpipes]

Normally the drilling is via spoon bit or some other "one-pass" drilling, probably because it'd be easier for cake to build up evenly on an even surface. Plus, later on down the road, reaming will be much easier.

If that's the case, you should be easily able to drill a mortise and add a pre-fab "freehand" type stem--a good set of calipers would be handy in that case, I've heard making the stem's tenon about 0.2mm wider than the mortise (or if it's pre-fab, simply measuring to that end, and drilling 0.2mm less than the tenon's width) and you could have a stunning piece. If your goal is an all-wood pipe, I guess that'd work, just as long as you're happy with it. I tend to be light on the shellac I've used, as I'm not carving top-end pipes, but want to give a little shine to my rusticated finishes. It can bubble and get a little weird under high-heat conditions, and taking a smoke directly off heated wood and a shellac'ed surface may prove... interesting. Just a thought. There's obviously reasons why added lucite/vulcanite stems have been used for so long, and I'm pretty used to this setup, so I will stick with it for my projects.

Again, not criticism, or stepping on your creative idea, but you seem so close to such a neat pipe!

Thanks for all your input and compliments! I don't take it as criticism at all. Hell, I'm no pipe maker... yet!

A lot of this has been spinning in my mind and I've gone back and forth on going for a briar stem or a pre-fab vulcanite one.

The first thing that pops into my head is how to cut the tenon and the mortise precisely without the proper tools. I'm afraid of wavy surfaces that don't fit correctly.

Before I get too far with shaping, I'm going to look further into what would be necessary to finish this up with a vulacnite stem on it. I have a dozen prefab stems that I ordered when I purchased the blocks that may do the job nicely. Only problem is that they're all rough cut, so I'd have to adjust the size of the tenons. Ugh.

If you spot any more info that you think might be helpful, please feel free to let me know.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Thanks for all your input and compliments! I don't take it as criticism at all. Hell, I'm no pipe maker... yet!

A lot of this has been spinning in my mind and I've gone back and forth on going for a briar stem or a pre-fab vulcanite one.

The first thing that pops into my head is how to cut the tenon and the mortise precisely without the proper tools. I'm afraid of wavy surfaces that don't fit correctly.

Before I get too far with shaping, I'm going to look further into what would be necessary to finish this up with a vulacnite stem on it. I have a dozen prefab stems that I ordered when I purchased the blocks that may do the job nicely. Only problem is that they're all rough cut, so I'd have to adjust the size of the tenons. Ugh.

If you spot any more info that you think might be helpful, please feel free to let me know.

Good, I didn't want to come off as "that guy" going all poo-poo on your efforts, because, I'm learning as I go too--I'm merely parroting advice from those experts kind enough to lend their ideas and techniques, or figuring it out on my own, through practice and my own warped mind. :lol:

Anyway, for approaching the mortise, start small and work your way up in size if you're that worried about it. Steady as she goes, boy, steady as she goes. A little space in there won't be the end of the world, so long as your mortise/tenon setup fits right. My second pipe I did I had TOO tight a stem, and then took too much off... nothing a little beeswax couldn't fix! 8) It's all good, man, have fun with it. There's solutions to almost any problem. Ideally, get a good drill bit, mark the length of the tenon to the depth you need on the mortise. Go slowly and drill no deeper than the mark you put on the drill bit. As it spins, the black line will stay true and visible. Stay shallow, and if in doubt, back out and put the stem in to see how your progress is going. Believe me, I've re-played this theory of how I, too, can do this without proper tools. Even if your mortise/tenon setup isn't exact to the draft hole, it won't matter. Plus, the draft hole undoubtedly will help "channel" your mortise hole.

If you have to make adjustments, don't sweat it. Even if it means steaming/boiling the tenon of the stem to make up for an overzealous mortise. It can be fixed!

Do you have a proper digital caliper or precise measuring tool? This is indispensable. I have one from Harbor Freight, got it for a paltry $15. It works ace. 8)

 

[dshpipes]

Anyway, for approaching the mortise, start small and work your way up in size if you're that worried about it. Steady as she goes, boy, steady as she goes. A little space in there won't be the end of the world, so long as your mortise/tenon setup fits right. My second pipe I did I had TOO tight a stem, and then took too much off... nothing a little beeswax couldn't fix! 8) It's all good, man, have fun with it. There's solutions to almost any problem. Ideally, get a good drill bit, mark the length of the tenon to the depth you need on the mortise. Go slowly and drill no deeper than the mark you put on the drill bit. As it spins, the black line will stay true and visible. Stay shallow, and if in doubt, back out and put the stem in to see how your progress is going. Believe me, I've re-played this theory of how I, too, can do this without proper tools. Even if your mortise/tenon setup isn't exact to the draft hole, it won't matter. Plus, the draft hole undoubtedly will help "channel" your mortise hole.

