Questions!

[GuitarMyFriend]

Number 1; How do you stain a bowl? Could I plug the holes and dip it in stain? No clue how to do it.

Number 2; Say I wanted to rusticate a pipe and have the rustication look darker than the smooth part of the pipe (I'm talking making it look straight ebony), How would I go about that?

Number 3; How do I really bring out the grain in pipes? The Block I got has a gorgeous grain, and I want it showing.

Number 4; How do you remove char off of the top of estate pipes? Elbow Greese? Once again, No clue.

Number 5; If there's a silver band on estate pipes that's scratched and even a little pitted, how do I polish those up?

Number 6; How would I stamp pipes?

If you could answer those that'd be awesome! I'm coming to you guys before I search elsewhere. Best to ask friends you know...
Zach

 

[Kyle Weiss]

1.) I use q-tips

2.) I use q-tips and two different stains, being careful to know where to stop applying the darker stain so it won't bleed over into the lighter part--once I used a permanent marker. It seemed to work well. Time will tell.

3.) Don't use too dark a stain, and/or there's certain stains that "seek out" grain and not the lighter parts. Usually it's rubbed on and off while still wet. Done it on furniture and guitar bodies, but not pipes. Generally speaking, I think the grain will pronounce itself with sanding, finishing and buffing more than anything with pipes.

4.) If the "char" is burnt briar, you're kind of S.O.L., unless you want to sand the area, which could affect the shape. If it's merely gummed-up tar or cake that's built up outside the bowl, very carefully and with a sharp blade, you can scrape it off and buff it. A darker spot might remain, but you can get back to the original finish. Everclear works sometimes, too, but you'll have to wax/buff out the dullness afterward.

5.) Polish, polish, polish. Felt/cotton wheel, tripoli or other compounds.

6.) You can get letter stamp kits, you just carefully push firmly and roll it onto the briar. Practice on scrap pieces so you get the hang of it.

I'm not a "pipe carver." Just someone who gets by.

8)

 

[Ocelot55]

1) any alcohol based dyes will work. DO NOT USE NORMAL WOOD STAINS. Fiebing's leather dye is a commonly use dye for pipe restoration and for pipe makers. I apply mine with a pipe cleaner or a cotton swab. Try not to stain inside the bowl.

2)Rusticate the pipe first. Next I usually dye the whole pipe black and then sand off the top layer. The rusticated areas will stay black.

3)Contrast staining involves multiple coats of stain with different colors while sanding in between coats. For instance, say you want a red pipe with good grain contrast: Dye the pipe black. Sand it off. Dye the pipe black. Sand it off. Do the final coat with red. The softer areas of the briar will soak up the black dye deeper than the harder parts leaving darker stripes and birdseye. A little experimentation goes a long way.

4)Good ol fashioned spit will polish the char off most rims. I start by removing buildup with a gentle scraping of a knife. Everclear will work but it will also remove the stain from the rim so unless you're planning on refinishing the whole pipe
I'd stay away from it.

5)Sometimes corroded silver just needs a good working over with a silver polishing cloth. Other times you will need a buffing wheel and some compound on a pad to remove all the little scratches.

6)Depends what you want to stamp. Most stamps are too big, but there are stamps made for gunsmithing that are about the right size. I had my stamps made by Paul Argendorf in NY. They ran me about $150.

Keep in mind I've made a bunch of pipes and restored even more, but I am still an amatuer and I am still learning. This is what has worked for me.

 

[Blackhorse]

What Ocelot said.

And re: rim char...if the briar is burned to charcoal and not just caked on tar that can be removed with spit (it's the enzyme...salivary amalase that cuts the tars) and a rag (and you REALLY have to work at it and then expect to have to buff it afterwards)...then you have to sand the rim down to clean wood and restain , etc.

Take a clean whole sheet of sandpaper...start with 220 or 320 depending on how deep the charcoal is...and place it, grit side up (duh), on a nice smooth 'somethingorother'...kitchen table works well for me. Hold the damaged pipe in your thumb and first two fingers, like it was a radio dial you were thinking of turning. Point the charred rim directly downward at the paper...lower the pipe til the rim is totally flat on the paper and then firmly, slowly and evenly...push the pipe away. Now's the trick...turn the pipe a quarter turn in your hand and do it again...then another quarter turn, etc., etc., etc. til you have clean briar all the way around. Unless you keep turning the thing you'll surely end up with a rim that's skewed off the one side. Of course a belt sander works better, especially if you have a vice you can set it in to ensure everything is perpendicular to the face of the belt.

Now you know why I just said "What Ocelot said" at the start of this.


GMF...you might try to Google some of these...there are LOTS of good threads out there that deal with the same questions, as they're very common. Its the kind of thing that everybody needs to know!

Check out the Pipe Maker's Forum - good place.