Bonehed's #2

[bonehed]

I made a turd from a kit that was cut sort of oddly. There wasn't much meat left under the bowl and shank junction so the lines are a bit off, c'est la vie. Stained, then decided to reshape, and then decided I'd just leave it natural as the grain is mixed, so just waxed.

Comments and criticisms welcome! Please excuse my crappy photography, simply trying to show the shaping.

Album here.
Thanks for looking!

 

[papipeguy]

That looks like a real fine job to me. you should be very proud of your efforts. Now the thing is how does it smoke? If you're happy with that then you've hit a home run. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[bonehed]

Thanks very much papipeguy - planning to fire her up in a bit! I've already won either way - they are fun to work on and am looking forward to the next go 'round.

 

[aldecaker]

There's nothing wrong with the shaping of that pipe. It's actually quite similar to an old Smoker's Haven bent Dublin house pipe I have. Hopefully she's a good smoker as well.

 

[seacaptain]

I was expecting a disaster from your comments but this looks pretty good to me.

 

[bonehed]

Thanks very much aldecaker - I guess I meant that working on it was odd due to the way the block was cut... I appreciate the comment! Running some Pegasus through her now - a bit front heavy balance-wise, but I've smoked worse!

 

[bonehed]

Thank you too seacaptain! I think like many, I just tend to focus on what I could have done differently - there's always next time!

 

[gloucesterman]

Well done. Nothing wrong with that resto. Enjoy, you've earned it.

 

[clickklick]

What grit did you sand to?

 

[jeepnewbie]

I think that is a wonderful looking pipe. How was the rest of the bowl of Pegasus?

 

[petes03]

Not bad at all, I'd say!

 

[bonehed]

Adam, I went to 600, 800 on the stem...
Thanks for your comments jeepnewbie and petes03! The Pegasus tasted great, indicating I should probably clean my other pipes better!

 

[bonehed]

Thank you too gloucesterman! Though not a restoration, made from pre-drilled kit. Not sure who drilled it, came with some blocks I grabbed off eBay...

 

[clickklick]

Do you have a buffing wheel set up? If not, you'll need to sand even higher to get a glossyier finish on the stem. If you do, you can probably get by taking it to 600 grit and then buffing.
It is a decent attempt from a kit. Sometimes they lock you into a poor grain pattern. If that bothers you always stain dark.
If you have a drill press I would suggest buying a cheap block of briar and three inches of stem material and

Trying to make your own. It offers quite a bit more options for shapes and grain patterns. Depends on how far you want to take it.

 

[bonehed]

I'm still bare bones (no pun...) here, no buffer. I am using a drill and sticky sanding disks for most of the shaping post coping saw and something like this kit for finishing right now. Slow but it works. I didn't spend much time waxing this one as I maybe should have. Figured it would be a shaping practice/knock around pipe...

Definitely in the market for something to drill my own from block and rod for stem fab.

Thanks for the comment!

 

[aldecaker]

Having never used a pre-drilled block, I'm always curious: how would you rate the drilling on the block you received?

 

[bonehed]

Both that I've used were adequately drilled, no complaints. My first was from Vermont Freehand and this last I can't say who drilled. It came with some blocks of briar off EBay from an non-commercial individual. I wouldn't hesitate to use another kit from Vermont Freehand. The one I received had a nice, tight straight grain and very few blemishes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Looks good to me as well. Excellent tobacco choice as well. I really enjoy Pegasus.

 

[clickklick]

Got it. Sometimes our talent is limited by the tools we have available. Keep playing around and if you need help don't hesitate to throw me a pm.

 

[bonehed]

Thanks chasingembers!

And thank you too Adam!