If you have to make adjustments, don't sweat it. Even if it means steaming/boiling the tenon of the stem to make up for an overzealous mortise. It can be fixed!

Once again, great advice! I've noticed a good chunk of this as I've been doing the drilling and it's comforting to be reminded that most minor errors are fixable. I think I'm going to do a few trial fittings in left over chunks before I try it on the pipe. This is starting to feel like the way to go.

How wide were the mortises on your pipes? The largest gimlet I have is 5 mm.

Do you have a proper digital caliper or precise measuring tool? This is indispensable. I have one from Harbor Freight, got it for a paltry $15. It works ace.

I don't yet. However, there's a really good hardware store close by that may sell these. Sounds like a good errand for tomorrow! 8)

 

[Kyle Weiss]

How wide were the mortises on your pipes? The largest gimlet I have is 5 mm.

As a reminder, my kits were pre-drilled. My first pipe had a mortise of 7.92mm, with a stem tenon of 8.02--a difference of 0.1mm (pipe carvers suggested to me a 0.2mm tolerance difference, so this is a little thin). My second pipe is mortise 6.95mm and stem tenon of 7.01mm--and it fits WAY too lose....to thin.

Now--how to get that precise? Look for a VERY precise drill set, use your caliper to go just under the size of the tenon, and that'll be your mortise size. From that point, try narrowing the gauge of the stem tenon (assuming you get a per-fabricated stem) and very carefully decrease the size of the with sandpaper. You could conceivably enlarge the mortise hole, with tiny and precise files, but I had good results keeping the "roundness" true on the stem's tenon by wrapping a piece of 300 grit sandpaper (or 500, less is usually more in this case, if you catch my dift ) and twisting inside the "sandpaper tube" so that there was always equal pressure on the sandpaper.

Most good pipe carvers have a great selection of very precise (down to half a millimeter) drill bits to make this pretty easy, but with a general set, you may have some work ahead of you. Also, a lathe is a good choice for really getting a stem turned by hand rather than a pre-fab, but I believe they still finish them down to the final size by hand (I never got that detailed).

This is instruction of the blind leading the blind here. :lol: I can hear the volley of groaning pipe carvers now. :lol:

The thing I've learned is, no surprise here since it has to do with pipes, there are no "rules," except if you churn out a good pipe, you churn out a good pipe. GREAT and FANTASTIC pipes take skill, time, patience and good tools to make the job faster and easier.

For us though? We're messin' around, so personally, I'm gonna have fun with it. 8) My pipes will always be filled with whimsy and love of the project!

Go get a caliper tool, digital if you can. They run about $30 usually for cheap ones, but you'll appreciate this for much more than pipes...I've measured everything from sink attachments to glass thickness with 'em! While you're at it, go look for precision files and drill bits in metric. 8)

 

[dshpipes]

This is instruction of the blind leading the blind here. :lol: I can hear the volley of groaning pipe carvers now. :lol:

:lol!:

That being said, it's nice to have someone who's just gone through the process of figuring out how to finish their first pipe(s) offer some guidance. The lessons are elementary but they're major discoveries to us!

The thing I've learned is, no surprise here since it has to do with pipes, there are no "rules," except if you churn out a good pipe, you churn out a good pipe. GREAT and FANTASTIC pipes take skill, time, patience and good tools to make the job faster and easier.

For us though? We're messin' around, so personally, I'm gonna have fun with it. 8) My pipes will always be filled with whimsy and love of the project!

Amen, brother! :cheers:

Go get a caliper tool, digital if you can. They run about $30 usually for cheap ones, but you'll appreciate this for much more than pipes...I've measured everything from sink attachments to glass thickness with 'em! While you're at it, go look for precision files and drill bits in metric. 8)

Picking up the caliper is on my list of things to do today. *writes down "pick up needle files and metric drill bits"* And now that's on my list.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I seem to find a million uses for the precision file sets. 8)

 

[dshpipes]

So I struck out at my local hardware store, which was unfortunate. However, I found a nice set of digital calipers on E-Bay for less than $14 shipped.

