F&T REJECT: The Final Post

Post 1: http://hobopipes.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/pipe-restoration-f-reject.html
Post 2: http://hobopipes.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/restoration-f-reject-update.html
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Well, it's finished. Due to formatting issues I'll lay out all of the details here and then just post photo's below.

1. Rough sanding begins. Edges are smoothed and the final shape is taking form. I kind of like the hole, it seems natural.

2. I had nothing to deepen the bowl and remove the horrible cake down there. I decided I needed a spoon drill, but being hobo I decided to make one from a teaspoon. Worked a treat, bowl deepened and reamed. I also drilled the draught hole out to 4mm at this point. It must have been at 3mm before as I cut new wood in the process, good, the old wood in there was gross.

3. Sanded with 180 grit and test fitting the stem. At this point the shank was bigger than the stem and I had rounded the end of the shank during sanding. Live and learn.

4. I wanted to heat the tenon on the bit so that a I could compress it length ways to tighten it's fit in the shank. In the old factories they used a sand bath heated by wood, and later gas, stoves. I didn't want to do this inside the house in case something exploded (bad history with exploding rocks) so I made a hobo camp stove from a coke can. You pour alcohol (in my case kerosene) in the central bowl and light it. This heats the can and the alcohol in the space between the inside and outside of the can starts to vaporize. It then comes out of the little holes and looks just like a gas stove-top. Works well, it heated the sand easily.

5. Here is the bit in the sand. I put a pipe cleaner in there to keep sand out and also to ensure the draught hole stayed open. The whole thing is on a windshield I made as I was unsure about putting that much weight directly on the can stove. While I was there I decided to bend the button end of the bit as well so that it matched the curve of the forward heel of the bowl and also the curved rim and head. By this time the sand was cracking hot and the bit only required about 30 seconds in the sand to turn to floppy rubber (kind of scary the first time you pull it out).

6. Next I sanded the shank with the bit attached to match their diameters. This went pretty well. I managed to square the end of the shank and to get a pretty good fit. It's not perfect, but it's a darn site better than many factory pipes I have.  At this point  I decided to do a quick test buff (rough wheel only) to bring out scratches, to make sure I was happy with how the final design would look and also to provide myself with a darker layer to sand off so that I knew where I had done the second sanding.

7. If I wasn't going to try out the sap idea I would have just left the hole there, I really did like the look of it. This little pipe was grown by the Mediterranean, hauled by donkey to the sea, shipped to England and made in to a pipe, somehow made it's way to Germany where it was smoked ruthlessly and passed in to the hands of a second hand dealer and then shipped to Australia. Quite the journey. That hole is part of the briar's history, it's natural and it is part of the pipe. Sad to see it filled, but at least it is with something natural!

8. Went for a walk with my wife and the dog. Collected this sap from an ironbark along the way. It was hard and crystalline. I couldn't find any fresh sap. So, I broke these bits off and put them in a pan on the stove. I wanted to see how the crystalline sap would react to heat (would it melt). Apparently heat does nothing to it, I gradually got to full stove-top heat and nothing. I decided to add a little water to see what would happen. WHOOSH. Holy cow, instant sap soup. I boiled it down and took some of the reduced sap from around the edges. It filled the hole pretty easily.

9. I then did the final sanding and buffed with all three wheels. No carnauba still, so will have to do a final polish later. But for now the pipe is complete. I'm pretty happy with the result. More than anything I learnt a lot and am keener than ever to start carving my own pipes from scratch.

Tonight's main smoke

Its the best of the Irish tonight.
The Peterson Deluxe S11  if haven't guessed my Favorite pipe.
And 4 flakes cut with the flake cutter 3 flakes fills the Pipe.
1 flake left to mix with some Erinmore for later tonight before bed perfect.
I really love plugs the whole process of getting the tobacco and pipe ready needs time.
Relaxing time.

The Irish cake is at it's best in the Peterson sweeter and smoother that any other pipe i have smoked it in       

Hobo German Clay P-Lip pipe

Tobacco

The tobacco i have ordered.

Restoration: F&T REJECT - Update

Original post: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8973241885352057854#editor/target=post;postID=6542537167165137799

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I started cut and style the F&T today. A coping saw was used to make the rough cut.

I wanted to cut slightly into the large fault to get a cross section of it (just to have a look inside). After removing the cut piece it became obvious that the previous owner of this pipe for some reason consistently burnt his tobacco hotter on the left hand side. Maybe he smoked with an open window to his right. The cake of the left side is visibly thicker and the depth of char penetration is significantly greater. Even if this pipe gets thrown in the bin it was worth it just to see the inside of smoked pipe's wood. Note also the roots/veins of tar radiating out from the bowl, I never would have guessed that tars migrate through the wood in this fashion.

