Beware the new Fordom tool!

[Scott Hackler]

In Waco I purchased a Foredom tool. I have been wanting one for quite a while and the special at SWAT was good enough to "talk me into it". Soooooo, fast forward to last night. I haven't gotten much turning time the last few months and my recent obession with Rick's super cool smoking pipe prompted me to see "what if" with a piece of scrap wood. I mainly wanted to see how easy (or difficult) it would be to turn the main parts of the business end of a pipe on two axis...on the lathe. It works fairly well and what was left was a decent amount of square stock that needed trimmed and rounded off the bottom. Cool!


So out comes the Foredom and the wicked carbide spiked bit. Everything is going great until it caught the edge, spun the piece a bit and removed a 1/4 of my finger nail! The moral of the story is pay attension and gloves might be a good idea! :) lol


BTW the proto-type pipe ended up looking terrible and I have much more respect for Rick and other pipe makers!

[John M. Smith]

Ouch!!!!!!! That made me wince.

[Allan Ferguson]

Definitely could spoil a person's fun.

[Mike Cruz]

Scott, no pics, didn't happen! Woudn't that be nice?

[Steve Doerr]

Ouch and double ouch. And I thought my little nick from the grinding wheel was sore. Glad you're alright and have all of your fingers.
Keep safe.
Steve

[Mike Cruz]

Well, Steve, he has 9 3/4 at worst... since it was just 1/4 of the nail, we can be fair to say that he has 9 15/16 of his fingers left...;)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Scott - hope you heal quickly!!

[Rodney Walker]

Hope you're better soon. I hate anything to do with nails getting ripped off...
Rodney

[mickey cassiba]

Hope you heal quickly...sure could have been worse. Got to throw something out though, in reply to 'The moral of the story is pay attension and gloves might be a good idea!'
Gloves and rapidly spinning things are a sure recipe for disaster.

[Marvin Hasenak]

Hope you have a fast healing session, been there and done that, luckily it was only skin and little blood.

I always try to wear a leather glove on my hand that holds the object I am power carving on. I also like the glove well broke in so I can hold the item comfortably. It is not much, but it has saved my fingers and other parts of my hand more than once. When the cutter hits the glove you will know it, and maybe have time to react. If you don't have on the glove, when you touch your hand or finger it is too late to react.

DO NOT USE COTTON OR ANY CLOTH GLOVES. When the burr catches it will wrap up the glove and anything inside of it until the shaft on the unit breaks or stalls. With the leather it just cuts the leather it doesn't ball it up like cotton gloves.

[Larry Matchett]

Ya know they make carvers vices. They really do work. I was introduced to them when I was in graduate school and took a jewelry class. After seeing this thread I am going to have to try and find mine. It's only been close to to 40 years.

[Carl Hackman]

I usually take 2 jaws off my 4 jaw chuck when turning stummels (briar pipe bowls). Only try and turn the top half of the bowl and half of the shank. Drill out the chamber and shank using the tailstock and a drill chuck. A modified spade bit (or custom made spoon bit) is used to drill out the chamber ... don't try and hollow out the chamber with a gouge!!!!. The shank is drilled using 2 different sized bits to create the airway and fit the stem. The final shaping is done on a sanding wheel mounted on a motor.

Semi bent rusticated Billiard with inset Larimar inlay in stem
http://www.hackmanwoodturning.com/images/HackmanBilliardSml.jpg

Semi rusticated Poker with inset Larimar inlay in stem
http://www.hackmanwoodturning.com/images/HackmanPokerSml.jpg

[Rick Markham]

Too cool Scott! I'm not familiar with the foredom tool. In lieu of not having a ground chamber bit, and a tormek to grind with (I don't feel like spending hours grinding a spade bit into shape.) I drill the chamber with a 1/2" twist bit, then widen it to final diameter with a forstner bit of appropriate diameter, making sure not to leave a little ledge at the bottom, then make the transition with my hollowing rig. (I know I know, it's a lot of work for something a bit can do, so I will be investing in a set of bits.)

The order of operations really makes all the difference in the world. I too remove 2 of the 4 jaws to hold the stummel. I will drill the draught hole first, then make the mortise, clean up the face of the stem, then turn it round (leaving it about the diameter of my stem stock) At that point I go back to the stem stock, turn an appropriate tenon, clean the face up, and fit it to the stummel. I will then pull up the tailstock to support both pieces and turn the stummel and stem together to approximately final size. I then remove the stem, flip the piece to the bowl side and drill my holes (I check progress as I reach my measurements from laying out the pipe until it just reaches the bottom of the draught hole, I then finish the chamber as described above. The bowl face is then cut true or relieved and the top half of the bowl is shaped (roughly) Then it's hand shaping. (which by the way is actually the fun part)

I've learned a few things in the first couple, fitting the stem early is important, as it needs to be a tight fit, and if you are fitting with the shank too thin the briar will split on you, then you have to start over. drilling the draught hole with a tapered bit first is easier than drilling the tobacco chamber first! I make all of my measurements on the block and mark my bits before I start, I drill before a true the face being drilled (I measured with an untrue surface, truing the surface before drilling will ruin your measurements.) It pays to have two chucks one for the stummel and one for the stem. Don't be afraid to switch between the two to get the fit perfect. Keeping the stummel in the chuck until you are positively sure it's time to change axis or it's finished is a MUST, resetting the piece is possible, but a headache for sure! I hope you continue to try Scott, I think the hand shaping thing will come pretty quick for you!