If you happen to need a set, the guy's got more: Digital Caliper

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Good tip. My Harbor Freight model is perfect, but they're probably made in the same factory. :lol:

 

[dshpipes]

Picked up these guys:

Diamond Files

Also practiced opening two of the prefab stems that I have and that went pretty well. I only ruined one before I remembered that they need to be heated up to be opened. Whoops!

So I have two stems now that are open to 2 mm with an inch on the tenon end drilled to 3 mm. Once I get the files in, I'm going to try tapering the airway. We'll see how that goes.

 

[tyler]

Now--how to get that precise? Look for a VERY precise drill set, use your caliper to go just under the size of the tenon, and that'll be your mortise size. From that point, try narrowing the gauge of the stem tenon (assuming you get a per-fabricated stem) and very carefully decrease the size of the with sandpaper. You could conceivably enlarge the mortise hole, with tiny and precise files, but I had good results keeping the "roundness" true on the stem's tenon by wrapping a piece of 300 grit sandpaper (or 500, less is usually more in this case, if you catch my dift ) and twisting inside the "sandpaper tube" so that there was always equal pressure on the sandpaper.

Most good pipe carvers have a great selection of very precise (down to half a millimeter) drill bits to make this pretty easy, but with a general set, you may have some work ahead of you. Also, a lathe is a good choice for really getting a stem turned by hand rather than a pre-fab, but I believe they still finish them down to the final size by hand (I never got that detailed).

Most pipe makers I know don't really care about "precision" drill bits. They just drill the hole and then turn the tenon to fit. (Delrin is an exception.) I only offer this so you don't spend too much time and money on bits. Really, almost any sharp bit will do. It's the lathe that is most important to many pipe makers. You don't have to have a lathe though. Slow and easy with sandpaper to reduce a tenon to the size of your mortise is very doable. It just takes patience. Constantly check the fit, and you'll dial it in.

For us though? We're messin' around, so personally, I'm gonna have fun with it. 8) My pipes will always be filled with whimsy and love of the project!

That's why I do it too! It's fun stuff, isn't it?

Go get a caliper tool, digital if you can. They run about $30 usually for cheap ones, but you'll appreciate this for much more than pipes...I've measured everything from sink attachments to glass thickness with 'em! While you're at it, go look for precision files and drill bits in metric. 8)

FWIW, I rarely measure anything, except to stick the stem in the mortise and see if it fits. And too, with calipers, it is exceedingly hard to accurately measure the ID of a hole. You have to "luck into" measuring at the exact widest spot.

 

[tyler]

Picked up these guys:

Diamond Files

Also practiced opening two of the prefab stems that I have and that went pretty well. I only ruined one before I remembered that they need to be heated up to be opened. Whoops!

So I have two stems now that are open to 2 mm with an inch on the tenon end drilled to 3 mm. Once I get the files in, I'm going to try tapering the airway. We'll see how that goes.

Opened up? Do you mean making the holes bigger? If so, you shouldn't need to heat them first. What are they made of, acrylic of vulcanite?

 

[dshpipes]

Opened up? Do you mean making the holes bigger? If so, you shouldn't need to heat them first. What are they made of, acrylic of vulcanite?

Yup! Expanded the holes to 3 mm, tapering to 2 mm at the bit. Rather they will taper once I have those diamond files in hand. 8)

These stems are vulcanite. I didn't think I'd need to warm them either, until I started to open one up and a major crack appeared on both sides of the stem. After I warmed them up with a candle flame(how romantic), they expanded with no problem.

Stem pictures:

I'll more than likely be using the tapered stem.

 

[dshpipes]

Thanks for chiming in, tyler!

Kyle and I have been going back and forth so much that I didn't even check to see who'd responded.

Thanks for the guidance! As far as drill bits go, I went in hoping to find some gimlets larger than 5 mm so I wouldn't have to concern myself with sanding the tenon so thin, but I suppose I could always sand the mortise wider. Maybe eventually I'll worry about getting a lathe and some nicer tools, but for now I'm just taking a stab at it.

I really appreciate your input here. It's great to know that even the pros "luck into" it.

 

[tyler]

Thanks for chiming in, tyler!

Kyle and I have been going back and forth so much that I didn't even check to see who'd responded.

Thanks for the guidance! As far as drill bits go, I went in hoping to find some gimlets larger than 5 mm so I wouldn't have to concern myself with sanding the tenon so thin, but I suppose I could always sand the mortise wider. Maybe eventually I'll worry about getting a lathe and some nicer tools, but for now I'm just taking a stab at it.

