Sandblasted Briar

There's a fellow in Germany selling a bunch of new-old-stock unfinished pipes on the bay of e (happy to provide details if anyone's interested), including briars and clays. I've bought a few of his lots just for grins. One lot was a set of sandblasted billiards. I should have taken a "before" picture, but here's the "after" pic:

http://i.imgur.com/KpsNwpB.jpg

I didn't do a lot to it, just added some yellow dye to warm up the color a bit, then buffed it with carnuba. The white buildup is extra wax in the crevices which has since dissipated after smoking a couple bowls of tasty tobacco. The stem was a little rough but I shined it up with a little carnuba and buffing compound (white diamond I believe).

I've got some more from this lot to play with; I'll post pics as I progress. My current project is sanding one down to remove the sandblasting roughness. & I just ordered a lot of 10 dublins.

I'm not a real pipe expert, but I will say that this "cheapie" (I scored 5 for $15) smokes as well as any briar that I paid actual money for :)

PS those dark spots are on the briar - they may be fills, I'm not sure, or maybe just natural discoloration.

PPS that's my actual hand; I'm not wearing a glove.

Cool. Looks like a nice small size for winter smoking, and the price is ridiculous. I'd like details, please. Have you tried his clay pipes?

I'd also like the "deets" on this seller.

Hmmm... If someone wants to split the cost of a few briars I'm down. Wouldn't mind one or two to play around with.

No prob. He's fory63 on e-bay. Of course you'll never get the good deal I got, outbidding each other and all :)

I've picked up some of his clays as well - been experimenting with coloring and waxing them. They smoke pretty well.

2nd installment - more pix!

Here's what they look like in their native form:

http://i.imgur.com/bntym0L.jpg

And here's one I made for my hunting buddy:

http://i.imgur.com/e1pMwda.jpg

It's pretty much the same as the one above, except I dyed the wood red before waxing. And here's the other side:

http://i.imgur.com/oHc38Qf.jpg

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Originally Posted by Bruck

2nd installment - more pix!

And here's one I made for my hunting buddy:

http://i.imgur.com/e1pMwda.jpg

It's pretty much the same as the one above, except I dyed the wood red before waxing. And here's the other side:

http://i.imgur.com/oHc38Qf.jpg

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I'm digging the red dyed pipe! :machinegun:

I got 10 Dublins of this same extraction today. Dyed a square one green & waxed it.

http://i.imgur.com/qZW4NTQ.jpg

I don't really see the green as I'm pretty severely R/G colorblind, but my color-sighted daughter assures me that there's a faint green hue to it.

I tried undoing the sandblasting on one of the billiards, then finishing it:

http://i.imgur.com/AkFs4ll.jpg

I did some tricks to try to amplify the grain, which worked somewhat. On close inspection, I see that I didn't do such a good job smoothing it out - there are still a lot of pits. Live and learn...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AndyCAYP

Hmmm... If someone wants to split the cost of a few briars I'm down. Wouldn't mind one or two to play around with.

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I'm always up for a project. Let's get us some and split 'em.

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How's the drilling, construction and fit? Good?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruck

I tried undoing the sandblasting on one of the billiards, then finishing it:

http://i.imgur.com/AkFs4ll.jpg

I did some tricks to try to amplify the grain, which worked somewhat. On close inspection, I see that I didn't do such a good job smoothing it out - there are still a lot of pits. Live and learn...

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I like this one,,,I had a thought of trying the same thing,but it will have to wait until next spring.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alligator Gar

I'm always up for a project. Let's get us some and split 'em.

- - - Updated - - -

How's the drilling, construction and fit? Good?

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Sounds great! I'll put in a bid when I see a decent lot.

Hey @Bruck , care to do the dirty work for me and let me know what stains, waxes, and stem polishing compounds I need to order?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alligator Gar

I'm always up for a project. Let's get us some and split 'em.

- - - Updated - - -

How's the drilling, construction and fit? Good?

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Yes, the stems fit quite firmly in the clavicle (sorry, I know there's a word for it, but I'm not up on pipe anatomy). You have to drill the hole that connects to the bowl, but that's simple. I use about a 3/32" bit. You just have to drill slowly to avoid overshooting when it pokes thru.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AndyCAYP

Sounds great! I'll put in a bid when I see a decent lot.

Hey @Bruck , care to do the dirty work for me and let me know what stains, waxes, and stem polishing compounds I need to order?

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What I use for color is powdered aniline dye; picked some up on the amazing amazon, a small sample pack - you only need a little. Most of the colors mix directly with water, but the blue requires alcohol then water (instructions are included). If I want the color to stand out more, I bleach the briar a bit first.

