My Pipe Making Blog

[dshpipes]

Is the pipe that cracked the one in the most recent pictures up there? That is one delicate shank!

Oh yeah, that's the one that cracked. If you look carefully at pictures 3 and 6 on the blog you can see the cracks on the shank face. If I'd A) drilled the mortise before final shaping or B) stuck to using files to make the stem fit after shaping, I'd have been fine. Le sigh. Oh well, lesson learned.

Last measured, the shank(at its thinnest point) was 7.6 mm high by 8.7 mm wide. The airway is 4 mm. :shock:

That flaw on the shank has been my savior. It doesn't go through to the airway and it's the thinnest point on the shank. I know that as long as the flaw is still there, I'm not at risk of sanding through to the airway. I do hope that it disappears in the last moments of finishing though. I'd be quite pleased if that were the case.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Bummer you had to learn a crafting lesson that way. Ah well, Gorilla Glue is the duct tape of the 21st century. 8)

 

[dshpipes]

Hey guys! I wrote a new blog post which includes pics of the completed pipe #2. Check it out!

The Worst Sight in the World / Pipe #2 Complete!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Woahhh! Nice recovery!!! Funny, I was thinking a week or so ago you might just drop a stem into the unbroken part or into the bowl, and well, lookee here! :cheers: Now I want one done on purpose that way, but with a slightly curved stem! That Dunhill was excellent inspiration!

Also, I like how you're keeping the bowls natural-colored. Seriously, awesome, awesome job. I'm seeing a new master in the works. 8)

 

[dshpipes]

Woahhh! Nice recovery!!! Funny, I was thinking a week or so ago you might just drop a stem into the unbroken part or into the bowl, and well, lookee here! :cheers: Now I want one done on purpose that way, but with a slightly curved stem! That Dunhill was excellent inspiration!

Also, I like how you're keeping the bowls natural-colored. Seriously, awesome, awesome job. I'm seeing a new master in the works. 8)

LOL! Thanks a lot, Kyle! You are too kind.

 

[szyzk]

Thank you for doing the blog, by the way. It's been a fun read!

 

[dshpipes]

There's a new post about the first commissioned pipe that I'm making. I must not be feeling particularly pontificatious (hey, I made it up. So what?) 'cause it's short and sweet.

Check it out: Commission #1

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Oh, commissions are coming in, now, huh? And you don't want to get "pontificatious?"

It'll turn out great, I'm sure--keep updating!

8)

 

[dshpipes]

Made some progress on pipe #3. Take a look!

Progress!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

All joking at my expense aside, I do NOT think that pipe looks too long. The stoutness of the stem and shank will likely keep it looking balanced, and the shape is coming along nicely. 8) Swell job as usual, and I'm jealous of your talent.

 

[dshpipes]

I went to visit Scott Klein's workshop out in the 'burbs last week, so I wrote a blog post about it. Check it out!

Visiting with Scott Klein

 

[Kyle Weiss]

If a master pipemaker is "underwhelmed" by your first attempts, I'd take that as a huge compliment--ingratiating or false compliments, or even a wrinkled-lipped sneer probably would have been much worse. :lol:

Good story, sir. 8)

 

[CygnusXII]

Fantastic! I envy you for you chance to get into and learn from another man shop, especially someone that's been around the block a time or two, not to mention the knowledge you get to soak up. It's easy to learn the small things when someone is willing to lend a hand. Sometimes it makes all the difference. You will be able to take you game up many notches, given a little help from an experienced carver. The thing with us that take up the tools, is our thirst to make it better. Always striving for the extra little bit of excellence, is the task master we chase. Your work is pretty darned good now, just imagine your skill set and work in a year from now. I see great work in your future. I can only hope to strive to produce work as nice.

 

[dshpipes]

If a master pipemaker is "underwhelmed" by your first attempts, I'd take that as a huge compliment--ingratiating or false compliments, or even a wrinkled-lipped sneer probably would have been much worse. :lol:

Good story, sir. 8)

Good point! It actually felt really good to have a pro look at the pipes and say, "Hey, that's ok" instead of having his eyes pop out of his head or have his nose wrinkle up in disgust.