Below is a color shot of the uneven char and the tar penetration pattern. Also note that a second fault had opened up at this point, right next to the first!

After sanding with 80 and then 120 grit sandpaper I had been forced to modify my original design to accommodate a variety of faults in the wood. I wonder if every pipe has these things lurking in their bowls...probably. It must drive pipe makers to the edge of insanity. All that work and then suddenly during sanding something appears. Note in the photo below that the second major fault has played out, but the first has continued to worsen. The tar penetration/migration pattern has also started to resolve itself. I'm thinking that is will look great polished up.

I decided to give the pipe a rest, grab a cup of tea and take a look at the bit. The pipe design then had time to percolate in the back of my brain. The bit was in the usual nasty shape. Nothing 340, 800 and 1200 grit sandpaper couldn't fix though. In the second photo below I've tried to capture those little crystals you get on very old and grotty stems. Sulphur perhaps?

After about 10 minutes work the bit came up ok. I've not finished it as it will be sanded again during final fitting to the pipe (the pipe's shank is a slightly larger diameter than the stem). I just wanted to make sure there were no major issues with the bit before I proceeded with fitting.

Time to return to the stummel. The choice at this point was to leave the existing 'stuff' (possibly rotted wood or an old bit of branch or root) in place an polish over it...or break out the awl, remove the loose matter and find something to fill the hole with.

I opted to remove the material - for two reasons. Primarily, it would annoy me forever to know it was there. But, I have also been toying with an idea for another problem; pink putty. I have a number of reject pipes that have incredible grain. They all, however, also have that grotesque pink putty in them. I've long suspected that makers use this terrible color of putty to discourage people from buying the seconds instead of the firsts. Why else would you consistently get the color match SO wrong?

Back on topic --> Many people have had great success with the 'briar dust and superglue' method of filling pits. I...despise...the idea of putting superglue into a pipe, it just seems so...wrong. Heck having a plastic mouthpiece is bad enough, if only amber was affordable, I'd have all my pipes converted. Vulcanite (or ebonite) is a great substance for our purpose, but I hate putting it in my mouth each and every time. what are the alternatives? Really only amber and horn. OR (and this is a long shot) glass... maybe ceramic. Pyrex/glass would be completely neutral - great. As would good ceramic though. Ceramic, being essentially clay would seem to be a closer fit with the wood. I've been thinking of asking a local potter to have a crack at a ceramic bit for one of my pipes. The only issue will be strength in the mortise/tenon area. shall have to ask them.

Back on topic, sorry --> So, natural filler for large pits/fissures/faults. The current idea is to harvest some sap from a native tree. There is a tree (a large eucalypt) near my house that has large globs of blood red sap coming out of a gash in it's bark. I smelt it the other day, no obvious odor (may be different when heated). The only question I have is whether or not it will be stable under heat, namely will it stay in solid form and will it endure the swelling and contracting of the wood around it. Once again, this pipe will be the test dummy - time will tell, if not the first smoke!

Below is the hole left once all the loose matter had been removed. It's difficult to see, but that hole goes down another 4mm. Wowzers.

At this point I was getting worried about tobacco chamber depth. As you can see from the photo below, I have had to remove far more material than originally expected.

It dawned on me that I couldn't see the draught hole. I tried pushing my awl through the shank an into the bowl, it wouldn't go through. Interesting. None of my reamers would cut into the smooth cake at the bottom of the bowl. Out came the 8mm drill bit which  I rotated by had in order to find the bottom of the bowl. 5mm later the draught hole finally came into sight. How is it possible to cake 5mm OVER the draught hole?

So, depth problem sorted, just have to make a reamer that will bite into the cake and remove it all to bare wood. I think I've got that sorted, tomorrows job!

To be continued...

Tonight' Main smoke.

My new Comoy's Tradition 363

The nose

Please may i sniff

Image credit: copyranter.blogspot.com

Bunny

Image credit: curiousoyster.wordpress.com

More strange stuff

Stage 2 Comoy's Restoration

The Bowl i lightly buffed it to clean it then carnaubra waxed it wow what a shine then i used Dunhill briar polish.
I then polished the stem to a high sheen.This pipe is nice and clean inside just a light ream was needed.

The pics don't do it justice.

A true credit to its previous owner [ Hobo Hoot ]
Going to pack it up and smoke it soon.