First Pipe Carve

[chopz]

a rank amateur i am, but was inspired by pipe carves i've seen here. got a ebauchon from 4noggins - next time i think i may have to try one without the stem already turned as that proved to cause some difficulties. currently it's sanded to 240 and waiting for stain and wax to arrive. been meaning to ask - what's the point of lighting the stain after applying it?
the start:

 

[chopz]

starting to shape:

and where i'm at now:

lousy photos i know - only have my phone to take pictures.

 

[olderthandirt]

Lighting the stain, provided it's alcohol based, sets the pigment rapidly by burning the alcohol off.
Look forward to more pics!

 

[ejames]

Looking good so far!!

 

[riptide]

looking good cant wait to see the finished pic.

 

[bambam]

Lookin good!!!! Can't wait to see what she looks like when she's done. ::

 

[thesmokindragon]

nice job brah, keep the hits coming ::

 

[philip]

That's a very pleasing shape you came up with.
I hope to see more.

 

[ace57]

Looking good,can't wait to see it done.

 

[pentangle]

Yes i'm waiting too :wink:

Maurizio

 

[terry]

Good job..looks like you have the talent! ::

 

[sherlock]

Looks good. Nice job.

 

[chopz]

thanks for the very kind and supportive words. now if the stain and buffing stuff ever arrives i can continue. home depot had no buffing wheels i could use, so i chose to order everything online.

 

[chopz]

stained and waxed (and smoked). i'm not completely satisfied with the stain job - came out uneven. either i should have stained when the wood was rougher, or i should have hit it again with another coat of stain between sanding it with 400 grit and polishing it. i hit it with a coat of yellow, then one of cherry. also in retrospect i should have mixed the 2 stains before applying them.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Looks good from the pictures. Hope it smokes well. Congrats on the first carve.

 

[patiobum]

Looks nice.
You could sand it down and re-stain it later if you feel like it.

 

[chopz]

i've been debating sanding (just enough to take the wax off) and re-staining with one more coat of cherry. i'm surprised. i've never had a new pipe that was bare wood inside with no carbonization or coating and thought it would taste woody, but this is actually a sweet smoke from the start. actually quite sweet. still going slow with only a couple 1/4 bowls and one full bowl at this point though.

 

[jchaplick]

Looks good from my perspective, keep debating whether i want to try carving my own

 

[buckeye]

good job.did you reshape the stem.

 

[chopz]

i did reshape the stem and plan on going back to round the corners on the bit one of these days too. i showed my nephew (who's a cigarette smoker) and he immediately said "make me one" so i'll be doing one for him and another for myself one of these days.
grinding it down on a sanding wheel on my drill was fairly easy. sawing, not so much - might skip that part next time. the thing i had to keep reminding myself while using the wheel was to hold tight but use light touch. the natural tendency when trying to touch the wood lightly to the wheel is to lighten your grip too.