Wooden Pipes

I recently picked up carving in my free time to help release some stress, seems to work fine although my handy work could use some improvement 

Comments

[triumphman]

Yes, those exotic woods are very toxic! I have cut and drilled some and the next day I had swollen red eyes, clogged nasal passages and itchy skin! Now I must wear a special mask, gloves , long shirt sleeeves, and a head covering. Nasty stuff1 Beware! Not very good to smoke them either, same bad side effects! Stick to apple, oak, birch, cherry, pine, etc...

[l8nite]

some very interesting designs however smoking anything from a softwood pipe is seldom pleasurable, try your hand on some hardwoods

[delias1]

thanks, i will give that a try. any recomendations on the wood being used? i have a 3"x3"x8' length of oak kicking around here somewhere as well as a chunk of purple heart, im a little iffy on using purple though as im not to sure on how to get a good carve out of it apart from using a lathe.

[I am in the shed!]

Oak can release tannin, and turn black when wet, Quite a few woods are poisonous, also yew, take care!

[l8nite]

any hardwood will be more difficult to carve especially if you're using a knife but a very sharp blade and small cuts or chips will eventually get the job done. I usually start out with a well defined blank, cut on a bandsaw and further roughed in with a dremel but then I have AADD (art attention deficit disorder) I've never carved a pipe but an artisan friend makes natural form pipes from cherry branches which are well liked

[ripit]

i suggest that you not use purpleheart at least not to smoke out of directly. also no zebra wood and bubinga! some pretty nasty toxins in those woods. tho they would work great as a veneer an such try cherry(sands to a glass like finish), walnut,hickory,mesquite and apple!

[delias1]

sweet, thanks for the ideas, ill be sure to give them a shot, i started with pine because it was easy for me to learn on and carved real easy and fast, but im ready to move up to a harder wood (thats what she said)

[korgoth25]

wow those look good! you ever think about making more and selling some?

[delias1]

thank you, and why yes yes i have, id just like to get a better, but ive deffinatly considered it