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bentmike

bentmike

Lifer
Jan 25, 2012
2,422
37

Here's a couple photos of my latest tamper. This one follows my favorite pattern I like to call the "Classic" I prefer to use a wood tamper with my meerschaum pipe just to be sure not to scratch the delicate white material of the pipe. Even though I'm really just a country boy at heart I always feel a little noble when I get out my meerschaum so a tamper as elegant as this just fits the bill.
I'm not sure of the wood species I just know it is some kind of tropical hardwood with a dense tight grain that is a pleasure to work on the lathe and comes out a beautiful deep red hue once oiled.


 
brdavidson

brdavidson

Lifer
Dec 30, 2012
2,017
5
That's really nice Mike. I'm all thumbs and the one time I tried to carve a tamper it ended up looking like a twig........not very impressive. So anytime I see someone make something that nice with their own hands I'm a little jealous, nicely done!

 

mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
bentmike, that's a handsome tamper, and reminds me of a chess piece. I keep wishing for the following, and it might

inspire you for your own purposes. I think it would be great to have a tamper and shovel/scoop tool that you could

hang around your neck on a string or chain. The challenge is to make this light enough so it won't swing up and chip

a tooth; rounded enough so that it won't jab you in the ribs or elsewhere, and still do the job handily. Drilling a hole

in a golf tee would be a primitive approach, but not so pretty. Just an idea. My pipe nails hide cleverly in my pocket

amidst my keys and change, so I often have to empty my pockets to get at it. Or in my shirt pocket, under my pen,

sunglasses, and/or comb. And so on. I have a beautiful tamper made out of a stick with bark, with finished wood end

pieces, but I'm wary of carrying it and losing it. I think the pipe tool pendant is an invention waiting to happen. A no

tooth chipping, no jabbing design that would be eye-catching, maybe not even obviously a pipe tool at all.

 
bentmike

bentmike

Lifer
Jan 25, 2012
2,422
37
Thanks for the kind words!
-mso I hear you. I always set my tamper down in my lap and forget about it. Then when I stand up it goes flying. A tamper pendant might not be a bad idea.

 
thesmokindragon

thesmokindragon

Lifer
Jul 12, 2011
4,135
4,216
@bentmike, sweet tamper u turned out there brother...might have

to do a trade of one for a SmokinDragon Custom Cob if you are

up for it...PM me

 
bentmike

bentmike

Lifer
Jan 25, 2012
2,422
37
I chucked up a small blank of Osage Orange in the lathe this morning and cut this tamper. Osage is a great wood for turning. Very dense and brilliant lemon yellow color when freshly sawn.



The last two pictures show the ends of the blank just before cutting the piece free. I have osage longbows that I made over 10 years ago that are still shooting. The wood is very tough yet yields beautiful grain and color with a little work. This was the first time I've turned osage on my lathe and it won't be the last.

 
jah76

jah76

Lifer
Jun 27, 2012
1,611
35
K Mike. If no one else is going to say it I will...
Why The Frick aren't you turning some pipes?
btw, the tampers look fantastic.

 
bentmike

bentmike

Lifer
Jan 25, 2012
2,422
37
Thanks jah I appreciate the compliments. I have made a pipe but I used a drill press for the drilling and just did the shaping by hand. The lathe would work great for pipes but I don't have a Jacobs chuck or a faceplate/clamp assembly to hold the stummel.
I have no doubt I could do some good stem work or pipe bowl turning on the lathe but I'm a bit OCD and have a fairly short attention span. The tampers allow me to let the creativity flow yet wrap up the project in a couple hours or three.
Here's one I finished up last night to go with a new pipe:

African Blackwood

 
C

cjhuey

Lurker
Mar 19, 2013
9
0
Absolutely gorgeous. I love the Pink Ivory and the Blackwood. You have very good taste in your wood selections. Keep up the great work.
Cody

codyhuey.com

 
ejames

ejames

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
3,916
22
Nice tampers Mike! I really like the Osage Orange.The color is a lot like Mulberry only brighter. Winton recently sent me some Osage and I have started a tamper from it.

 
topd

topd

Lifer
Mar 23, 2012
1,745
10
Emerson, Arkansas
Great Job Mike! I really like the first one.

(Don't worry about your tamper scratching the inside of your meerschaum though. I usually use a nail

type tamper and do scratch/rub the inside of the bowl to keep a carbon cake from forming. It keeps

from having to carve out with a knife and maybe taking to much).

 
fitzy

fitzy

Lifer
Nov 13, 2012
2,937
27
NY
Wow great tampers.
When are you going to start selling them? I'd love to buy a few.

 
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