very nice!!!! I think me and brendon are waiting for better weather
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I got that one shaped then it wasnt quite what I wanted it to be so it got put up on the shelf and has been sitting.
I wouldnt call that cheating to use a band saw. I wish I had one, would save me a lot of time and dust. I still have been working just with nothing worthy to show off. Did you make the stem or is it a premolded? I have a church warden in the works that should be finished soon and once it is Ill put it up here for yall to see. I am happy with the shape I got and all. Keep em coming guys!
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Wow, Jason!!! :-)
That is totally sick. I can't believe I missed this before.
You got mad skillz, brother.
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I called using the band saw cheating because I had told myself I was never going to use anything but a pre-drilled block (the real cheating) a shaping disc and hand sanding.

The stem/mouthpiece came with the block. I just sand it to fit & make shine like glass when I'm done. I'll also open it up quite a bit to "breath" easier.
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so here is the progress on that Church Warden I have been working on. I am close to done but need to work the stem some more and will probably end up sanding it back down and staining it again.. Only thing I am not happy about is I burnt the chamber.
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Lookin good Brendon :-)
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I forgot to add in my last reply that I do have some Delrin and 3 types of stock for making stems. I'll be giving the 100% stem making a whirl soon. :-)

I like the 'warden as pictured :-) But if you work on the stem, I can see sanding the entire pipe down again.

Q&A's

Q: What shade/color dye did you use?
A:

Q: How or why did you burn the chamber?
A:
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Q: What shade/color dye did you use?
A: black after 220 then sanded and restaind and done again at 320 then sanded with 550 then light brown then buffed

Q: How or why did you burn the chamber?
A: I drilled the chamber to fast and my home made bit probably isnt cut quite right. I wanna get around to ordering some of J.H.Lowes bits but I need some kinda income 1st haha this hobby needs to become self sustaining soon or so the wifey is telling me
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Put the polish to the latest hack job. I think I did one too many coats of dye, I wanted a little lighter shade but will take it the way it is.

Still up in the air if I will bend the mouthpiece or not. (opinions?)

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Since it looks like we have a lot of pipemaking brothers, I should mention;

http://www.pipemakersforum.com/

Most of you have probably visited, but it's the holy grail of tips, techniques, and feedback for you folks. Lots of the really special carvers of the world congregate there. I'm not a pipemaker, but I still find it great reading.
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http://www.pipemakersforum.com/
I search there anytime I have a question on something.

I was looking at the J.H.Lowes bits too. Seem to be the best value without grinding your own bits. The do look like they are more of a conical shape than I like & they don't have a 1/2" that I need next. Keep an eye out at Steve Norse's offerings, he may be stocking bits later this year.

Should have included this in the last post. I was doing a test piece, sanding & staining as I went along starting applying color after 220 grit sanding. The only color I used was British Tan. The only difference from the test piece and the pipe is I stopped applying color after 400 grit with the test and 600 on the pipe. The test piece was near perfect for what I was looking for...maybe a hair light...so I figured one more coat and enough would sand off again to be perfect. I sanded all the way to 12K grit and the color never lightened up again. (learning curve)

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looks good, I am probably gonna order those bits at some point soon. If you go to PIMO they sell a rounder one that I own.

I would do a 1/4 bend on the stem I think
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Pretty close to a 1/4 bend...I think. I should have rolled the pipe for a better picture of the stem.

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looks good!
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Just finished this up tonight. My 1st attempt at a hand made stem
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that pipe looks great good job on the stem
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I am excited to get started on the next one soon
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some great looking pipes getting built :-)
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Very sharp Brendon!
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Indeed...well done
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