Types of Wood for Pipe Making?

[aquadoc]

Good article :

http://www.naspc.org/archives/otherwood.html

 

[toobfreak]

When people say Maple, has anyone ever made a pipe using Rock Maple? I wonder how that would smoke?

 

[missionpipe]

Good article :

http://www.naspc.org/archives/otherwood.html

Great article. Thanks. I have lots of cherry on my property. I've been pruning some interesting branches and burl and laying them up to dry. They should be ready to work by the time I retire. Looking forward to carving and smoking them.

 

[aquadoc]

I have seen some beautiful grain in cherry burl. You will probably have some nice wood to choose from. In Northcentral Pennsylvania, I saw some very old, gnarly Cherry trees that would probably be great source wood for furniture and pipes. Some old sugar maples too.

 

[dafox]

A response to Mayfair70's post here. The warning about not using Hemlock implies that it is poisonous...perhaps thinking of the Hemlock concoction that Socrates was forced to drink a few years back. Not so. Hemlock, the tree, is a type of fir and is not poisonous. It is widely used in home construction in the Western US. Hemlock, the poison, is derived from an extremely poisonous, non-woody, plant that grows in forests worldwide. That said, I think using Hemlock to make a pipe would not be a sound decision, as it is quite soft, burns easily and is often quite resinous. dafox

 

[shikano53]

Good old maple makes a nice pipe but the grain is kind of boring. Nevertheless It makes a fine pipe and is pretty cheap for a length of stock maple that you could probably practice with (I do) and get numerous pipes out of a 2"x5"X24" length.

I have a piece of broad leaf birds eye maple and I think it will make a nice pipe. Lots of birds-eye just like the birds eye found in briar.

I'm with Zach though, get yourself a kit from VFH or Mark Tinsky first and try that. It will be drilled and faced correctly.

 

[oldmansmoking]

I agree get a carve your own kit as I did. Works for me and a great achievement when done.