For wax, I use straight carnuba; I think I got this on amazon as well. To apply the wax, I use buffer wheels connected to a variable speed hand drill - full speed is a little too fast; I use about half speed. I tried using a buffer wheel on my grinder, but that's way too fast - it tends to darken the briar, which you might actually want to do, depending on your goal for color.

There are a few more adept pipe finishers on the forum, including one @JustTroItIn , who may be able to share more expertise on the subject.

@Bruck is being a bit generous. I'm more of a hack than adept. I polish my pipes in the same manner as him but the dyes I have played around with are alcohol based leather dye made by Fiebings. I gave Bruck a bit of playful joshing in his other thread where he showed the green pipe, but I'm glad he posted it as it's good to see the difference in dyes. Here is one I dyed green using the Feibings. http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/the-do...eavy-3763.html

Some more pipe-refinishing pron for y'all...

Working on rehabilitating a sandblasted unfinished dublin. Here's one in its native form (it's not the same one as the pix below, but is representative):

http://i.imgur.com/9x1wAyG.jpg

Not sure why it's upside down. I don't recall taking the pic that way :) Here's the bowl after a few rounds of sanding, with 60, 150, and 600 grit:

http://i.imgur.com/2jQasP1.jpg

I'm employing a 2-step dyeing process to bring out the grain, first a dark color, in this case black, to soak in to the briar, both the soft and hard grain thereof:

http://i.imgur.com/0HCDGIP.jpg

Then I give it a light sanding to expose the surface of the harder grain, as the dye will have soaked more deeply into the softer grain. Unforch, it also has the effect of emphasizing the imperfections - this is not exactly high quality briar I'm working with:

http://i.imgur.com/sQ4LdNF.jpg

Next, I overdye it with a lighter, brighter color, which shows up on the harder grain and just gets buried with the black in the soft grain. In this case, the lighter color is red:

http://i.imgur.com/bU6zGAc.jpg

I'm currently waxing this with carnuba to seal it and give it a little shine. I'll post pix of the finished product later.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruck

I tried undoing the sandblasting on one of the billiards, then finishing it:

http://i.imgur.com/AkFs4ll.jpg

I did some tricks to try to amplify the grain, which worked somewhat. On close inspection, I see that I didn't do such a good job smoothing it out - there are still a lot of pits. Live and learn...

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when it has its character, I find interest....as in this one with the artistic framin of the big bottom woman, on the bowl.....

Bruce, have you done anything that lightens those heavy dark areas, other than sanding them out?

Thanks for taking the time to post this pic heavy thread. I'm really enjoying it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GWBowman

Bruce, have you done anything that lightens those heavy dark areas, other than sanding them out?

Thanks for taking the time to post this pic heavy thread. I'm really enjoying it.

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Nope, I just sand them out. Not sure what the dark areas are - fills? sap? I dunno. Anyway, the mostly just sand out.

& here's the final product of the red dublin:

http://i.imgur.com/J1vI3du.jpg

Someday I'll figure out how to make them really shiny, but for now a dull matte will have to suffice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruck

Someday I'll figure out how to make them really shiny, but for now a dull matte will have to suffice.

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Look up "French Polish"

Simply a fantastic effort and a GREAT thread. THanKS! wow

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Originally Posted by Herf N Turf

Look up "French Polish"

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Sounds dirty :)

JK, I'll take a look.

Latest installment - a billiard that I sanded down and shellacked.

http://i.imgur.com/g1MONsZ.jpg

This started out as a "sandblasted" briar, and I have attempted to smooth it out as I prefer that look. Unforch (1) some of the sandblasting artifacts are too deep, so I had to leave them be, otherwise the walls would be to thin overall, and (2) although it's aged well, it's not all that high of quality briar, so there are some cavities in the bowl.

Here's the other side, close up.

http://i.imgur.com/vQA4keP.jpg

No dyeing or other coloring, and coated with clear shellac - several coats of thinned shellac. Sort of like the "French Polish" method that Don, @Herf N Turf , mentions above. Shellacking is considered "cheating" among master pipe finishers, and the quick and dirty way to get a good shine on a cheap pipe, and all I can say is, guilty as charged on both counts, your honor. :) Thought I'd give it a try, mainly to see if Bullseye shellac stands up to the heat. So far so good, breaking it in with some Esoterica Stonehaven at this time.

Looks very nice, Bruce.

Update - the shellac gets a little tacky when warm, maybe not such a good idea. Or maybe it just needs more time to cure. I'll let it rest a couple weeks before smoking it again.

