First Ever Buffing Attempts, and a Mystery Pipe! (Picture Heavy)

[pruss]

So if you've been following my Dunhill and Savinelli project log in another thread you'll know that I've been chomping at the bit to get my buffing system going. The biggest challenge to this has actually been moving the bench grinder and stand into my pipe cave. The damn thing is heavy! Well my pops came by today and we got 'er in. :clap:
Well I decided that discretion was probably the better part of valour, and began my first buffing on a Grabow, Ehrlich, Claridge, Jarl, and a Mystery Pipe before finishing off the Dunny and the Sav. If things were going to go sideways, I wanted that to happen on pipes I was ... less ... invested in.
Anyway, here are the pics of the five aforementioned pipes. I should mention that all were reamed, cleaned, deghosted with either S&A or a retort, the smooth briars were surface cleaned with acetone, the Jarl was cleaned with Murphy's oil soap, and the Grabow was topped
Dr. G




The Ehrlich Canadian




Claridge by Comoy's




Jarl




Mystery Pipe - I know it's an 8 Dot Sasieni stem... but the shank is a transplant and the pipe has no marks... thoughts?







FYI - When starting off new wheels, be prepared to vacuum afterward. Oh my word was the thread flying!
So? How'd I do? I'd love any feedback!
Anyone have a guess on the mystery pipe? I'm satisfied with, "It's gorgeous and that's all that matters," but would love any speculation on what it might actually be.
Cheers,
-- Pat

 

[keith929]

That is really great work. I wish you had some before pictures though.

 

[javajunkie]

Sexy batch of briars there, and good work. I hope you have as good, if not better, results with the pipes you are... more?... invested in. o)

 

[numbersix]

Beautiful job! Makes me want to get a buffer.
And the mystery pipe is I believe a Sasieni.
http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-sasieni.html

 

[pruss]

As many "Before" pictures as I have for these...
Jarl





Claridge





Ehrlich


Grabow & Mystery Pipe (Grabow in profile on right side of rack, Mystery pipe is second from left and bowl is facing out)


That's all I've got keith929. Hope it helps.
Reminds me that i need to glue the red and blue dot back into the Claridge stem!
-- Pat

 

[pruss]

And the mystery pipe is I believe a Sasieni.

Heya Six. I hope you're right. To be honest, that was one of my primary motivators for buying the lot of pipes and stand from e-bay. But when they came in I noted that the stem of the Mystery Pipe, which is an 8 dot Sasieni stem, didn't quite fit the shank nicely at the stummel. Further investigation revealed that the shank itself was a replacement, and that there were no pipe marks anywhere on the briar. Booooo. Regardless, the bowl is beautiful, and the pipe looks great now.
So while I hope you're right, I've only got hope to go on.
-- Pat

 

[eaglerico]

press...good job on the buffing. A tip, when you are breaking in a new buffing wheel or cleaning a well used wheel, take a short 2x4 and wrap some 80 grit sandpaper on the end. Push the sandpaper into the wheel with a vacuum hose under the wheel. That should get rid of most of the extra fluff and keep your shop clean at the same time. Hope this helps.

 

[oldredbeard]

It looks to me like you did a fine job on those now, nice looking pipes.
@eaglerico thanks for the tip on cleaning a buffing wheel.

 

[pipinho]

hmmm i seem to have a problem with polishing rustications... but your pipes look amazint!@

 

[ssjones]

Pat: wow, you learn fast! Those look great, with nice crisp edges on your stems. I have an old piece of hacksaw blade that I use to clean my buffing pads and break in new pads. Mine is in an old hand held handle, but you can also just wrap with cloth tape for a handle. Just be careful not to loose the blade and wear eye protection.

 

[shutterbug]

Can you post a picture of the buffing wheel? I'm curious as to how much of an investment I would need to put in to get results like that...

 

[pruss]

Hey Shutterbug. I bought my bench grinder used on e-bay for $60. Which is more than some cost new, but mine is a 1/3hp mid 20th century craftsman workhorse that came with the steel stand it's bolted to in the pictures above.
My buffing wheels and attachments were part of a kit. I bought the 4" kit to reduce the SFPM of the wheels given that my bench grinder is running at about 3600rpm. The kit cost $49.00 (http://www.bealltool.com/products/buffing/buffer.php) and included three wheels, a mounting system, and tripoli, white diamond and carnauba wax.
So all in, I am at about $110.00 in materials and equipment investment. There are lots of folks doing this more cheaply than I did, but I am very pleased to have the set-up I do.
Cheers,
-- Pat

 

[numbersix]

Further investigation revealed that the shank itself was a replacement, and that there were no pipe marks anywhere on the briar. Booooo. Regardless, the bowl is beautiful, and the pipe looks great now.

Ah - that's too bad. From what you say, it sounds like the previous owner was either a Sasieni fan or had an extra stem that fit a non-name briar reasonably well.
No matter, you did an amazing job polishing those up - especially seeing the before photos. I just may have to look into getting one...

 

[shutterbug]

Since you're relatively close...I should just drop off some pipes and pay you for such craftsmanship! Great job on those pipes!

 

[pruss]

Thanks Al and Six for the comments on my work. It was a tonne of fun to get to this place and I'm already trying to source the next batch of battered but lovely pipes to bring back to life.
Shutterbug - I'm not sure I'm ready to go into the restoration business, so charging you for work wouldn't be something I'd consider. That being said, if you're close, and understand my limitations (I'm brand new at this) I'd be happy to look at your pipes and let you know what I can do, and what I can't.
There are a number of exceptional restoration shops across Canada and the US who do excellent work for VERY reasonable prices. If you truly want the white glove treatment, just do a quick forum search for pipe repair and you'll find a whole archive of folks to reach out to... If you want to have a coffee with a local pipe friend and chat about a clean-up... well then toss me a PM.
FYI - My pipe cave is pictured at the bottom of my last set of pics in this thread: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/project-log-dunhill-root-briar-amp-savinelli-de-luxe-milano-pics

 

[eaglerico]

Shutterbug
The link below is pics to my sey-up. I bought the same kit from Beall as pruss but I bought a 1/3 HP motor and mounted it on a piece of wood so I can put it out of the way when I am not using it. I just clamp it to my bench when I use it.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/first-ever-buffing-attempts-and-a-mystery-pipe-picture-heavy#post-404554

 

[paintedklown]

Pruss, I am new to pipes, but one thing I can recognize is quality work.
Simply put,you have done AMAZING work on these pipes. I have to say that I am especially impressed with you work to the Jarl, however, all of these look magnificent, and "show room" fresh!
You should be quite proud of of your efforts, especially if these were your first attempts. You certainly have a "knack" for this sort of thing and I will be looking forward to your upcoming projects.

 

[ssjones]

I just have a 1725 rpm furnace motor with a $8 arbor mount from Jestco. I wired a cord/switch to it and it is perfect.

 

[pruss]

Hey Al, thanks for posting the look at your set-up. Do you simply lock your motor/buffer into your table vise when you need to buff, and then store it away when not in use?
I like that idea. I may need to borrow it as I evolve my workspace.
-- Pat

 

[uberam3rica]

I like that Canadian. Great work!