Fantastic! I envy you for you chance to get into and learn from another man shop, especially someone that's been around the block a time or two, not to mention the knowledge you get to soak up. It's easy to learn the small things when someone is willing to lend a hand. Sometimes it makes all the difference. You will be able to take you game up many notches, given a little help from an experienced carver. The thing with us that take up the tools, is our thirst to make it better. Always striving for the extra little bit of excellence, is the task master we chase. Your work is pretty darned good now, just imagine your skill set and work in a year from now. I see great work in your future. I can only hope to strive to produce work as nice.

LOL! Flattery will get you everywhere, sir.

Seriously though, I really look forward to learning more and making more pipes. I'm having so much fun and feeling so artistically fulfilled it's hard to imagine stopping. It's also really nice to feel like there's some momentum going, you know? I just wish I had the means to tool up like you've been able to.

Also, as a point of interest to you, unless I'm mistaken, Adam Davidson doesn't live terribly far from you. I'd recommend looking him up after you've put a few pipes together.

Another also, check out Pipe Makers Forum. There's so much information there it's unreal. The guys on the forum are fantastic and very supportive.

 

[dshpipes]

Here's a piping update for you! Lots of things have happened since my last update and I cover a lot of it in this post; from another ruined pipe, to the Chicago Show, to another pipe in the works, it's all here. Enjoy!

Piping Update

 

[sam a]

david... i think i said this to you at the show but it bears repeating... billiard homie... billiard. blowfish later, billiards now. you are crazy.

 

[dshpipes]

david... i think i said this to you at the show but it bears repeating... billiard homie... billiard. blowfish later, billiards now. you are crazy.

Of course I'm crazy! Why else would I be trying to make some pipes?

I've been hearing this from several different directions recently, actually. Thanks for hounding me on it!

The issue right now is that making a billiard would be really laborious for me. I just don't feel the motivation to do it nor do I feel capable of forcing that shape on a block once I've started cutting into it.

Having a background in art, I completely understand and appreciate learning the classics and in particular "learning the rules before you break them." What I'm doing right now, at least what I think I'm doing right now, is trying to figure out shapes and styles that have serious appeal to me. aka the stuff that I find beautiful and fascinating.

Trying to make a billiard is particularly difficult for me right now specifically because of the time it takes me to make a pipe from start to finish. Committing that much time to creating a shape that my heart isn't in seems like time spent under strain... or time spent learning the stuff that I don't have a natural inclination to.

*sigh* You're right. I need to make a billiard. Humph.

 

[sam a]

i hear you man... but remember, a little discipline goes a long way.

Committing that much time to creating a shape that my heart isn't in seems like time spent under strain

think of it as time spent pressure cooking your skills

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Hube, I'm gonna be a partial devil's advocate here.

If I spent all of my time learning the classics before I started off on my own, I wouldn't be the guy I am today. I have spent a lifetime figuring out, usually on the sidelines, the end goal of my direction. I didn't have any of that pesky training to get in the way of my goals. At the same time, my road was difficult, lonely, criticized, atypical and results were questionable. What I learned from this was by talking to other people who had chosen a similar path in a more traditional manner, they too had a difficult, lonely, criticized, road with atypical results. Fancy that! The difference being they learned how to be instructed and I learned how to learn.

Now, that's a very generic and non-specific generality. I in no way am trying to off-put traditional or structured learning or method, I just do as I do. The similarities being practice, dedication and the willingness to learn, fail and progress (all one in the same, really...).

...on that note, make your blowfish. Make the ugliest, stupidest, lamest blowfish you don't know how. :lol: Hell, I will buy it from you. Just learn something from it. Go ahead and make a billiard, too, just to show yourself you can do it. All are fair. Just don't think you're going backwards, because you've already moved beyond the first steps here--you don't have to "retake" any classes, just keep learning, brother. Just keep learning.

...and be creative. If you think you can do it, you most certainly can.

Love the pipestache, by the way. 8)

 

[dshpipes]

think of it as time spent pressure cooking your skills

Lol! I like that and will remember it. Thanks for the kick in the pants, Sam.