My Pipe Project - FINISHED!

[DesertRat]

I'm not a wood carver by any means but I think a kit like one of these would be a fun project.
Anyone ever try one of these?
http://store.pipesandcigars.com/sacayoownpi.html

 

[Q_The_Cop]

I've been eying one, but am in no way good enough to try something like that! Though I do have a snazzy brand new Dremil tool that's been itching to be used on something...

 

[LilBastage]

I always wanted to do one of those but I've never gotten around to it. Maybe I'll treat myself for Christmas so I have a project for the first of the year.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[PJ the Comic]

Much like your last exam, Please show all your work.


PJ

 

[DesertRat]

Well, the kits at pipeandtobacco were out of stock so I bought one from PIMO.

I got the "Large Plateaux prebored and fitted with a bent stem" the briar piece is 4½ L x 2¼ W

Should be an interesting project!

 

[Pugman1943]

I too would enjoy watching your progress. Maybe Humidor Minister could add a hint or two for you. Keep us in the loop.

 

[DesertRat]

Rather than start a new topic I just renamed this one.

I ordered my pipe kit from "PIMO Pipecraft" which is owned by Al and Ginny Baier, last Tuesday evening. Ginny was quick in confirming my order and shipped it via USPS Priority Mail on Wednesday and it arrived here on Saturday. Excellent service and delivery - so far so good!

The kit arrived in a simple, plastic, zip-lock bag complete with the chunk of Plateau Briar, bent stem and a rudimentary instruction sheet.

The Briar is pre-drilled so all that needs to be done is decide what form the pipe wants to take and figure out how to remove all the wood that is hiding that shape.

Here are some different views of what I'll be working with

I am now going to attempt to form this hunk of wood into a free-form smoking pipe and I'll be using nothing but hand tools to do the shaping and finishing of the pipe.

Keep in mind; I am NOT a woodcarver, whittler, woodworker, sculptor or anything remotely resembling those with artistic talent so this is going to be a true novice project by an unskilled person.

I'll take photos along the way as I try to figure this out and hopefully I won't destroy the briar in the attempt.

Any tips, hints, suggestions, etc... are most welcome!

 

[souldog]

Im excited to see what you do with it man!

 

[Smokin'Sims]

Did you get the book from Pimo as well? I've been wanting to make pipes for awhile and would be interested to hear how your experience goes.

 

[vortex]

I never tried one either! Looks like fun, too.

I just read that one mistake that's common is drilling the hole for the stem too deep such that a gap is present. One of the main causes of spitting/water build up.

 

[LilBastage]

Don't be afraid to use some power tools if you need to. Briar is pretty hard and from what I've been told it can be difficult to hide your mistakes. A misplaced gouge from a knife or chisel may mar your pipe for good. Most of what I've seen has the rough shape sawn out on a band saw and the finishing work done on a bench sander.

I would think a Dremel tool would be very useful if you're very careful. Good luck! :thumbs:

 

[DesertRat]

Don't be afraid to use some power tools if you need to. Briar is pretty hard and from what I've been told it can be difficult to hide your mistakes. A misplaced gouge from a knife or chisel may mar your pipe for good. Most of what I've seen has the rough shape sawn out on a band saw and the finishing work done on a bench sander.

I would think a Dremel tool would be very useful if you're very careful. Good luck! :thumbs:

Well, I don't own a band saw so that's out but I do have a Dremel and a belt sander if needed.

 

[Q_The_Cop]

I'm anxious to see the end result! I asked my GF for this for Christmas, thanks for the name of the site.

 

[thinde]

I've done a little wood carving in the past. The biggest mistake you can make is taking too much off. Once it's gone your fu**ed. I had a hard time slowing down but after wasting a couple of projects that were close to complete, I had to force myself.
Most of all...just enjoy yourself.
Tom

 

[Smokin'Sims]

Don't be afraid to use some power tools if you need to. Briar is pretty hard and from what I've been told it can be difficult to hide your mistakes. A misplaced gouge from a knife or chisel may mar your pipe for good. Most of what I've seen has the rough shape sawn out on a band saw and the finishing work done on a bench sander.

I would think a Dremel tool would be very useful if you're very careful. Good luck! :thumbs:

I had the Pimo book and if I recall correctly they suggested exactly what Alan did. Patience was the key to a good pipe. I would think the sanding attachments on the dremel would work great once you had the rough shape made. You could also rough it our using a coping saw, but again patience is the key and I don't know how well it would cut through briar. Just some random thoughts from someone who has been thinking about doing this for a year or more.

 

[StatHaldol]

Cool project! Keep us posted with pics!

 

[yanksfan]

Cool project. This is something I'd like to try myself. Keep us posted.

 

[rramstad]

I've heard that Mark Tinsky makes nice pipe making kits, much like the Pimo kit. Just FYI.

 

[DesertRat]

Well the new pipe is taking shape.

Here is my progress after about 3 hours of work last night with a coping saw and a Dremel. I had to stop due to the collet on my 20 yr old Dreme,l breaking. That was probably a good thing since by the time it broke I had consumed several adult beverages and may have screwed something up had I continued much longer.

I was amazed at just how hard a wood Briar is; by no means would this have been a fun job had I stuck to my original plan and only used a carving knife, hand files and such to carve this.

it's obviously very rough but at this point I had an idea as to what direction to take the design in.

 

[DesertRat]

Continuing on the update -


After work today I stopped by the local hardware store and picked up a new collet and chuck for the Dremel and sat down to work on the pipe some more. These photos represent four hours of patient work this evening.

As you can see, I've been working the rough carving from the top down and in these last two photos you can hopefully use your imagination and see the shape the finished pipe will take

Now that I've cut into the raw wood as much as I have, the natural grain is showing itself and after wiping the pipe down with alcohol to clean off any oils from my hands, finger prints etc.. I am quite excited by what I see.

Assuming all continues to go well, this is going to be a beautiful pipe when finished. I really need to be careful deciding what color of stain I use or if I am going to even forego the stain and just wax the natural wood since the grain is so beautiful.