First Pipe From Scratch

[gerryp]

Previously, I posted pics of the first pipes I carved, both from Vermont Freehand kits.
Emboldened by my recent Craigslist purchase, a Craftsman 12" drill press for $100, I ordered an undrilled plateaux block, a bit of Delrin, and a little Cumberland rod, then made this one from the ground up.
The only significant screw up was drilling the chamber about 3/16" too deep, making a dead spot at the bottom. Also, and this isn't necessarily a problem, is that I got too excited about using my new drill press and accidentally grabbed the 1" Forstner bit instead of the 3/4", thus making a big ol' wide chamber. I made the button hole (?) a bit wider to suit my personal preference, making a wide-open airway. The wide chamber and open airway seem to be a good combo.
The bit, combined with the short-ish length, make this the best clencher I own. In keeping with the autumn feel I was going for, it's perfect for keeping your hands free while raking leaves, stealing candy from children, smashing your a-hole neighbors' pumpkins, etc.

 

[Mr.Mike]

Wow! Great first pipe. What tooling did you need to buy?

 

[scloyd]

Nice job! Looks similar to my Chacom Reybert 81.

 

[buzkirk]

Awesome job !

 

[Jwebb90]

Very nice!!

 

[gerryp]

Wow! Great first pipe. What tooling did you need to buy?

Thank you! Other than the drill press, which I didn't need for the kit pipes, I used a couple Forstner bits, a paddle bit that I rounded out with an angle grinder for the chamber bottom, a tapered 5/32 bit for the stem airway, a regular 5/32 bit for the shank airway, a 5/16 bit for the mortise, a cheap pull saw (Home Depot) for cutting some material off the briar block and cutting delrin/ebonite rods, sanding drums for the drill press (Harbor Freight) for rough shaping, a rasp and various files for final shaping, diamond grit needle files (Harbor Freight) for detail work including the button, a two-sided emory board from the nail polish dept. at Dollar General (stem/button work), sandpaper/sanding pads from about 150 grit to 3000 grit, a Dremel for stem work, Fiebing's leather dye, Zinsser (sp. ?) shellac thinned with denatured alcohol, and finally (I think) a bench buffer and a block of carnauba wax. I think that's everything....

 

[B_Rock]

Nicely done. Love the grain on that one!

 

[ChuckMijo]

Fantastic!!!

 

[gerryp]

Nicely done. Love the grain on that one!

Thanks, I should have used a better camera. Some detail is lost in the pics plus it's a little less orange in person.

 

[Mr.Mike]

Thank you! Other than the drill press, which I didn't need for the kit pipes, I used a couple Forstner bits, a paddle bit that I rounded out with an angle grinder for the chamber bottom, a tapered 5/32 bit for the stem airway, a regular 5/32 bit for the shank airway, a 5/16 bit for the mortise, a cheap pull saw (Home Depot) for cutting some material off the briar block and cutting delrin/ebonite rods, sanding drums for the drill press (Harbor Freight) for rough shaping, a rasp and various files for final shaping, diamond grit needle files (Harbor Freight) for detail work including the button, a two-sided emory board from the nail polish dept. at Dollar General (stem/button work), sandpaper/sanding pads from about 150 grit to 3000 grit, a Dremel for stem work, Fiebing's leather dye, Zinsser (sp. ?) shellac thinned with denatured alcohol, and finally (I think) a bench buffer and a block of carnauba wax. I think that's everything....

Thank you for the complete list. Just goes to show you could do everything with a drill press and make a beautiful pipe!

 

[gerryp]

Thank you for the complete list. Just goes to show you could do everything with a drill press and make a beautiful pipe!

Thank you! You can make one from the pre-drilled kits with just files and sandpaper. It just takes longer and you might lose feeling in your hands for a while. ?

 

[sumusfumus]

Thank you! Other than the drill press, which I didn't need for the kit pipes, I used a couple Forstner bits, a paddle bit that I rounded out with an angle grinder for the chamber bottom, a tapered 5/32 bit for the stem airway, a regular 5/32 bit for the shank airway, a 5/16 bit for the mortise, a cheap pull saw (Home Depot) for cutting some material off the briar block and cutting delrin/ebonite rods, sanding drums for the drill press (Harbor Freight) for rough shaping, a rasp and various files for final shaping, diamond grit needle files (Harbor Freight) for detail work including the button, a two-sided emory board from the nail polish dept. at Dollar General (stem/button work), sandpaper/sanding pads from about 150 grit to 3000 grit, a Dremel for stem work, Fiebing's leather dye, Zinsser (sp. ?) shellac thinned with denatured alcohol, and finally (I think) a bench buffer and a block of carnauba wax. I think that's everything....

Great work. Love the proportions. Enjoy smoking all your efforts....you earned the kudos. It's amazing what elbow grease can do, even with a minimum of tooling. You proved it.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Great job! Looks great. ?

 

[brut666]

That's a fantastic looking pipe, well done, you should be very proud of yourself for that brilliant effort ?

 

[labrax]

That is a beautiful looking pipe! Have you smoked it yet? What did you christen it with?

 

[autumnfog]

Impressive! The colors are quite autumnal too.

 

[mso489]

I really like the bright stain and the shaping on that one. That's the kind of pipe I use a lot. It will just come to hand.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Super job, particularly for your first. Well done!

 

[gerryp]

I really like the bright stain and the shaping on that one. That's the kind of pipe I use a lot. It will just come to hand.

Super job, particularly for your first. Well done!

Hoosier: Thanks! I've carved a couple kits before, but this was the first time I've drilled the holes.
MSO: It is very comfortable in the hand, and the stem is the most comfortable of all my pipes.

Thanks again to everyone who "liked" the pipe or posted a compliment.

 

[STP]

Nice job! Those mishaps were serendipity ?