Plaster of Paris pipes - a possible solution to breakage

I think this approach is right out even if the glue were completely compatible with the PP mix. Strengthening the PP blank is a fine idea but the idea of applying considerable heat to a substance with Elmers, or any other glue for that matter, in it is not at all appealing. It could be quite toxic when heated or burned.

In my mind essentially you'd end up having more of a clay pipe then a meer, or am I missing the mark?

I have a few Zenith double wall clay "ceramic" pipes and a few of the authentic clay mold pipes. The Zeniths are great for trying new tobaccos as they don't ghost any flavor but they can get a bit hot if your not really careful. They have military style bits and rubber tenons and come in several shapes. The traditional clay pipes I have I rarely use as they just feel wrong in my teeth and were bought on a whim.

Clay pipes are in general molded then fired which gives them their heat resistance. I've no clue as to what the heat resistance of PP is but I'm pretty sure its typical uses don't involve much direct exposure to high temps. Cobs use PP on the outside but I don't know about the inside.

The other thing to look into when choosing a glue is water solubility. I know I used to use Gorilla glue in the making of knife handles and changed when I had a filleting blade come out of an antler handle because Gorilla glue dissolves in water so now I use a two part epoxy. lol

I think your best bet is to use Play-Doh. It's non-toxic - kids eat it all the time - and comes in a great variety of colors. You could make some fantastic pipes with it. :wink:

Why not just use dental plaster? I highly recommend a product called Excalibur. You can buy it at Atlantic Dental Supply. Its considerably harder then Plaster of Paris.

I like this out-of-the-box thinking, and I try my best not to be the negative nanny. But, a couple of things to consider. Calcium, which is the major component in gyspum, which is what makes up plaster of Paris, reacts drastically to thermal shock. These crystals that give it the properties of setting while drying will actually be a reason why this material will most likely pop apart when you try to smoke in it. If you use a binder, it would have to be heat resistant and carry the bulk of holding the pipe together, which puts the glue it in the cyanoacrylates (Superglue) category, which is toxic when heated, but retains it's adhesive properties (you can get these at RC hobby stores, same thing we use in lapidary). This is why those reconstituted compressed meerschaums are such a bad idea. If they don't break on you, the fumes will kill you after a while.

Also, a Plaster of Paris pipe will not patina, which to me would be a main reason to even consider a meerschaum. If you don't want this property, or it doesn't matter, just stain a briar pipe white, like those old Kaywoodies.
Otherwise, I like this type of thinking. Good stuff. Don't let me be your killjoy though. If you solve the problems, and come up with something fantastic, I'll be the first to applaud.

Plaster of paris is used by missouri meerschaum to coat the bowl of the cobs. They then sand off the excess and the rest is sealed into the cobs. I have experimented with plaster of paris before and it works well on cobs but im not sure about making an entire pipe out of it. I have also considered making clay pipes coated with plaster of paris then sanded down a bit. Let us know how it goes, I am curious to see the results.