I really appreciate your input here. It's great to know that even the pros "luck into" it.

5 mm is going to be too small for a mortise. 4 mm is usually about how big the air hole is, so that doesn't leave enough room left for a mortise. Most mortises are in the 5/16" range. (sorry, I dont really know metric on these dimensions)

I don't like to "luck into" things, so I don't use calipers to measure ID if I can help it. Honestly, I've never found a need to really. Just stick the stem in. If it fits well, who cares what the numbers are?

 

[tyler]

Opened up? Do you mean making the holes bigger? If so, you shouldn't need to heat them first. What are they made of, acrylic of vulcanite?

Yup! Expanded the holes to 3 mm, tapering to 2 mm at the bit. Rather they will taper once I have those diamond files in hand. 8)

These stems are vulcanite. I didn't think I'd need to warm them either, until I started to open one up and a major crack appeared on both sides of the stem. After I warmed them up with a candle flame(how romantic), they expanded with no problem.

Stem pictures:

I'll more than likely be using the tapered stem.

How are you opening them? By removing material or expanding the hole by force? If by force, you'll need heat, but remember that vulcanite had memory. If heated again, the hole will go back to its original size. Removing material is the normal method, either with drills or files, and no heat is required for those.

EDIT: As I look more closely at the stems, I see the "pooch" of the hole behind the button. It seems you are making that hole larger in diameter. You shouldn't need to do that. I drill 1/16" there, and don't want it any bigger. Airflow is improved there by removing material from the "sides" of the hole. In other words, make a slit. That way you have the effective air flow of a big diameter without need to make a thick stem. I'd recommend heating that area back up and closing that hole back down so it's flat behind the button. Then wait for the files and open that area up on the sides with the files. That said, many preformed stems are actually fairly nice and open. You might not need to do anything to them but fit them in the stummel and start smoking! :cheers:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I'm glad someone else is joining in on this...:lol: I think 5mm is too small, as well. If there's a lot of tightening and swelling while in use, and you manage to twist it right, the thing may snap at the tenon shoulder and leave you with a frustrating situation.

The nice thing about having precision in measuring the mortise and tenon is if you have to work within specific parameters...such as if your pipe has a particularly thin shank and you don't want the walls to be too thin, there's probably some wisdom in not exceeding a certain size mortise/tenon joint. Plus, calipers are handy if you have a pipe you really like the draw on, stem fit, bowl size, etc., you can do better than "luck" to try and re-create it this way.

Otherwise, if luck is workin' for ya, then luck it is. 8)

 

[tyler]

I'm glad someone else is joining in on this...:lol: I think 5mm is too small, as well. If there's a lot of tightening and swelling while in use, and you manage to twist it right, the thing may snap at the tenon shoulder and leave you with a frustrating situation.

The nice thing about having precision in measuring the mortise and tenon is if you have to work within specific parameters...such as if your pipe has a particularly thin shank and you don't want the walls to be too thin, there's probably some wisdom in not exceeding a certain size mortise/tenon joint. Plus, calipers are handy if you have a pipe you really like the draw on, stem fit, bowl size, etc., you can do better than "luck" to try and re-create it this way.

Otherwise, if luck is workin' for ya, then luck it is. 8)

Let me disclaim my thoughts with the fact that I am not a plan-your-work, work-your-plan sort of guy. I'm more of a work-and-adjust sort of of guy. :joker:

On the calipers, my point seems to be missed: if you are using a caliper to measure the mortise ID, your doing it the "luck" way. Calipers are not good for measuring ID.

As for too thin walls, I think eye balls measure that as well as calipers. And too, when it comes to draw and stem fit, etc., the challenge is you can't measure all the places that need to be measured to determin the "magic" dimensions. The work inside the stem is critical, but you can measure it with calipers. Heck, you can't even see it that well, if at all. You have to develop a feel for it, and regularly stick the thing in your mouth and test it...yep! that's the draw I want on it. Let's talk about comfort in the mouth, what dimensions should the bit be? Well, how long is the pipe and how heavy is the bowl? What material is the stem? This can affect how wide I want the bit and perhaps how thin.

IOW, there's a lot of art to the process, not just science.

I'm not discounting measurement entirely, I'm just suggesting that it isn't always a critical part of the process. I think maybe it might be personality driven though? I know Brad Pohlman measures EVERYTHING to a bajillionth of an inch. I make a lot of pipes without measuring a thing. Different strokes, I guess.