Latest pipe refinishing pr0n, a Dublin that I put together for dear daughter's boyfriend. It started out as a sand blasted square Dublin, which I sanded down a bit, retaining some of the relief, bleached white, dyed blue, and carnuba waxed. It still had some black spots, which I think are fills. (these aren't exactly high quality briars to begin with)

Starboard side:

http://i.imgur.com/WIqcb7d.jpg

Port side:

http://i.imgur.com/Nz5JN9F.jpg

And the inside of the bowl, so you can see what bleached briar looks like:

http://i.imgur.com/CJvRD7A.jpg

As with about 75% of what I do, this is "experimental," in this case the experiment is hoping that bleaching doesn't degrade the integrity of the wood too badly. And in case you're wondering, yes, I put it thru several soak/rinse cycles to remove all vestiges of bleach from the wood.

Did a yellow one (not bleached) for a friend in MI. Father of a friend actually, who's been smoking a pipe for as long as I can remember and then some.

http://i.imgur.com/F8GArnI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RzTqxX8.jpg

The dark spots are fills, but as I've mentioned earlier, they were dirt cheap.

Latest one, a "natural," i.e., unstained Dublin. Just sanded and waxed. This one is going to my BIL in Michigan.

http://i.imgur.com/tNwgLXM.jpg

Starboard side.

http://i.imgur.com/6zOic2L.jpg

Port side. I picked up some 1200 grit sandpaper for the final sanding - really makes a difference over the 600 I was using previously.

http://i.imgur.com/idFtuf3.jpg

Birdseye view of bowl. Okay so the hole isn't perfectly centered... But I think it will still work :)

The black marks are putty from fills, and there are some remaining pits from the sandblasting, or perhaps they would have been there anyway. I think these pipes are made of well-aged, low-quality briar.

A couple more of my recent projects:

http://i.imgur.com/z14nM4e.jpg

Both started out sandblasted, one I left a little more sandblasted than the other. This is a regular billiard and a brandy glass nosewarmer.

http://i.imgur.com/UXs2wSQ.jpg

The other side. The black one is about as black as I could get it - the briar soaks up the wood dye like a sponge. The natural one I soaked in red wine for a while, but not much remained on the outside.

http://i.imgur.com/jNUNXKT.jpg

Inside the bowls - you can see the wine stain inside the bowl where it adhered better to the rough wood. You can also see the oval shank on the brandy glass, which I think is a pretty cool shape.

http://i.imgur.com/XqmrHJT.jpg

And here are the bottoms because why not.

A couple of my latest projects, for your viewing pleasure:

http://i.imgur.com/BNkmsID.jpg

A blue-green egg w/ slightly bent stem. Made it for a co-worker.

http://i.imgur.com/iFyJAcQ.jpg

Other side.

http://i.imgur.com/ZrTv8eU.jpg

Here's a bleached natural billiard. I'm keeping this one. It reminds me of the sand on a Lake Superior beach.

http://i.imgur.com/j60uyE8.jpg

Other side thereof.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruck

A couple of my latest projects, for your viewing pleasure:

http://i.imgur.com/BNkmsID.jpg

A blue-green egg w/ slightly bent stem. Made it for a co-worker.

http://i.imgur.com/iFyJAcQ.jpg

Other side.

http://i.imgur.com/ZrTv8eU.jpg

Here's a bleached natural billiard. I'm keeping this one. It reminds me of the sand on a Lake Superior beach.

http://i.imgur.com/j60uyE8.jpg

Other side thereof.

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That blue green looks sharp. Did you mix the colors or put them on separately?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GWBowman

That blue green looks sharp. Did you mix the colors or put them on separately?

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Tnx. Mixed the colors beforehand. I use aniline wood dyes. The green looks pretty anemic by itself, but mixes nicely with the blue.

This is a pretty fast league here. Bruck, you're doing some very nice work. I clearly have to refine my game to play on this team. Well, you all have certainly given me some great ideas in what I want to do with my coming billiard carve. Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheHobbyist78

This is a pretty fast league here. Bruck, you're doing some very nice work. I clearly have to refine my game to play on this team. Well, you all have certainly given me some great ideas in what I want to do with my coming billiard carve. Thanks.

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Tnx but to be honest, most of the work was already done for me. I start out w/ "blanks" as it were - check out the pix earlier in the thread.

I've got one of those kits consisting of a predrilled block of briar with a stem, but haven't yet worked up the motivation to start carving it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruck

Tnx but to be honest, most of the work was already done for me. I start out w/ "blanks" as it were - check out the pix earlier in the thread.

I've got one of those kits consisting of a predrilled block of briar with a stem, but haven't yet worked up the motivation to start carving it.

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I've got one of those pre-drilled kits from CI as well. Just trying to get my other projects done first before I get to carving. I've been looking into those pre-drilled kits from 'Pipe Guys'. This first one will be the litmus test, and then we will see where I want to go from there. It's got to turn out special in order for it to be 'bombworthy'.