Endcap woes

I was busy with a pipe that I was going to fit an endcap to, this afternoon, when this happened...

 Normally I turn a little tenon on the shank when I'm planning on using an endcap, then fit a scrap piece of briar over with a spot of CA glue to keep it in place while sanding. This is done so that I end up with smooth lines towards the end of the shank, instead of rounding it over, which is bound to happen when doing it without.

Under normal circumstances (today I use the term lightly), I put the scrap end into a vice and with a gentle but firm twist, break the unwanted piece off. If you look closely, you'll see part of the briar tenon on the left in the scrap piece and the broken bit on the shank end of the stummel. A bit of the CA glue must have gotten where it was not supposed to go, onto the tenon and not just the face.

Autour de la Pipe PoY 2014

I've just recently finished the Autour de la Pipe Pipe of the Year for 2014 and thought I'd share some very random photos. Random, because most of the time I forgot!

This photo above, is where I finished the lathe work on the stummels. All stummels have been drilled with mortise, airway and bowl. The top of the bowl and most of the shank has also been turned and sanded as much as possible. After this, I went to the sanding disc.

 Here, I've started with fitting stems and shaping them. Oh, and in the foreground a prerequisite for pipemaking: coffee!

 This blast gave me a big surprise. The wood was overall unremarkable, with enough flaws to ensure a blast. Just goes to show that however and whatever you think you see on the outside of a stummel or block of briar, is, well, just a wild guess! And boy was I wrong with this one!

 The same pipe with ADLP PoY 2014 that was laser engraved on it, as were the rest.

This pipe received some contrast staining that came out pretty decent. All the pipes were made from over 50 year old Algerian blocks and in those days, most cuts of briar were just to maximise quantity, most definitely not quality of grain. Hence most blocks had very irregular grain.

Getting closer to completion...

A view from the top of the completed lot.

 And a sideview, just before boxing and a trip to the Post Office.