jeesh! what kind of briar?Got enough beaters already ? The fissure on the front of the bowl is deep, probably doesn't leave 1/8" wall in the chamber and the one on the shank goes all the way through to the airway.
Definitely not the first, sure it won't be the last.Tough deal, Doug.
Could be or it could have had some trauma along the way growing up, overly dry/wet seasons. "shrug"improperly cured it appears?
True.. I suppose no way of knowing. Regardless definitely sucks. I've been lucky with the couple hobby blocks I've worked on.Could be or it could have had some trauma along the way growing up, overly dry/wet seasons. "shrug"
Honestly, better that you ran into those cracks when you did, instead of doing all the work finishing a pipe with major defects lurking just below the surface. It would really suck to do all that work then light it up, and have a massive burn-through.I actually kept sanding down after seeing the initial crack, just to see. There was no outward indication of any cracks until I started shaping the bowl while it was still on the lathe, thats when a small pit showed up. After taking it off the lathe and starting to shape the bottom side that huge fissure showed up.