This one was a total reject. Voids and flaws everywhere like swiss cheese. I decided to continue finishing it for the practice. I ended up patching the holes with epoxy and hand rusticating. A dark stain and a coat of shellac later, I had a great smoking pipe. One of my favorites.
@CACooper what did you use to do the rustication on that last pipe you posted? Looks amazing, I've got a few I wanted to do rustication on, I tried to rusticate one so far and it was far from where I would like it to be.
I made my own tools. Basically, 4 or 5 drill bits ground into points on the smooth end with a belt sander. They're made of hard High Speed Steel and will last. Epoxied them into a file handle with JB Weld. You hold the tool and rotate the sharp points against the pipe. It will gouge and tear the wood. Keep rotating and gouging around the whole pipe. It takes practice and I really can't describe the technique, you just have to do it. It's all by feel.
Working on a Briar, doing something a little different, most has been done by hand but the rough outer part was done with a dremmel tool, still have to sand it down with a fine grit, stain it and wax it up. I will have pictures later.
@PappyJoe - great guesses! But the real story is: According to genetic scientists, the human race walked out of Africa somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 years ago. This pipe records the path that was supposedly taken (deductively reasoned by comparisons of DNA from people around the world). I know it is a little hard to see from the photos, but the red line marks the path. Of course it took thousands of years for us to get to South America, but that is the story our DNA tells. I figured whoever smokes this pipe in the future (after me) can contemplate that story and consider its significance. Since briar can last a long time, maybe several smokers will handle this pipe before it cracks or breaks somehow. Yes, this is the Cavalier style I mentioned several weeks back. I haven't got the plug created yet for the bottom, but the stem is drilled all the way through. By the way, I smoked it the first time yesterday, using honey to coat the walls of the chamber, and filled it with Rivendell from JD Cole and Country Squire. It was great!!
Been making my own pipes but mostly Native American Indian Peace Pipes and such but here are a few I have been working on recently including a Briar Wood pipe. Not finished yet, still have to stain and wax the Briar and still need to make stems for the two stone pipes. Also going to get some Gold inlay for the "B" on the Briar Pipe.
After working on several pipes in the past few weeks my hands and arms are killing me, I don't work on them everyday because I get tired and sore but today I am so sore I am going to put them down for a few days, I will start back on them this weekend and I will let you know how they are coming along. Going to stain them kind of dark to medium dark and wax them like crazy. Does anyone clear coat their pipes before they wax them? Wondering how you can get such a good coat and shine with just wax??
Did a little sanding last night, yes my hands were hurting but I couldn't resist doing just a little more work on them, now I am paying for it, going to have to wrap one hand and wear a brace on the other.
the past day and a half I managed to do a little fine sanding and started staining two pipes and two pipe stands, I will add pictures this week of the semi finished work. Once I post a couple pictures I would like some replies on how they look and changes to make on my next pipes I am going to make.
OK , have to confess, the "world" pipe I made is the best one I have. Somebody asked me to post after I had tried it out, and it is the longest smoking, coolest (temperature), easiest to work with (dumping water out the bottom) pipe I have. Much better for long smoking aromatics than the churchwarden I bought. I have to say, anybody smoking aromatics has to have a cavalier style pipe or something that allows moisture to be dropped out of the way. OK, I have reported....Carry on and enjoy the weekend, boys!!
I have stained two of my pipes and the stands I made with them, cut two more designs and already shaped them almost ready to stain them. Also making wood stems, have three made already.
Pictures will be posted when the internet is fixed and I can get back on my PC. Phone won't let me post pictures.
Internet is back up but they are having issues today, sometimes it stops while other times it says the page is bad and won't let me open it, crazy but it is not just me this time! Anyway I have been looking at Yello-Boles lately and have thought about making a couple after I finish the ones I have started. As soon as the internet is running normal I will post pictures of what I have done so far. While that is going on does anyone know anything about the Yello-Bole? How to make the mixture? Where to find it? One I am going to make is going to be Honey cured wood with the yello-bole and the other will most likely be a normal briar wood with dark stain and heavy wax.
Comments
I figured whoever smokes this pipe in the future (after me) can contemplate that story and consider its significance. Since briar can last a long time, maybe several smokers will handle this pipe before it cracks or breaks somehow.
Yes, this is the Cavalier style I mentioned several weeks back. I haven't got the plug created yet for the bottom, but the stem is drilled all the way through. By the way, I smoked it the first time yesterday, using honey to coat the walls of the chamber, and filled it with Rivendell from JD Cole and Country Squire. It was great!!
Not finished yet, still have to stain and wax the Briar and still need to make stems for the two stone pipes. Also going to get some Gold inlay for the "B"
on the Briar Pipe.
I have a couple more I have been working on along with stands for them, I will post them in next comment.
Does anyone clear coat their pipes before they wax them? Wondering how you can get such a good coat and shine with just wax??
Once I post a couple pictures I would like some replies on how they look and changes to make on my next pipes I am going to make.
Thanks
Pictures will be posted when the internet is fixed and I can get back on my PC. Phone won't let me post pictures.
Anyway I have been looking at Yello-Boles lately and have thought about making a couple after I finish the ones I have started. As soon as the internet is running normal I will post pictures of what I have done so far. While that is going on does anyone know anything about the Yello-Bole? How to make the mixture? Where to find it? One I am going to make is going to be Honey cured wood with the yello-bole and the other will most likely be a normal briar wood with dark stain and heavy wax.