Carl, those are some sweet looking pipes!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Dang that had to hurt. Hate that. Gloves are not a good idea especially when you catch them in the burr. Don't ask me how I know but bad words were said.:mad:

[David DeCristoforo]

They say that familiarity breads contempt and that can be dangerous. But unfamiliarity can be just as dangerous. And underestimating the power a "small" tool can generate is not uncommon. The Foredom tool either has a 1/6 or 1/3 HP motor. Plenty to overpower a strong grip. I'm often surprised at the force generated by my dinky Dremel tool.

I am truly sorry to hear of your mishap, Scott. I hate it when that happens and it's happened to me often enough that I know how it feels both physically and mentally. I also would like to thank you for not posting a gory picture! I hate looking at injures almost as much as getting them! Fortunately, fingernails grow back. Go have a beer. Or maybe you can sooth your soul with a few of those Twinkies...

[Scott Hackler]

It on when it happened the second time. Yes you read that right! No blood, per se, but tender any way.

I took two of the jaws off and turned the bowl and stem on two axis. Worked pretty good doing that way. I will be trying more scrap to refine processes. I watched a "How is it made" episode on TV and they were showing pipe making. Very interesting indeed. I will be turning plenty of sycamore and various scrap before I attempt a piece of briar!

I did notice the factory shaping the bowls and stem joints with a contour belt sander. Hmmmm..?.

[Carl Hackman]

Carl, those are some sweet looking pipes!

Thanks Scott :)


I did notice the factory shaping the bowls and stem joints with a contour belt sander. Hmmmm..?.

Factories can afford large slack belt sanders for final shaping but we single man operations usually grab a motor (1750 rpm) and a flexible sanding disc for our final shaping once the turning is finished, starting at around 80 grit and going through the grits to approximately 600 grit before any staining is done etc. If rusticating then 240 grit will suffice as the final grit. Also when sanding the shank make sure that the stem is fitted to the stummel to ensure that the transition between shank and stem is seamless. It is really easy to misshape the shank if you try sanding without the stem attached. The main thing is taking your time. The quickest and easiest part of carving a pipe is the lathe portion. The longest part of carving a pipe is the sanding ;)

Once shaped and stained (sand back the stain until it looks as if you are back to the natural briar - the grain will keep the stain and make it pop. We usually use an alcohol based stain such as a leather stain which we burn as soon as it is applied to fix the stain). Then buff the pipe (stem attached) with Tripoli, White Diamond and Finally Carnauba wax. Don't use any other finish as it can cause toxic gasses when the pipe is in use. Don't put any finish in the chamber etc.

[Rick Markham]

Scott, that Hmmmm is something I thought as well! How it's made is one of my favorite shows. That was the Dunhill pipe factory (now go look and see how much some of those go for.) It's amazing to me to see how quickly some of those artists can shape a pipe, I think the slack sander is the ultimate way to go. A french wheel (like Carl described) is another way too. There are quite a few slack sanders and knife makers sanders out there (which is another aspect I've pondered) most are insanely expensive. There are a few other options though that I am exploring, one is a company that makes a very nice slack sander that isn't powered itself but comes with a pulley. A creative guy would figure out a clever way to attach a pulley instead of handwheel on their lathe and they could run the sander VS.

[Marvin Hasenak]

On one of the knife forums there is a breakdown of turning a 4x36 table sander into a 2x48 sander. Basically a little welding, a 4" caster wheel from Northern Tool is all that was done to it. A little prayer and luck might also help a little. I have the link somewhere if anyone is interested send me PM and I will look for it.

[Mark Hubl]

Scott,

Glad your not hurt too serious. Our dah moments can be scary. Those big hairy carbide cutters are grabby to say the least. May want to consider a dowel jam in the burl for shaping, little more to hold on too. Also you may want to check out Klingspor flap sanders for sanding, not good for shaping but make final sanding a whole lot easier.

Heal fast, want to see some pipe success.

P.S. Nice pipes Carl.

[Carl Hackman]

A creative guy would figure out a clever way to attach a pulley instead of handwheel on their lathe and they could run the sander VS.

Mmmm I like that idea Rick. I have seen a company that provides various lengths and grits of abrasive loops. All you would need is to fix a pulley and spindle to the floor add a pulley to the outboard part of the lathe spindle and you would have a variable speed slack belt sander ;)


Scott,P.S. Nice pipes Carl.

Thanks Mark :)

[Ronald Campbell]

Scott that sounds to painful.:mad:

[steven carter]

Scott,

Sorry about the nail, I am glad it wasn't any worse!

Steve

[Scott Hackler]

Thanks for the sympathy. It's a lot more than I got from my wife! :)

It's not as sore today so no biggie. I am just glad the Foredom I have is foot pedal controlled. It's amazing how quick you take your foot off the "gas" when your carving your finger!

[Kathy Marshall]

Ouch Scott! Hope it heals up quick!
I've only used the big burr a couple of times and it can kick back quick and easily when you catch an edge in the wrong direction. My little home made carving stand works great to hold the piece so I can have both hands on the tool when using an aggressive cutter, then if it should catch or kick back, my hands are safely behind the tool tip.

I look forward to seeing a completed pipe when you're all healed up!