Re: On the Bench

wvloony on Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:01 pm

tim I feel your pain, I have 3 and the 2 oldest are teenage girls, so you can imagine where my money goes. thank goodness I live in an area with crappy cell coverage or id be shellin out on texting bills also. am gettin my boy interested in razor restoration so I'm gong in the right direction

ThePhill on Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:04 am

Tim? Oh Timothy??? I'm having briar withdrawal here.....

**raftergtex** on Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:53 am

Sorry, busy time of year for me as I try to practice law, make pipes, and farm. Spent yesterday bouncing around on the tractor, and the weekend before that fixing a trailer whose tire blew out on me when I was transporting a tractor. Had to cut off a lugnut, in someone else's driveway in the middle of nowhere. Fun times!

Anyway, my cowtownpoker replica has gotten most of the attention, and I think it looks better than the original. A more stylish bowl, longer shank and shorter bit. What do you think:

Patriot nosewarmer is well under way also, but not as far along. You can see that beautiful blue wood though:

Hope everyone is doing well, and I will try and do my part to get some posts flowing around here!

**NoseWarmer** on Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:06 am

Both are looking good... Or GREAT! Wink

FYI Tim, I like your shorter bits on these types of pipes...

ThePhill on Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:35 am

Ahh much better! The Cowtown replica is looking even better than the first, that is saying something considering how stunning the original is.

As for the nosewarmer......Yeah Baby! I think the madrone is really going to be a nice touch, has me drooling already. Any idea on the stain color and bit shape? Hard to say if a saddle or standard bit would look best at this point.

Awesome work Tim.

**raftergtex** on Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:16 pm

ThePhill wrote:Any idea on the stain color and bit shape?

Not really, I kind of play it by ear as I go along when its an original design. I am kind of envisioning a saddle bit, and a medium reddish brown stain, but I could still be persuaded otherwise.

**raftergtex** on Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:09 pm

Here's a thought: I do have some navy blue stain that I have never used before since I have never seen a blue pipe. But it could look good on this nosewarmer.

ThePhill on Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:14 pm

Straight saddle bit......and a blue bowl?? Would you use some black first to highlight the grain? Maybe a test piece on the stain first.

**Pstlpkr** on Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:20 pm

Both are looking great Tim.
I love the idea of a blue pipe.
I'm in agreement with PhiLL on the black contrast, and the "test" as well.
Better safe than sorry.
Those are great shapes.

ThePhill on Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:15 pm

I guess if Peterson can pull off green.....

Oldmaus on Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:45 am

Those are coming along nicely Tim! They are going to be sweet when they are finished. Very Happy

BanjoBob on Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:25 pm

@Tim,
for what it's worth.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/10-CHURCHWARDEN-READING-PIPE-MOUTHPIECE-EBONITE-VULCANITE-1960-70s-UNUSED-NEW-/160754801322?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item256dbb9aaa#shId

**raftergtex** on Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:50 pm

Thanks, guys. I will test out some blue, and I always use a first coat of black to bring out the grain. I am thinking some sanded down blue could look pretty nice. It would not be dark navy blue, but just a bluish tint with grain showing, etc. I will experiment a little. I may hate it, or I might be onto something ....

ThePhill on Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:17 pm

raftergtex wrote: I will experiment a little. I may hate it, or I might be onto something ....

And I may love it Laughing

. Let's see what you got Tim! Sounds like it could work out nicely.

**raftergtex** on Mon Mar 12, 2012 10:03 am

Monday morning update: Well, I tested out some blue and kind of liked it, but not with this pipe. Kind of clashes with and takes away from the blue shank extension. Gonna go with a medium reddish brown. Also, the very small stem does not give me enough room for a saddle, so we are going tapered, with a tapered shank also. Only way to get it thin enough near the button. In many ways, I discover what the pipe wants to be during the process of making it, especially on these that I am just making up as I go along. Here's where the "patriot" nosewarmer stands:

The cowtownpoker2 is basically done. All I have to do is shine it up a little more and take better pictures. These crappy iphone pictures, though, do a better job of showing the gorgeous cumberland. What do you think?