Freehand cherrywood sitter

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mejoshee

mejoshee

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Still working through some VT freehand kits, but here's the first one I'm interested in posting here.

Comments & (constructive) criticism is welcome!






Before you say it, I am aware of the pits and unevenness in stain. :roll:

And here's a preview of the one in progress:
 
I would take more material off the top of the shank where it meets the bowl, thus extending that side of the bowl also. The stem doesn't flow or align with the shank as it is now. Imagine where the draft hole of both is, to see what I mean.  I like the stain and don't object to pits in otherwise good wood, which this appears to be. Not crazy about short shanks.

(Hey, you asked. I made one similar, with similar results. The "transition" is the most difficult part of pipe shaping, I've been told.)
 
Thanks for the kind words every one!

DireWolf":xs1g49bv said:
Nice!

How many hours on the cherrywood?
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This was one of those start/stop projects, so about 5-6 hrs of real time. Lots of that was just resetting my setup. :roll:


Brewdude":xs1g49bv said:
Sweet! Looks like you've got this well in hand. Can't say I notice any uneven stain, and the pits give it character. Well done!
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Closer to the top, near the plateau, the stain took a little darker, with what I figured was endgrain.

Richard Burley":xs1g49bv said:
I would take more material off the top of the shank where it meets the bowl, thus extending that side of the bowl also. The stem doesn't flow or align with the shank as it is now. Imagine where the draft hole of both is, to see what I mean. I like the stain and don't object to pits in otherwise good wood, which this appears to be. Not crazy about short shanks.

(Hey, you asked. I made one similar, with similar results. The "transition" is the most difficult part of pipe shaping, I've been told.)
Click to expand...
Yes, I had thought about removing more material. Since I didn't get to choose the drill angles, I figured I'd try the stem out first. I forgot to mention the stem was premolded for kits. I'm not married to it really, but it was the shortest one I had. So, this was more a practice than anything else. Still trying to hone the junction in my "mind's eye" visualization of the carving process. Definitely will take your comments into consideration, though I'm sure you'll sympathize that I've got a lot of other things to work on right now...

Dottleman":xs1g49bv said:
Very nice work! How many pipes have you made so far?
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Not counting a couple of absolute failures (sand throughs & poorly chucked blocks), this is the 3rd finished one. It was, as with the previous 2, all freehand sanded. Once the rest of the kits are done, I'll do everything on the lathe.

Oh, and, I got a lathe, but so far on the bamboo "Dublin" only the shank/stem has been worked on it. I still have to do the rest by hand including my first handcut stem. :affraid:

I have in progress or started maybe another 8 blocks that I sketched or rough shaped as the mood struck me... :twisted:

But I promised myself no more new blocks started until I finished the ones already started.
 
Great job Josh. I can definitely see what RB is talking about and I agree that the lines are not perfect. That said, I would be quite proud of that pipe if I made it. I really like the craggy top and the finish. It's nice and thick too, which is always a good thing.

Cheers!
 
Richard Burley":4ke0ipi8 said:
(Hey, you asked. I made one similar, with similar results. The "transition" is the most difficult part of pipe shaping, I've been told.)
Click to expand...
Argh, now it's all I can think of. I was sanding the bamboo one last night and I kept thinking, "I wonder if I should do this or that to it..."

But hey, it's important to be a little obsessive with these. That's where no-compromise, no-shortcut thinking really pays off. I may return to the freehand immediately after the bamboo is done.

Blackhorse":4ke0ipi8 said:
Very nice indeed! Although you've got a way to go on the bamboo it certainly looks like it will turn out to be a winner. Good good!
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Thanks! It's looking pretty good right now, though you're right, it'll need a bit more sanding and of course it still needs a stain and a stem. But I'm happy with the fact that there's no glue line! :cheers:



 
Pipes are looking good! I really like how the bamboo one is coming together, looking forward to more pics.
 
The bamboo shank pipe is looking really nice, Josh.

Love the accent provided by the red/black band. Excellent work.
 
Both are very nice indeed, love the Plateaux on the Cherrywood, I would recommend removing all of the bark 'skin' from the Plateaux with future pipes Buddy, in time it will come away from the Plateaux and will look pretty bad. That Bamboo shank is fabulous, you have a calling here chap, BRAVO. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
 
Very nice! Although I'm partial to the one in progress! ;) :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
 
eklektos44":shkwlydl said:
Very nice! Although I'm partial to the one in progress! ;)  :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
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That one is almost done! I've just been particularly busy and not too strongly motivated to do the button on the handcut stem. I'll hopefully have it up sometime this weekend.

Briar Spirit":shkwlydl said:
Both are very nice indeed, love the Plateaux on the Cherrywood, I would recommend removing all of the bark 'skin' from the Plateaux with future pipes Buddy, in time it will come away from the Plateaux and will look pretty bad. That Bamboo shank is fabulous, you have a calling here chap, BRAVO. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
Click to expand...
@BS, there's no bark. I removed all of it. I did stain it brown for contrast, leaving the plateaux portion still dark brown. The peaks that are looks less stained are the ones that were hit first with the buffing wheel, but I assure you, no bark at all!
 
Very nice work Josh, I really like the cherry wood one. I'm a sucker for a nice freehand pipe.
 
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