What type of finish to use on an oak pipe?

[pipeturner]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen
I am inspiring to become a pipe turner. I have made a few simple pipes out of oak but I do not know what kinds of finishes are required coat the pipe. I suppose it needs to be something that is flame resistant as well as non toxic?
Could someone please give me an idea as to what to use? Thanks a lot!
Danny

 

[ace57]

Leather dye is what I use.

 

[jcsnaps]

would that be an alcohol based leather dye?

 

[ace57]

I just looked at the dye I use and all it says is organic dye.

The name is Tandy's Antique Leather Stain.

 

[juni]

I use watersoluble stain in powder form, but I dilute it in denaturated booze.

 

[aussielass]

Just double check that Oak isn't poisonous to smoke from. I found a site the other day and was reading through all the woods with different toxicity levels and can't for the life of me remember if Oak was in the danger list.

 

[juni]

I wonder what this means for oak:
Reaction: Sensitizer

Site: Eyes, Skin

Potency: ++

Source: Dust, Leaves, Bark

Incidence: Rare
I guess oak is pretty safe unless you smoke oak dust, leaves or bark?
Olive wood gets a much higher rating, and has "wood" listed as source for toxicity.

 

[bigvan]

Briar is the standard for a reason.

 

[romeowood]

Oak has a naturally very high tannin content, and is much easier to char than briar--so you'll end up smoking plenty of wood with your tobacco, pipeturner. I wouldn't recommend it other than to practice shaping. Wood toxicity listings are readily available on the InterWebs, but they are measures of reactivity to dust as a by-product of milling or oral ingestion; they don't cover ingestion via combustion, so they're not necessarily a good guide for your purposes. As bigvan states, briar burl is the standard for a reason (along with bog oak, or morta, which has been partially petrified; also strawberry burl, olive wood and a few other alternatives)--its high density and low porosity, as well as its relative inertness with respect to oils and acidic chemicals, make it ideal for the purpose. On the subject of stains, alcohol-based aniline dyes are what you're looking for--they're microcrystalline pigments that attach to the wood on a cellular level, and are non-toxic (though you don't want dye in the chamber). They're available from woodworking and hobby shops, and also are used as leather dyes--but always check the MSDS for a product that has anything other than dye in alcohol suspension, and steer clear of any petrochemicals.

 

[aussielass]

Wood toxicity listings are readily available on the InterWebs, but they are measures of reactivity to dust as a by-product of milling or oral ingestion; they don't cover ingestion via combustion

I'm almost certain the site that I was reading was actually wood used in pipemaking - I think it may've been a site that sold parts to people making their own pipes but not 100% sure. It could also have been a site I came across after researching a new wood Mauritzio had used to carve a pipe, similar to rosewood but, again, can't recall 100%

 

[ejames]

A variety of woods have been used for pipes,including Oak and Hickory. I would think once you get a cake built it would be fine. I have used Mulberry with great results,smokes great!

Alcohol based leather dyes can be used on Oak. I've used it on several pipe rest I've made.