Pipes

[Bibliophile 13]

I haven't posted much here lately. I'm still making tobacco pipes--because I can sell them. Here are a few I've done lately.

The drilling is all done on a drill press, but the shaping is all hand-work. Mostly rasps and files. (Hand-stitched rasps are a Godsend!) Then it's a lot of sanding, all the way up to 1000 grit. The coloring is a couple of different dyes put on between grits. I buff the stems on a buffing machine.




First off, this pair of churchwardens was a commission. From my oldest daughter. She asked me to teach her to smoke a pipe, and then asked for her own pipe. So I made us a father/daughter set from the same block of wood. (She's got a rebellious streak in her, but she's also a daddy's girl.) The small one is her's. We don't smoke them often, as my wife doesn't exactly approve. :uhh:








And here's a diamond-shanked billiard pipe. The wood had a little void in the top, right near the rim. So I got some aluminum filings and CA glue and filled in the void. Sanded flush, it looks pretty nice.

[Phil S.]

Bibliophile 13 said:

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...We don't smoke them often, as my wife doesn't exactly approve.

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That's be a shootin' offense around here.

[DaveBeauchesne]

Steve:

What are the stems made out of?

Nice work BTW - -

Freonguy

[Bibliophile 13]

The stems are hard rubber--called "vulcanite" in the business. I use roughly pre-molded stems I buy from suppliers online. I bend them by heating them up in boiling water, and they become quite flexible when very hot. Once they cool, they keep whatever bend I've held them at.

[Daniel S]

Those are some good looking pipes.those churchwardens are great. Not having smoked a pipe in years, I would have loved to have something that nice when I did.

[Pat Zabrocki]

Every time I see this thread, I think "cool, wonder what kind of bike he has"
cool pipes, I checked some of the online resources for pipe making and that looks like a lot of fun for someone that smokes or knows someone that does. Nicely done!
pat