I Think We'll Call This One Fred

[chiefwannapuff]

I was thinking "Horn" and changed direction mid-stream. My next one will be a horn, but I have to work on the heat treat and bending, first.
Anyway, It's all for fun:


Edited by jvnshr: Title capitalization.

 

[nevadablue]

You BENT that bamboo? OMG 8O
Nice work, there are a lot of interesting details in that one.

 

[chiefwannapuff]

Ken. Yes. Bamboo, being a silica composite, can be deformed under temperature. Patience is key. You have to insert a rod, bare metal wire or stick to prevent the diameter from collapsing/pinching off. Then heat the part slowly, while bending, slowly -and while not burning it.
Another fun fact: Untreated Bamboo has a short life span. Being a grass, it grows to adult size within the first year, then spends a short 3 or 4 years getting thicker, then succumbs to mold and dies off. This why it needs to be heat or chemically cured to lock it in. I have bamboo hiking sticks that are almost ten years old, but leave one outside, unpolished, in the weather for even a month, an it starts to decay. I now preserve them with Howard's Butcher Block conditioner.
Another fun fact: As these are smoked, like any wood, they soak up the tars and begin to form a Patina. Whether or not this contributes to preservation will be interesting and beneficial. Use it or loose it? Hmmm.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Cool looking pipe.

I've seen those bamboo walking canes with bent handles, like a candy cane. I guess they are done the same way?

Yeh, the bamboo around my studio just immediately becomes crumbly after it is cut. I usually just pile it all up and run over it with my lawn mower a few times. It's hard to imagine things being made out of it.

Another fun bamboo fact... from a member here, and fellow pipe club member, Jabo, who is a retired forester... bamboo isn't used as a renewable crop because it is unpredictable as to when it will die, and since it is all connected and one plant sharing the same roots underground, after it flowers it all will die off. This year about half an acre of bamboo died off on my property, and immediately it was useless dried grass-like. Some of the plants that were disconnected from the roots of the others survived, but it left me with a freakin' mess to clean up.
I will see ads on social media from folks looking for bamboo, and when I tell them that they can come get whatever they want, they usually ask me whether I have treated it or not. Ha ha, like I would treat it for them and then just give it away? People are stoopid... and lazy. ::

 

[chiefwannapuff]

Cosmic. Yes. It's hit or miss with heat deformation, but I've managed well with smaller pieces. Practice. Practice.
Yes. Bamboo is a connected community and often mistaken as a wood vs. grass. The bigger, older pieces are in the center. A Japanese craftsman, whose name I can't remember, once said that you use the materials available to you. That is, they don't look for any particular type of wood, they just get good at what's on hand and deal with it. Therefore, Bamboo in many countries wasn't an option, it was the only option.
This is why I'm making so many pipes now, before the groove takes a nose dive and it's another year or more before it comes back. I have more than plenty for my smoking ventures. However, I'll most likely make some pieces to sell. I can't see making a living from it, but buying a few new tools, something in briar and tobacco would be nice. Of course, they'll be more refined and proper. I've learned a lot, and can always order more material online. Like Buddha Belly and Black root. Maybe even a few feet of 4" diameter pieces to make a few gift boxes for the up coming season.
I was thinking about transplanting some roots into my property, but after thinking about it, my neighbor's would revolt. I would have to hire out a backhoe to dig a trench and sink a some very heavy shielding to hold back the roots from invading others properties. Not worth the hassle for a hobby to support a bad habit.

 

[tbradsim1]

I like Fred!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

If you bury old RR crossties, the roots will not cross it, so it makes a great barrier (maybe the poisons in the wood?). Otherwise, yeh, I've seen it push up through asphalt, concrete, and one shoot even broke up through a brick sidewalk, but crossties...

 

[mso489]

You're running a valuable experiment on bamboo as a pipe material, and some other members have some expertise on that. Just design-wise, I find these pipes really impressive. I like your painted pipes with bright colors and faces, etc., but they speak to a sense of whimsy. The natural tone and striking geometrics of the non-painted pipes strike me as cutting edge. You really have a distinctive look and idea there. Impressive. Keep us posted. I think you are really going somewhere with these. If bamboo itself doesn't have the fire resistant qualities needed, I think that can be addressed -- you can do a work-around.

 

[chiefwannapuff]

Thanks, Cajun. I'll be testing that one out tonight. Let you know how it burns.
Mso489. Thank you. Yes, the painted ones are silly, are just for me and to gauge feasibility of paints and stains. I'm thinking more along the lines of tribal, natural looks. Whatever I like about these, will be translated into the other pieces. The one below is a favorite:

 

[chiefwannapuff]

Taking a break from new pipes, tonight, so that I can relax and enjoy them for a change, (image that). The new one, "Fred", is smoking fine. In fact, it's taken the lead on the best smoker of the bunch.
I just received 5 unfinished, mini apple briar bowls at $1 each. They're scheduled for 'surgery' on my table all next week, (I wish them well).
That is all. Back to what I was doing: Nothing on purpose, or was the purpose to do nothing? Ah. Where's my lighter?

 

[mso489]

Irrelavant, but one of our three rescue cats, one of two adopted brothers, which came out pretty much like pedigree Maine Coons, came to us named Fred. He's a beautiful tabby, brown/black/caramel stripes all around, white boots, and a pure white bib and milk mustache, plus lots of facial stripes and markings. Another beautiful Fred.

 

[chiefwannapuff]

Cats are cool. My wife is allergic. Therefore we have a couple of dogs, a shorky (a designer dog, they have hair instead of fur so she can cope). Ankle biters and brats, both of them.

 

[chiefwannapuff]

"Fred" received upgrades: A radiator pot design to hold back the heat, and a full Bamboo stem, replacing the acrylic.

 

[tbradsim1]

I like Fred.

 

[nevadablue]

Me too.