Calabash Pipe Project
- Thread starter hawke
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The Gourds arrived. Man they are much smaller than I expected. Im still going to give it a try. Pipes will be very small for sure but I do like miniatures. They dont smoke that well to me as they get hot so fast. Might make good sample tasting pipes. Oh well. looking forward to it. Ive got lots of home workshop projects lined up so I wont be bored for a while.
I was thinking about the bowl. Thought I could find a old meerschaum bowl and carve it to fit, but saw some info about plaster of paris pipes and cobs also dipped in a variation of it. It could be poured int a mold. Not so sure about it bowl material though. Input welcomed...
Saw this:
Saw this:
Missed a listing on ebay for two meerschaum calabash bowls. Got side-tracked. Would have been perfect for this silly endeavor and under $15 for the two! Crap!
You might be careful with the mold and mildew on the gourds. If there is any inside I would not recommend using them for pipes. I bought quite a few last year to use for pipes and they all had mold and mildew inside and were unusable. Something else to keep in mind while you sand is wearing a respirator. Some people are very sensative to gourd dust. There is quite a bit of information out there on working with gourds. Do some reading and it will make the process easier.
Progress on the bowl. I decided toy use briar hoping to get the same air chamber effect of a true calabash yet be a little more to look at than plain white meerschaum. And... it was cheaper for me to play with, old estate bowl. The draw hole was burned out pretty bad but simple filler there is being done. The new draw hole at bottom in nice solid briar.
Ok, I found the cork is to seal things off. Progress. Old bowl sure has been charred up. Ah well Im learning and having a bit of fun. Patching a weak spot where the old stem went thru. The charred wood is super soft. May use the bamboo to lengthen the stem for coolness, maybe not. We'll see. The offshoots provide a nifty holder.
You carved the funnel of the pipe out if goards and then insert a bowl. Is the goard what is normally used?
Yes thesmokingtexan, a true gourd calabash anyway. The gourd provides an air chamber for cooler smoking. Most use a meerschaum bowl however where I am just playing and using an old estate pipe bowl. There are pipes which borrow the calabash shape and are made from all briar as well as all meerschaum.
Cool I might have to run up to hen tonight and buy a gourd to give this a go. This would be a good prepped skill set as well
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