We tried every pipe at the store, churchwarden, bent, odd shapes and they all fit. The leather gives to bigger pipes. The only pipe that didn’t fit was a Castello oversized apple.
New Pipe Racks…Opinions and Criticisms
- Thread starter Laurent
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Michigander here and I end up all over the state, but don't get out west often.
Which B&M? PM me if you don't want the store public.
Now that is pretty cool, simple and unique design, like others said, gee why didn’t I think of it...
Congrats ??? hope they do good for you!
Congrats ??? hope they do good for you!
Indian river tobacco in Grand Rapids. I’m dropping off the order Monday. Then I have 5 more that I’ll be making for sale. Then I’m making some 12 pipe racks. I also will be working with my neighbor on some stone and leather racks, that will be a little later.
Pretty soon Laurent will be machining 30' rods and shipping them as his customers pipe collections expand. Cows will moo angrily as his customer base grows by leaps and bounds.
Laurent, you also might want to consider different metals for the racks as you expand your choices. I can see them with cherry or walnut finishes with brass rods, piano gloss black with polished aluminum, Painted ends with with powder coated matching or contrasting rods (powder coating is much more durable and with a cheap gun, you can do it at home in your oven.) I really like the feed back someone gave of being able to add or as important, subtract the pipe cups. Maybe it's just a quirk of mine but personally, a pipe rack with an empty space is like the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue without attractive models - it's just visually annoying.
Leather and wood, doesn't get more classic than that. And, with the multitude of leather dyes out there, there's not limit to what you can come up with.
Great design, and looks like it has perfect function.
That's one of the most creative pipe accessories that I've seen.
Great design, and looks like it has perfect function.
That's one of the most creative pipe accessories that I've seen.
I wanted something modern too. 99% of the racks out there are wood grained, stained some shade of brown. I went with this. It’s wood, but it’s black and to my eye looks sleeker than others. I think it was $30. I like that I can put one of these back to back with a second for a circular rack if I had more pipes and I appreciate that you don’t need to thread the pipe stem through holes; they just lean and rest, so no fussing when I need to snag one.
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I love it! Very ingenious. IMO the variables are almost endless. Different woods, different leathers or materials, and different rods could be available so there's something for everyone. My mind sees a high-end version with alligator leather, burl wood ends, and polished brass tubes, or even glass rods! It seems also that thinner, softer leathers might "cradle" the pipes and conform to shape easier... and easier to work with ... maybe. There is a plethora of types of woods you could use. Gromets are also available in different materials. The metal rods can also be tubes, and probably cheaper. There is brass, stainless steel, carbon fiber, and glass rods (and they come in different colors) to mention a few. Gosh I'd be up for days with all kinds of variations dancing in my head.
Wonderful, just wonderful! I wished I had thought of it! I'm so happy for you. Please show us all your variations as they are made.
One more thing. There is a leather tool you can buy that rounds over the sharp edges of thick cut leather, you might look into that.
Wonderful, just wonderful! I wished I had thought of it! I'm so happy for you. Please show us all your variations as they are made.
One more thing. There is a leather tool you can buy that rounds over the sharp edges of thick cut leather, you might look into that.
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I do love the idea of alligator leather! And thank you for the kind words.
If you were worried about leather stain, one could also glue felt to the rough side with contact cement prior to folding. 
Not a fan of the burnt wood look. It reminds me of my high school wood shop in the 70's. We were all burning our projects with torches. I like the natural wood look. I also like the idea that @clynch mentioned, alternating leather rests.
As long as I could add or subtract the leather loops.. I have some larger pipes that would fill it with only 4 or 5. My OCD wouldn't allow an empty loop squashed.
Obviously, this is purely subjective; I much prefer the smooth, light version, which has a certain grace. I find the heavy, exaggerated grooves visually distracting on these. But, variety is the spice of life and these will float someone's boat. I'd be curious to see a three tiered version with alternating/staggered loops, i.e., 7, 6, 7; I'm not sure if that would be prohibitively expensive.
Loving it! Might I ask, is there any reason you couldn't replace the horizontal wood back support with another rod/tube? To give it an even more minimalist look?
One other thing. Do you own a router? I think if you rounded over the top, front and back of the two wooden ends that they might go well with the rounded aspect of the leather cradles. Just a thought.
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I could put another rod in the back, I just did it this way in the beginning. I do have a router.