When Life Gives You 1/2 a Bradford Pear Tree...

[randelli]

... you make a pipe!
We lost part of our bradford pear in the last big storm. No real damage to the house - really just a big mess - apparently these are pretty weak trees that only live 12 to 15 years.
So I thought, why not, this will be fun. I have only tried to make a pipe on two other occasions and I expect this will turn out just as well as the previous attempts. That is to say, it will be a total flop
Here is the best section I could find of the branches. Not really true so if it does work out it will be a "freehand" haha

I had planned on keeping the bark intact but my sawzall had other ideas...

 

[mayfair70]

Perfect!! I hope it smokes well for you. Love the rustic look!

 

[pagan]

That is awesome! if it don't smoke well you can make it a lamp :rofl:

 

[jacks6]

I appreciate the creativity! :clap:

 

[dottiewarden]

I'd let that chunk of green wood sit for a year or so before putting a match to it.
If the bowl is drilled to full depth you'll have a 6 hour smoker!
Congrats on the beginning of a new adventure in the world of pipes and pipe smoking!

 

[randelli]

I plan on trimming it down a bit, the bowl is almost 3" deep. It is pretty green so you are probably right, dot, about letting it dry out. Should I bend the stem or leave it straight?

 

[dottiewarden]

Should I bend the stem or leave it straight?

I believe a sharp bend high up on the stem would be appropriate, but I'd leave the stem out of the picture until the wood is fully seasoned.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, my experience with pear trees is that I have to keep them pruned tight or they get lanky and break easily. But, how cool to have a pipe made from a tree you grew. That'll be a pretty pipe once you get it dried and broken in.

 

[cossackjack]

Nice pipe, very clever.
Aren't most pear pipes made from pear tree roots, similar to briar?

Does pear or cherry wood used in pipes need to be treated to remove the sap & resins before drying & smoking, also similar to briar?

 

[randelli]

I have no idea, so, if I just stop posting one day.....

 

[dottiewarden]

I have no idea, so, if I just stop posting one day.....

:rofl:

 

[mayfair70]

Pear and Peach SEEDS can be very poisonous. The saps are edible to my knowledge, and may be used like Mulberry (not the white variety) sap to eat in a life and death situation, or for kicks.

 

[jvnshr]

Creativity!

 

[randelli]

Bark on or off?

 

[pagan]

Bark on or off?

Leave the bark on, that would defiantly be original, you would be the only kid in town with one

 

[cosmicfolklore]

+1 for bark on.

 

[lohengrin]

Congrats for te humor and the idea!

It's really basic! Very useful if you want to smoke on a desert island after a shipwreck!

 

[iamn8]

If life gave me half a pear tree I'd find myself half a partridge.