Technology
For my pipes I am trying to use the best wood available to me. This is mostly the wood from Italy – well prepared and good in quality and taste which is very important to me.
The drilling of the material is made using a cross vice and a drill press. I don’t use lathe for shaping the wood – it is handmade (or better to say hand shaped). In my opinion hand shaped pipes have more personality than those made by a machine especially if we put more attention and patience into trying to get them as perfect as if they are made by a machine.
Rough shapes are made on a French wheel or using a dremel rotary tool. Mouthpieces are sometimes turned on a lathe to add more precision and to better fit them to the shank. After that, they are sanded down by hand using files and a sand paper. I prefer to use acrylic mouthpieces (for their better shine and stability during time) and work with them the most. Ebonite can also be found.
Sanding of the pipe is usually finished when we reach the sandpaper gradation of 2000. After that I am usually using brown tripoli to polish the pipe and carnauba wax to finish it. I am applying carnauba in at least two layers (most of the time three or more layers) with the first one being heated to melt when already on wood.
From my point of view – pipes have to be made with love, patience and a lot of positive energy as they are after all small pieces of functional art.