Tips And Tricks: Fills

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I thought it would be a good idea to put Tips and Tricks into the mix here as we are all wanting to do the same thing... carve a pipe. I as yet have not even purchased my briar, much less began to carve, but I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking, "what if I find a sand pit in my briar? How do I fix that?" Well folks I have no unearthly idea. I've been searching Youtube but can't seem to find anything on the subject. Search 'pipe fills' and you find a million videos on how to pack a pipe with tobacco. So maybe someone else can chime in for those of us (me) who might be wondering. What materials are best suited and safe to use on briar? What do the pros use?

 

[toby67]

Look at http://rebornpipes.com there is a wealth of knowledge on that site for anyone wanting to learn to restore a pipe or fix bits and pieces

 

[ssjones]

Yep, there are plenty of fill fixes at Reborn Pipes. Here's one I did on a Selected Straight Grain:

http://rebornpipes.com/2012/07/28/selected-straight-grain-comoys-restoration/

 

[sablebrush52]

Interesting topic. So I looked on Pipemakers Forum and found this:
http://www.pipemakersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3406&hilit=fills

 

[mrenglish]

If the pits are small enough, I would just leave them. Fills, in my opinion, often detract from the beauty of the pipe. Not much help to your query but there you go.

 

[mikestanley]

I made pipes, strictly for myself from 2006 through 2008. I tried filling with briar dust mixed with wood glue. They looked darker than the wood no matter what. Spot carving worked well and reworking the pipe to avoid the pit when ever possible.
Mike S.

 

[ssjones]

If I have some fills/repairs to cover, a contrast stain does a nice job hiding them. (Black stain, then buffed off and then a very light stain applied and buffed)

 

[shaintiques]

Yeah very small pits just look like a black dot. Sometimes when you find a big pit you have to adjust the shape to sand it out or rusticate. I would rather do any of these than actually fill it with putty.

 

[ejames]

Yeah,what Dave and Mr.English said.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I suppose if it's a freehand style shape, you could just shape around the pit if it is small enough, correct? Perhaps creating something similar to the "floral shaping" that some pipe makers create?
Example...

I assume that carving nooks and crannies into a pipe similar to this could be in order to carve out the pits in a pipe without having to rusticate?

 

[mikestanley]

The problem with a fill is that it doesn't color with the briar. Time makes a fill stand out more as the pipe is smoked.
Mike S.

 

[gmwolford]

I've yet to figure a way to not have the fills turn out darker no matter what glue, putty, etcetera I've tried. The best fills are with super glue and briar dust IMHO and then try to camouflage them in the finishing, as Al did.

 

[griffonwing]

Another option would be some filigree or decoration. Drill it out a bit and insert a stone. Or create a design and fill it with silver.
Could you also try dyed clay, or even acrylic paint? Seal and wax it?

 

[gmwolford]

Another option would be some filigree or decoration. Drill it out a bit and insert a stone. Or create a design and fill it with silver.
Could you also try dyed clay, or even acrylic paint? Seal and wax it?

There are some interesting, artistic thoughts here IMHO.
If you're working with briar that has no metal, delrin or ther "foreign" materials in/on it, you could use polymer clay and then bake it per the manufacturers direction to make an interesting design or possibly even matched fill. There are certainly possibilities here to explore IMHO.

 

[literaryworkshop]

A dark stain will hide small pits pretty well. The pros usually just rusticate if the pits are bad enough.
The nicest fills I've ever seen were metal, silver solder or something like it, I think. I've also seen some killer inlay jobs with mother of pearl and other materials. But that's probably a little beyond what guys here are going to be interested in doing. But you never know.