Making your own pipes

Discussion in 'Smoking Pipes, Glass Spoon Pipes' started by Headhunterpipes, Jan 22, 2017.

  1. I know there are several pipes makers in this forum that can help and advise people how to make MJ pipe .
    I haven't made hundreds of pipes, but I think I could walk someone through making there own pipe from some very simple materials .

    I have thought about making a pipe kit where the customer assembles the pipe kit and then does all the sanding and finish work themselves.

    There are allot of materials that can be used in making a pipe if done right .
    There might be some materials that could be used to make pipe special to you or a friend .
    Deer antler from a deer that you shot .


    If you make a cool home made pipe feel free to share you ideas .
    If you want to know how to make a pipe yourself then ask ,, it would be nice if you have a drill and drill bits buts pipes can be made by hand with out power tools .

    At one time it was a American traditional to make a pipe as a gift to one of your closest friends .
    True story I seen it in the movie the last of the Dogmen :apache:
     
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  2. I would not mind making a nice pipe out of wood. But what are the matierials you use to keep the wood from burning? I mean what do they use on those wooden tobbacco pipes in a smoke shop for the inside of the bowl to keep it from burning?
     
  3. They are mostly made from very dense wood like walnut or meranti ect. They still burn but it just takes a lot more heat.
     
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  4. The wood doesn't really burn. It does get permeated with oils from whatever is being burned in the bowl. This keeps the wood from burning by providing a fuel source that burns before the wood does. This is how a wooden bowl is seasoned. It will become charred but as time goes on the bowl will just be black and not really burn anymore. As far as walnut goes its not my first choice to smoke out of. It just tastes nasty. Go with a wood that would be used for smoking foods. Fruit woods such as cherry or apple are softer and easier to mill than nut woods like pecan or hickory.
     
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  5. From my understanding Briar wood is used in allot of traditional wood pipes use to smoke tobacco .
    The bowl section can always have a brass or glass insert so there isn't a wood taste .

    I also believe pipes with larger air ways smoke better .
     
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  6. Might seem a little redneck-rigged and lazy but my friend once took a fancy table leg from an oak table, cut it at about 3/4 length, fastened the 1/4 piece on top of the remainder, used a hole saw to make a little indentation for the bowl and then drilled a hole through the center, and carved the mouthpiece into a nice nipple. It was supposed to be a joke but it had a nice taste and was really smooth, we called it the peace pipe and it was great for big groups, ended up being a regularly used item xD. It was unfinished raw wood too, so no stain or anything. The table leg kinda looked like this:
    [​IMG]

    EDIT: Beeswax is a good covering for wood pipes
     
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  7. Hi
    I have been buying exotic woods for more then a decade and have bought out two custom cue makers exotic woods stock that was going out of business .

    Using cured wood/ stress relieved wood and best to reinforce or stabilize the wood with some kind of tubing inside the pipe .

    Making pipes is insane ,, there are no rules except materials that stink or are toxic .
    Toxic Woods - FineWoodworking

    I used the tubing out of one of those extendable pocket magnets to make part of a pipe out of .
    Arrow shafts , brass pen kit tube . aluminum tubing from the hardware store .

    If you took two blocks wood , have carved and sanded a groove down the center big enough to fit tube for the stem and bowl and laminate of glue the block of wood together with epoxy then carve and sand the block round and shape it into a pipe .

    Ps I would use a slow drying epoxy , to bond the woods together .

    Slow drying so the epoxy has time to run into to pores of the wood .
    Slow drying because normally the slower drying epoxy is thinner and it runs into the pores of the wood better ..
     
  8. I prefer cherry for pipes. Althogh briar is a favorite of pipe makers it can be fairly expensive and is very hard to work.

    Some of my pipes have a bowl drilled directly in the pipe while I make others with detachable bowls in different sizes. My favorite wood for bowls is white oak (especially quarter sawn). For seasoning the bowl you can char the inside of the bowl with a lighter or just smoke a few bowls.

    As to the hole configuration, i prefer smaller holes. Totally a personal preference...some like bigger, some smaller.
     
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  9. I have 7 lathes , this is the flagship of the ones I own ...
    20x80 25 hp motor
    [​IMG]
     
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  10. Deer antler smells funky as hell when using a dremel.

    Id love to make a pipe out of my anyler i have laying around though. Guess that'll be an outdoor project.

     
  11. Antler dust is extremely dangerous to breath , wear a mask.
    I would line the antler with some kind of tubing.
    Soak the antler in WOOD HARDENER

    If the antler has been out in the sun and gray and cracked its no good to use for a pipe.
    Some of my antler work , the black is Gaboon ebony from Africa
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I love the look of a tux a pipe made of antler or elephant ivory and gaboon ebony wood
    [​IMG]
     
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  12. MrFooey

    You know that was some great info , I have smoked allot of meats never connected woods that you would smoke meats with and a wood used in a pipe . and in how the smoke will taste .
    Mv5 mentioned cherry wood too... all of my MJ pipes are lined with some king of tubing
    and I use brass bowls which is heavy.
    This might inspire me to make a all wood pipe, issues is wood pipes with long stems are fragile .
    Tons of little bits of info on making pipes ...
     
  13. I've been a finish carpenter for a lot of years. I make things of great beauty out of wood. Oh ye, I know my wood.
     
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  14. Way cool, any pipes ?
     
  15. Some on occasion. A while back I carved a "Gandalf" pipe but I sat on it and broke it. If I can find it, I'll fix it and take a picture. I made it out of poplar. It works but it was kinda funky tasting until the bowl got seasoned so i cant recommend using poplar for your bowl.
     
  16. Wood
    I don't play fare .. because I line all my pipes with tubing , I can use any wood I want ..
    I modified my metal lathes with putting a veneer trimer on the tool post .
    Opens a whole new world to making MJ pipes . before the law was changed I couldn't afford to make MJ pipes and chance loosing all of my equipment .
    All of these cues are natural wood color ..except joint collars ..
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  17. Wow you guys have made some really cool pipes. Come to think about it, my house mate is a mechanical engineer and has all the tools I would need to make a pipe out in the shed. You've piqued my curiosity so I think I'll do some further research and then attempt to make one. And honestly really, even if I can't successfully make a nice wooden pipe, my housemate will feel sorry for me and just make one for me anyway. So it's win win really :p.
     
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  18. Here is some thoughts
    Durability
    materials
    health hazards some woods are extremely toxic , one reason my pipes are lined with glass or aluminum tubing .
    size of internal air ways ,, the larger the better performance to a certain point then the pipe becomes less user friendly .
    User friendly.
    cleanable
    Do you want your pipe to stand up on its own .
    Do you want a removable bowl
    style
    Stores like wood crafters have exotic woods for sale .
    Most hardware stores have a small metal selection of flat strap angle iron and metal and aluminum tubing .
    Wood hoppy shop stores carry brass tubing for pen makers ....
    I have used aluminum arrow shafts to line the stem of my pipes ...
     
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  19. I used to be a CNC machinist back in the day. That looks well used my friend :metal:
     
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  20. Lathe is about 15 to 20 years old, my other metal lathes are 60 to 70 years old .
    I did buy a lathe last summer I think it was only 5 or 6 years old .
    I paid 75.00 for that one .

    Do does a CNC operator write files ?
    I made my own 3 axis CNC router about 7 years ago
     

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