bowl finish on new fabrication

mountainbear · Jan 3, 2015

Greetings! I am new to the site,as well as new to pipe making. I am currently cutting my first out of a piece of black Walnut scrap off of my sawmill. Now, when I get my bowl drilled out and sanded, what is the process of finishing it? I've read everything from special epoxies, down to olive oil rub or nothing at all.
I figured I'd ask a real community,Google is starting to upset me with its broad spectrum of answers.

mountainbear · Jan 3, 2015

I guess I should specify as well,this is the inside smoking surface I am wondering about. Thanx again.

drennan · Jan 3, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDAgaz5VLGE
His pipes break in very quickly

ivapewithfire · Jan 3, 2015

Welcome to the forums.
There is a wealth of information to be found about how to finish pipes. I'd recommend you look through the posts on the dedicated sections of this forum.
While there are a lot of opinions about methods to finish a pipe, one of the more popular involve leather dye and carnauba wax.
I'm currently working on finishing a pipe following that method.

zack24 · Jan 3, 2015

black walnut produces a high amount of a substance called juglone which is toxic

You're right on that one, but the problem is more in the sawdust and shavings- it's a reason why you don't want your dog rolling in the shop floor if you use walnut. It is definitely considered food safe for bowls for salads etc. Not sure if I would smoke it either- there are too many good vendors out there who will sell you a nicely predrilled block of briar for relatively cheap.
On the subject of finishes-

everything from special epoxies, down to olive oil rub or nothing at all.

Never get epoxy, CA glue or anything else in a place where it will be in the smoke stream....If you're still going to make a pipe out of walnut, all you need is hard Carnauba Wax- no reason to mess with trying to stain it...

Chasing Embers · Jan 4, 2015

On the inside of the bowl, I crush activated charcoal that you get for aquariums, and mix it with plain yogurt and water until it is thick like paint, and apply it to the inside of the bowl with a small artists brush. For the outside, I use an alcohol based leather dye such as Fiebling's, and after doing a tripoli buff, I apply and buff a light coat of carnuba wax. As for the black walnut, that stuff is toxic. I have, however, known of pipes made from cherry and pear that made wonderful smokers.

newbroom · Jan 4, 2015

There's one or two folks using lemon wood.

I think you can glean some good finishing concepts from reading about restorations @ rebornpipes.

I've read that finishing often requires multiple applications and removals of dyes as well as buffing and waxing and that there is a myriad of techniques to achieve any variety of coloration.

I want to know more about polished airways and draw sizing in relation to bowl size, too.

As for dying or coloring the inside of the bowl, it's carbonized after one smoke, so, if I 'finished' the inside, I'd likely use....um...heat resistant black paint for the BBQ...(NOT!)

ejames · Jan 4, 2015

Walnut is fine for pipe making. Mark Stewart and others have used it for years.

http://www.pipecraft.org/Archives-and-Commissions.html

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