 

[dshpipes]

How are you opening them? By removing material or expanding the hole by force? If by force, you'll need heat, but remember that vulcanite had memory. If heated again, the hole will go back to its original size. Removing material is the normal method, either with drills or files, and no heat is required for those.

Initially, I was trying to expand the hole by removing material with a gimlet, but the first stem I tried that on cracked. I'm not sure if I was doing something wrong, but aside from slowing down I'm not sure what to change. Would a power tool cause the same issue?

EDIT: As I look more closely at the stems, I see the "pooch" of the hole behind the button. It seems you are making that hole larger in diameter. You shouldn't need to do that. I drill 1/16" there, and don't want it any bigger. Airflow is improved there by removing material from the "sides" of the hole. In other words, make a slit. That way you have the effective air flow of a big diameter without need to make a thick stem. I'd recommend heating that area back up and closing that hole back down so it's flat behind the button. Then wait for the files and open that area up on the sides with the files. That said, many preformed stems are actually fairly nice and open. You might not need to do anything to them but fit them in the stummel and start smoking! :cheers:

See, look at me making more work for myself.

I'll be taking your suggestion here. Thanks for helping me make this easier!

 

[dshpipes]

I'm glad someone else is joining in on this...:lol: I think 5mm is too small, as well. If there's a lot of tightening and swelling while in use, and you manage to twist it right, the thing may snap at the tenon shoulder and leave you with a frustrating situation.

The nice thing about having precision in measuring the mortise and tenon is if you have to work within specific parameters...such as if your pipe has a particularly thin shank and you don't want the walls to be too thin, there's probably some wisdom in not exceeding a certain size mortise/tenon joint. Plus, calipers are handy if you have a pipe you really like the draw on, stem fit, bowl size, etc., you can do better than "luck" to try and re-create it this way.

Otherwise, if luck is workin' for ya, then luck it is. 8)

Let me disclaim my thoughts with the fact that I am not a plan-your-work, work-your-plan sort of guy. I'm more of a work-and-adjust sort of of guy. :joker:

On the calipers, my point seems to be missed: if you are using a caliper to measure the mortise ID, your doing it the "luck" way. Calipers are not good for measuring ID.

As for too thin walls, I think eye balls measure that as well as calipers. And too, when it comes to draw and stem fit, etc., the challenge is you can't measure all the places that need to be measured to determin the "magic" dimensions. The work inside the stem is critical, but you can measure it with calipers. Heck, you can't even see it that well, if at all. You have to develop a feel for it, and regularly stick the thing in your mouth and test it...yep! that's the draw I want on it. Let's talk about comfort in the mouth, what dimensions should the bit be? Well, how long is the pipe and how heavy is the bowl? What material is the stem? This can affect how wide I want the bit and perhaps how thin.

IOW, there's a lot of art to the process, not just science.

I'm not discounting measurement entirely, I'm just suggesting that it isn't always a critical part of the process. I think maybe it might be personality driven though? I know Brad Pohlman measures EVERYTHING to a bajillionth of an inch. I make a lot of pipes without measuring a thing. Different strokes, I guess.

I completely agree with both of you guys. 5 mm is way too thin a mortise. I'm just going to sand it open past 5 mm unless I can find a 6 or 7 mm gimlet in the mean time.

I personally like the idea of not measuring everything to the nth degree. It makes sense that there may be some things that need to be measured very accurately, but creating something that is beautiful to the eye and highly functional without extreme measurements is a different skill set which I value a lot and hope I have. Science can be beautiful but art is innate.

 

[tyler]

Glad to help. I was where you are about the years back (dang! Where'd to time go?). I know how overwhelming (but fun) it is to figure all of this out. I enjoy helping out where I can, and where I can in the pipe world is usually with pipe making. This is fun to me.

My fear is I'll become annoying. I usualy jump in if i think the easiest way to do something hasnt yet been offered. If the best advice i could offer is already posted, i dont see a need to say anything. So when i do jump in it is usually with a slightly different view than has been proposed. The result of this is that most of the comments i make then are in slight disagreement with earlier posts. I fear it makes me come across as antagonistic. I hope thats not true, but i sometimes fear it to be. I've done a little gentle disagreeing in this thread because I think it's easy to get too complicated with your pipe making. Like I said earlier though, easy to me might be hard to you and vice versa. It could be I'm crazy.