A bad day at the office

I have been wanting to try my hand at "freehand" drilling for quite a while. Well, eventually got the courage together, shaped a pipe and tried.
The shaping is, I think, the main reason why pipemakers (especially Europeans) love this topsy-turvy way of making pipes. It gives way more leeway to get the best possible out of a block and also to work around the bad spots. So I shaped this pipe below.
Then came the difficult part: the drilling. I drew the lines for the airway, mortis and chamber. Even got the QC (the wife) to double check my lines. She's an interior designer with an incredible eye for detail and symmetry. First off was the mortis. I went a little too deep and a little offline, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. The result was a bit shorter shank and re-drilling with a slightly larger mortis bit. Wonderful!
Then I went for drilling the chamber, and immediately understood why the pros do not use spade bits like this. It chatters, is difficult to control and no matter how sharp, does not really cut the way it normally does when the block is fixed. Note to self: get spoon bits before trying this again.
The tobacco chamber chamber eventually got drilled more or less OK. Not to the standard that I normally do, but nothing that can't be fixed (heard that before?).
Then I started the air hole. Halfway through it still seemed fine.
And then I felt it. The tip of the bit coming through the shank.

If I was a woman I would have cried. Even Ounooi, my faithful workshop companion, did not feel great. So I did what a man can.
I packed up, went inside the house, and poured myself a stiff whisky...

A double....

OK, dammit, a couple of doubles!

PS - I will most definitely try this again, but only when I get hold of spoon bits. It really gives you wonderful freedom working with the grain and the flaws. And I will get this right, no matter how long it takes (or how many bottles of whisky!).

Watch this space!