What's New with Me (AKA: "I Still Exist"), and The Journey

[sardonicus87]

I made a template to test my v-groove idea for the next pipe stand I will build and while a "v" works to keep the billiard from rolling, it makes rolling worse for the apple, prince and bulldog. So my next test will be the traditional round hole, but with a u-cut in the front. If that works out, then I'll order the wood and start crafting. Plan is to make the bowl rest out of rock maple put into the base, so I need to figure the measurements first so I can order the right thickness wood.

I finally started using my meer I got for Christmas. About 10 or 15 bowls in, hard to show the coloring with the phone camera, but she's starting to pick some up in the shank and in the deeper carved areas. Went ahead and bought some quality beeswax for the future. We'll see how she looks a year from now.

 

[Cyxelsid]

Beautiful pipe!

 

[sardonicus87]

I have the wood for my new two tier 7-pipe stand I am going to make and the overhead measurements. I also have a simplified mockup front/side view (not to scale).

I'm still debating about how exactly to do the supports for the second tier and the second tier's stem rest. Tossing around ideas in my head using the mahogany and doing some fretwork designs, or possibly using solid mahogany sides and making some kind of applique from the hard maple on top, or doing inlays with the hard maple.

I did pick up a black cherry stain oil-based today (Valspar). I also have cans of red sedona and cognac (also Valspar and oil-based) that I can use to alter the color if the black cherry comes out being too dark or maroon. I should have picked up a small can of a honey colored stain too. I still have water-based mahogany wood filler to use for grain fill. I'm going to stain the mahogany a deep red and leave the maple natural. The whole thing will be finished in gloss lacquer.

I also have a cup design for the bowl rests. 1-1/4" round hole that I will taper at about a 45° angle around the inside top edge, and I will carve the front down maybe 1/8" across the full width of the hole. Then of course that will be lined with leather, I'll just skive it in parts and glue together instead of trying to make such a complex shape in wet forming. It's dyed black leather, regular grain (not sueded), thinner. I know I want black leather for lining the bowl and stem rests, got piece from Michael's but I dunno if I want to use that, I wanted something smoother and softer like lambskin or deer, but there's nowhere else to buy leather here and I really wanted to see it in person before buying. I might look online.

 

[Cyxelsid]

I have the wood for my new two tier 7-pipe stand I am going to make and the overhead measurements. I also have a simplified mockup front/side view (not to scale).

I'm still debating about how exactly to do the supports for the second tier and the second tier's stem rest. Tossing around ideas in my head using the mahogany and doing some fretwork designs, or possibly using solid mahogany sides and making some kind of applique from the hard maple on top, or doing inlays with the hard maple.

I did pick up a black cherry stain oil-based today (Valspar). I also have cans of red sedona and cognac (also Valspar and oil-based) that I can use to alter the color if the black cherry comes out being too dark or maroon. I should have picked up a small can of a honey colored stain too. I still have water-based mahogany wood filler to use for grain fill. I'm going to stain the mahogany a deep red and leave the maple natural. The whole thing will be finished in gloss lacquer.

I also have a cup design for the bowl rests. 1-1/4" round hole that I will taper at about a 45° angle around the inside top edge, and I will carve the front down maybe 1/8" across the full width of the hole. Then of course that will be lined with leather, I'll just skive it in parts and glue together instead of trying to make such a complex shape in wet forming. It's dyed black leather, regular grain (not sueded), thinner. I know I want black leather for lining the bowl and stem rests, got piece from Michael's but I dunno if I want to use that, I wanted something smoother and softer like lambskin or deer, but there's nowhere else to buy leather here and I really wanted to see it in person before buying. I might look online.
View attachment 218985View attachment 218988View attachment 218990

Well, that sounds awesome! I wish I had the aptitude for fine wood work, but I have neither the patience, nor the eye, for details.


But hey, maybe I will commission one from you!

 

[PipeIT]

Just remember people like to have others tell them about themselves, their life etc., you know relationships chatting, etc..

So thanks for sharing, and because of it, I added Savinelli Brunello Flake to my list.

Be sure to add John Aylesbury: Sir John's Flake Virginia to your list too.

Be well!

 

[huckleberry]

@sardonicus87 I really enjoy your post and hope you will keep us updated with the progress of your Pipe Stand. You definitely have a talent and ability for your projects!

Looking Good!!

 

[sardonicus87]

Just remember people like to have others tell them about themselves, their life etc., you know relationships chatting, etc..

So thanks for sharing, and because of it, I added Savinelli Brunello Flake to my list.

Be sure to add John Aylesbury: Sir John's Flake Virginia to your list too.

Be well!

I have their Dragon Flake I bought on a whim. SP didn't have any other JA available at the time, I think I added some to my wishlist.

I have several unopened tins of other stuff I am working towards. I want to smoke through the stuff I do have, as I'm finding no matter the blend, I don't like VAs or Burleys "aged" or "mellowed" (though all my English blends still seem almost the same as the day they were opened, maybe less strong in flavor but have the same flavor), not that anything I have has been open longer than a year for it to be really all that different (but it's noticeable to me at 6 months even that the flavor is changing... like for me, the burley moved from a floral taste to a nutty taste and the VAs moved from fruity sweet or savory bread to more like peppery toasted bread—and I don't think it's my taste buds changing as a fresh opened one tastes like what these all tasted like before to me).

