Best wood for a pipe

[Bill Jobe]

I have a friend who smokes a pipe and it occurred to me that would be a good indoor job that would create very little dust.
What type of wood is most commonly used and is there a link somewhere on pipe mmaking?

[Barry McFadden]

Here's a thought....search "best wood for pipe making"....

[Lee Schierer]

The pipes my Dad had were Briar wood. He also had some meerschaum pipes.

[Wayne Lomman]

Briar rose. Use the root. Cheers

[James Tibbetts]

I never seen a pipe made of anything but briar of meerschaums that I believed to bone/ivory

[John K Jordan]

I have a friend who smokes a pipe and it occurred to me that would be a good indoor job that would create very little dust.
What type of wood is most commonly used and is there a link somewhere on pipe mmaking?

I have a stash of briar burl pipe bowl blanks, already hollowed and shaped outside with wooden part of the stem already shaped.

briar_blanks.jpg

I've cut the stems off some and turned little bowls (like the one on top of the pile in the photo) - the wood so wonderfully hard and fine grained and beautifully burled. I might be willing to trade one for something. (But it would be better to talk your friend into quitting the pipe and living longer.)

As for instructions, you can use Google to find lots of web sites with how to, what tools are best, why to use certain woods, kits to buy, more than you can probably read.

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

I never seen a pipe made of anything but briar of meerschaums that I believed to bone/ivory

Meerschaum is a type of stone also known as Sepiolite that comes from Turkey.

[Ted Calver]

Some Meerschaum pipes from my collection for those that are not familiar with the medium:
IMG_4403.jpgIMG_4406.jpgIMG_4402.jpgIMG_4401.jpg

[Bill Jobe]

I have a stash of briar burl pipe bowl blanks, already hollowed and shaped outside with wooden part of the stem already shaped.

briar_blanks.jpg

I've cut the stems off some and turned little bowls (like the one on top of the pile in the photo) - the wood so wonderfully hard and fine grained and beautifully burled. I might be willing to trade one for something. (But it would be better to talk your friend into quitting the pipe and living longer.)

As for instructions, you can use Google to find lots of web sites with how to, what tools are best, why to use certain woods, kits to buy, more than you can probably read.

JKJ

What are you thinking about? Certainly wouldn't be any of my tools (except for the 0766)

[Harold Balzonia]

I can go down to the public park a few miles from here and pick you up a handful of used crack pipes.....

There's a bunch of 14-17 year old "entrepreneurs" there who could make him a bong very cheap..... maybe I can ask them for a set of plans....

[Bill Jobe]

I'm guessing you may want a piece of wood?

Do you reload?

[Rich Engelhardt]

The type of wood isn't as important as the way the pipe is cured out.
Walnut of course, shouldn't be used, but, other than that, it's pretty wide open.

Back in the day - when I smoked a pipe and made a few - I'd cure out the bowl by filling it with red wine and letting it sit for a week.
Then I'd drain the wine - let it dry - and pack the bowl and fire it up.
I'd be very careful not to let the bowl get too hot - the idea is to let the tobacco form a nice think crust or cake on the inside of the bowl.

Once the cake forms - then all you have to do is scrape away the excess when it builds up too much.

Your burning tobacco should never - - after the initial cure - come in contact with the wood inside the bowl.


FWIW - corn cobs make excellent pipes.
I tried a whole bunch of different types and always came back to the good old Missouri Meerschaum!

[John K Jordan]

I might be willing to trade one for something.

What are you thinking about? Certainly wouldn't be any of my tools (except for the 0766)

For trade? Oh goodness no, I'd need something more valuable, like a good story, a song, a joke I haven't heard, or the intention of some deed payed forward. These were gifts to me and I still have a few left - I gave away a few and traded others for some good company.

[Tom Stenzel]

For pipes in Detroit they used hollowed out tamarack logs, last functioning one I'm aware of was dug up about 50 years ago. Other woods have been used, out west they used staved redwood for large pipes, it's likely that some are still functioning as drains. In England elm was used...

Oh, sorry, wrong kind of pipe!

-Tom

[Chase Mueller]

I have a stash of briar burl pipe bowl blanks, already hollowed and shaped outside with wooden part of the stem already shaped.

briar_blanks.jpg

I've cut the stems off some and turned little bowls (like the one on top of the pile in the photo) - the wood so wonderfully hard and fine grained and beautifully burled. I might be willing to trade one for something. (But it would be better to talk your friend into quitting the pipe and living longer.)

As for instructions, you can use Google to find lots of web sites with how to, what tools are best, why to use certain woods, kits to buy, more than you can probably read.

JKJ

You don't by any chance sell the blanks do you...? I'd be mighty interested in one