I ordered a pre-drilled pipe kit a couple of weeks ago.
It's the first one I've made/(am making) out of briar.
Things were going great until I cut into the block with my saw. There was a pretty big set of flaws, but there was still a lot of wood to take off.
As I got deeper into the wood and closer to the final shape, it seems like there was a colony of exploding termites that used to call the burl home.
Like I said, it's my first one so I have nothing to compare flaws in this one. I know that a lot of blocks have flaws but C'mon man. This seems crazy to me.
I'm posting a few pictures so that I can get the opinions of more seasoned pipe makers.
Is this "normal" or did I just draw the short straw on this one?
It's not a big deal. It's been a great learning experience. Even if it's not fit enough to smoke (it looks like some of the flaws come close to the inner bowl and I worry about a burn out), I'm getting to play with shaping and finishing. I know it will pay off with the next one, and there is no doubt that is going to happen.
As a matter of fact, I'll probably order another kit here shortly. I've seen a couple of recommendations in the forums for different vendors and think I'll order from one of them.
I've included some pictures below. If they scar your eyes, I'm sorry.
It's the first one I've made/(am making) out of briar.
Things were going great until I cut into the block with my saw. There was a pretty big set of flaws, but there was still a lot of wood to take off.
As I got deeper into the wood and closer to the final shape, it seems like there was a colony of exploding termites that used to call the burl home.
Like I said, it's my first one so I have nothing to compare flaws in this one. I know that a lot of blocks have flaws but C'mon man. This seems crazy to me.
I'm posting a few pictures so that I can get the opinions of more seasoned pipe makers.
Is this "normal" or did I just draw the short straw on this one?
It's not a big deal. It's been a great learning experience. Even if it's not fit enough to smoke (it looks like some of the flaws come close to the inner bowl and I worry about a burn out), I'm getting to play with shaping and finishing. I know it will pay off with the next one, and there is no doubt that is going to happen.
As a matter of fact, I'll probably order another kit here shortly. I've seen a couple of recommendations in the forums for different vendors and think I'll order from one of them.
I've included some pictures below. If they scar your eyes, I'm sorry.