Finally Making Some Pipes !

[lonestar]

Well I finally started making a few pipes. I got power to my shop last monday, got my lathe set up wednesday, and been working on some pipes since thursday. I started a Cherrywood/Poker, a Billiard, a Cutty and a Blowfish. The Blowfish wound up with a fissure through the side into the bowl, so its scrapped. So now I have three rough shaped pipes I'm trying to finish by this weekend.

Nothing is For Sale for a little while until I'm convinced the quality is at the level I demand.

There probably will be some free pipes given away in the next month or two, so I can get some feedback on my work before I offer them for sale.

So, they dont look like much now, still need lots of filing and sanding, but I was too pumped to keep it to myself !

Greek Briar and Handcut Ebonite/Cumberland stems.

I'll update with more pictures when they are finished.

 

[brian64]

Wow, very cool! Looks like you've got quite a set up there...and well on your way already with those initial creations. Best of luck in your endeavors! Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[jchaplick]

Very cool, cant wait to see what they look like finished

 

[barkar]

Very nice to see the pic's of various stages. Looking good so far!!

 

[photoman13]

Wish I had those mad skills.

 

[ichbinmuede]

Looks like they're coming along nicely to me! I'm going to have to get myself a chuck and hop to trying myself!
Speaking of chucks...What is that set up you've got on yours? Just an extension so your tools easily reach to cut or is it needed for chucking the block in?

 

[nsfisher]

Way to go mate, looks like fun. Wish you the best of luck.

 

[grizzly86]

Looking good; can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[mp31guitar]

All I read was "Free Pipes". :rofl:

 

[winton]

Looks like the bug hit you hard. You bought some nice equipment. Good luck on the pipes.

 

[spyder71]

That is incredible! I envy your skills, and your tools!

 

[docrx]

Nice set up!! Keep on truckin.

 

[bentmike]

Very good! Love the shop pictures.

 

[lonestar]

Thanks for all of the positive comments! Its been a dream of mine to do this for a living. I've been buying the tools for almost a year now, as I've come up with the funds. The big pipe sales I've had here have gone a long way to making this happen. Having the right tools is a very expensive proposition :D

For anyone interested in the "gear" side of pipemaking, the lathe is a Jet BD920. Its designed to machine precision metal parts. The chuck is a standard 4 Jaw thats been modified for pipemaking by Trent Rudat. I HIGHLY recommend Trent for any custom tooling, he's a standup guy and does great work http://www.briarpipetooling.com/ The bits for drilling the tobacco chamber are custom ground Silver & Deming bits, also from Trent Rudat.

The Free pipes will take a little while. I'm keeping all 3 of these, and I'll be at the Chicago show all next week. Once I've made a few more I plan to do at least 1 or 2 contests for a free pipe so stay tuned !

 

[mp31guitar]

Sounds like fun lonestar. Love the pipe making pics. I wish I had the knowledge to do this myself.

 

[uberam3rica]

Like you said, they still need a lot of work before they're done, but they look good so far! I really like the cutty in the second to last picture

 

[uberam3rica]

The only problem with you making pipes is now I have to add one to my PAD list

 

[lonestar]

Heres the cutty with 3 more hours work on it.

Starting to look like a pipe. And not too shabby for my first briar !

 

[tokerpipes]

Looking good.

 

[smokindawg]

Keep at it buddy... looking good so far. I'm going to keep an eye open for your finished work.