[starke]

I really like your setup. No fancy BS - just results. Your pipes are art. I'd be interested in obtaining a couple for the misses and I if you do that. Drop me a pm if you're interested.

Peace,
starke

[paper thorn]

That's my water swivel and a 3/16" sintered diamond bit

Sintered is when the diamonds are embedded in the metal, so as the bit wears, new diamonds are exposed.

Most of the bits i use at least for stem holes are electroplated, so it's just a coating on the end of the little hole saws.

here's a pic of the next rock blanks that I'm in the process of making into pipes. several of them already have the stems drilled, at least to the depth of my longest bits. lol

long bits are kinda spendy, but the short ones are super cheap and drill great.

[paper thorn]

This is my salt lamp, that i got for Christmas.
and a few specimens of rocks i've picked up


this is a 1/4" bit and a rigged up clamp. it turned out 1/4" is way too big. 3/16" or 5 mm seems good. I just drill in a container of water to keep it lubed and cool and i have to pull the rock out every 1/16 to 1/8" of drilling to break out the core and dump it out and fill the stem with more water. or the core will cause too much friction deep in the hole and jam up, get hot, fuck up, core gets stuck in the bit and if i can't get it out, the bit is done.

Oh, did I say how much I LOVE my Wen 10" drill press. I went to harbor freight, grabbed the spindle and it had huge play in it. just shook around, i said hell no, spend a few more bucks and get this Wen. Worth every penny. it was about 125. from hd.


This rock is bad ass. limestone and serpentine, pressed by tremendous pressure into...practically mylonite.

[paper thorn]

That's my cat's paw, and the last pipe i made. It was the shortest blank i had cut, and i didn't have the longer bits yet.
so it's little, the bowl is a tad shallow, but the person i gifted it to got a nice little Bubba Kush budlet to fit in it nicely to break it in.


before polishing



This is the round diamond burr i used to smooth out the bowl. i don't yet have the right size bits for the bowls, so i have to hack them out with smaller bits. lots of work, believe me.



This is my flat lap. it's just a diamond lap disc on my grinder. i use the grinding wheel for my master lap. just bolt it on the side. it spins way too fast, but it works.
i have a 150, 400 and 1200 right now, soon to get more.a 600, 3000 and ?


That's the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket for my splash shield. i need to drill a hole in the bottom and run a tube from it to the lawn, a few feet.

i polished my first pipe, the red one in the other posts, by hand with waterproof sandpaper. lots of work. this flat lap is so cool. eventually, i'll have an assortment of shapers, like the ones granite countertop installers use to bullnose the counter edge. those are like 300 bucks though for crying out loud.

[paper thorn]

This is a super cool rock - black glass with some red etc.


This is going to be my most ambitious piece. wish me luck.
It's going to be a Hopewell Platform Pipe inspired piece.
I'm thinking bear, but my sketch looks more like a fox.

the Hopewell pipes are 700 - 2000 years old, the critter sitting on a curved platform almost always faces the smoker.
The supreme patience and will it would take to drill the stem and bowl out with little chert chisels, insane. i doubt mine will be as good as theirs were.
that's why i call it 'inspired' not a 'replica'


Firestorm clones



Firestorm in back, two of those are rooted and in coco. those are Original Glue in front, but they all mushed out on me. poor me.

[paper thorn]

Cleaned clay balls a few days ago. this little collapsible vege crates great for it. I let the balls dry, dump them in, pick out the big roots and stir them around to powder/pulverize the rest of the roots.

then rinse and done





I think the roots and ballsplug the holes. net pots might be better, or at least to raise the buckets off the bottom so the water drains better

[woolybear]

Enjoying the rocks and buds! Best of luck in your recovery!

[paper thorn]

Thank you woolybear, it's going OK. Knowing that you're never going to be quite right again, sucks, but i'm doing so much better.

Funny, most of the time I look in my album, find a pic, then figure out what to say.




3/16" or 5mm diamond hole saws. 60mm long. i can drill a stem 2" deep, so i have order some longer ones. bits longer than these get expensive.

[Mikell]

Nice cat sploot.

Loving the pipes. I use to work with stone, it is an interesting medium. Nothing artsy, just countertops and the like. Very much enjoyed taking a piece of creamy buttery marble from slab to countertop.

I prefered the Chinese diamond bits/blades/pads. Sometimes the quality was mediocre but at a fraction of the price it more than made up for it, and the pads did a better job in corners than the stiff American ones.

Chinese CNC bits for an edging machine was another matter. Almost broke the drive shaft of a Thibaut with one of their worbly bits.


Your recovery seems to be coming along very well. Poor old man of mine came out worse for wear, knocked in the head and body. But your mind looks sharp and the body can be retrained.

[Grizz]

I never new you did the pipes, so cool, hows those cuts doing ?