Anyway, I have almost finished one Virginia tin and I still have 5 more unopened (Orlik Golden Sliced, ES 4th generation small batch Resolution, MB HH Pure Virginia flake, Escudo Navy deluxe, Birds of a Feather: Anomalous). I think I have one bowl left of the fall edition of the C&D 2021 House Reserve (stoved and unstoved Virginia), and I'm only 1/4 of the way through the C&D 2022 small batch Carolina red flake. I also have a tin of that Barrel Aged No. 5 Rustica open and a tin of Sutliff 2022 Cringle Flake, they aren't like bad or anything, but I'm never in the mood for them.

So far, Brunello Flake is my probably my most favorite VA, but there's a lot of them out there to try.

It takes a while only having one bowl a day.

 

[sardonicus87]

Well, that sounds awesome! I wish I had the aptitude for fine wood work, but I have neither the patience, nor the eye, for details.


But hey, maybe I will commission one from you!

We'll see how this one turns out, ha ha ha. I'm leaning away from doing fretwork since I don't own a scroll saw. I mean, I have a coping saw I could make work but nothing could be as fine as a proper scroll saw would do, and of course I also have my Dremel for larger areas. But I can't think of a design I would like. I was actually considering doing gothic looking columns maybe, both boards are 1/2" thick so it would be better to carve down so I don't have a full 1" thick side panel (if putting maple over the mahogany), might be too beefy relative to the other proportions. Maybe have like gothic looking castle window cutouts and the maple as accenting it.

I actually got started today. The boards I get are S2S and I don't own a planer and/or jointer. The face sides are finished I think with 150 grit or 180, and while they come ripped and cut mostly square, they're not exactly perfect or clean on the sides. I used a plunge router attachment and my Dremel along with a clamped straight edge and a speed square to square one of the long sides and one of the short sides of the mahogany so I have a square corner to work from. The short side was rough going, a Dremel is not a proper router and doesn't like running on end grain.

It'll be forever before it's done. Short version, I have a circadian rhythm disorder and sleep until noon-ish so I only have half the time that others have to get everything done, so I'm constantly rushing through the day and burned out at night, plus everyone else sleeping and I don't have a dedicated work space, too noisy, etc. The only free time I have is time I can't do much (midnight to 4 am-ish). If I lived alone, then I could.

 

[sardonicus87]

Was sitting on my porch, enjoying some OJK and afternoon coffee and noticed my pipe ashtray has a pretty clear line as if the ash and the dottle are fighting one another. I do purposely dump ash on one side and dottle on the other, but I didn't try to make this straight line between them.


I also started on the pipe stand. In the past few weeks, all I've done is drill out the cup holes and cut out those pieces. The holes still need to be chamfered and the front dip shaved in, as well as the outsides of the blocks cleaned up. I also tested some stain on a scrap piece of mahogany, I think what I like most so far is this Varathane "Cabernet" when the wood is sanded to 150 grit (this is with two applications of the stain, which is oil based). I just don't feel like spending a bunch of money on aniline dyes and testing, and it's really not a big deal on this that the stain raises the grain. That's all I got done so far, bunch of crap happened this past week and I leave in two days for a motorcycle trip.


Speaking of motorcycle trip, I got this waterproof hard case several months back that came with pluck foam to take pipes with me when I go on these. At the time I guessed at the size thinking I'd put my pipes in my Peterson Avoca 3-pipe bag and put that in there with a few tins. Set it up the other day and it's going to work but I think in the future, I want to get a smaller hard case just for the pipes/tools and a separate case for tobacco, since the tobacco can just bounce around in the case, it doesn't need to be secure. I just wrapped pipe cleaners up in the tobacco mat. There's two layers of the pluck foam, only the bottom layer has been plucked out for the rolled up mat.

 

[mbmoehl]

The stain looks really nice, good grain contrast.

 

[huckleberry]

Was sitting on my porch, enjoying some OJK and afternoon coffee and noticed my pipe ashtray has a pretty clear line as if the ash and the dottle are fighting one another. I do purposely dump ash on one side and dottle on the other, but I didn't try to make this straight line between them.
View attachment 224820

I also started on the pipe stand. In the past few weeks, all I've done is drill out the cup holes and cut out those pieces. The holes still need to be chamfered and the front dip shaved in, as well as the outsides of the blocks cleaned up. I also tested some stain on a scrap piece of mahogany, I think what I like most so far is this Varathane "Cabernet" when the wood is sanded to 150 grit (this is with two applications of the stain, which is oil based). I just don't feel like spending a bunch of money on aniline dyes and testing, and it's really not a big deal on this that the stain raises the grain. That's all I got done so far, bunch of crap happened this past week and I leave in two days for a motorcycle trip.

Looks like the beginning of a nice pipe stand! I'm looking forward to seeing it when you are finished. Please keep us posted!