Rustic Girls
 


 

How to Make a Classic Tobacco Smoking Pipe

Rustic Home > Fun > Homemade Tobacco Pipe
 
 
Old Fashioned Wooden Tobacco Pipe      

Pipe smoking goes back to ancient times, but the first documented evidence for it was during the Dark Ages when the Irish people invented the "dudeen," which is a short clay pipe. Smoking a pipe has the lowest risk of health problems out of all forms of tobacco products (although we do not encourage anyone to start smoking). Perhaps you would like to make your own old-fashioned tobacco pipe. This article explains how you can.

First, you will need a seasoned limb from a cherry tree, the diameter of which should be the size of your pipe bowl. Cherry is the best type of wood to use for a pipe, but hard maple or plum will also work. Make sure that whatever type of wood you choose has been seasoned for at least two or three months.

Cut a section from a cherry tree limb that is about six inches long. Mark it to the length of the pipe bowl you want plus 1/2 inch to allow for the pipe stem. To mark it with the bark on, simply cut two lines about 1/8 of an inch apart around the entire circumference of the limb and then remove that small strip of bark. Do not saw the bowl from this piece yet, you will need to clamp it so you can drill out the center of the bowl first.

Begin the hole for the bowl with the tip of an ice pick or a knife, being careful to keep it centered. Then select a small diameter bit to drill a pilot hole with. Wrap a small piece of tape around the bit for a depth gauge after measuring against the side how deep you want your bowl to be. Remember not to drill into the 1/2 inch pipe stem portion at the bottom.

Now clamp the section below the bowl into a vice, or use a C-clamp to fasten it to a solid object. Drill the hole as straight as possible, stopping at the tape on the bit. Then use progressively larger bits that are taped at the right depth to enlarge the hole to your satisfaction.

Next, you will need to drill the hole for the pipe stem. After the bowl has been drilled, measure the depth on the outside at the spot where you want the stem. Mark it about 1/4 inch higher than the bottom of the bowl. Start the hole there with an ice pick or the tip of a knife. Then select a small pilot bit. Clamp the section below the bowl and drill it at a 90 degree angle, being careful to stop at the depth of the bowl side. Now enlarge the hole to 5/16 or 3/8 of an inch.

The next step is to saw the bowl carefully out of the section of wood, making sure to leave enough wood below the stem hole for strength. Simply shape it to the type of bowl you would like.

To make a pipe stem, you can use a section of elderberry branch. Since elderberry has a pith that can be easily removed with a wire, it is perfect for a pipe stem. Just choose a branch of the proper length and diameter. Catalpa and Ash are also woods that have a pith and will make good pipe stems.

Simply insert the pipe stem into the stem hole and your old-fashioned tobacco pipe is ready to go. To add to the smoking experience, you can put on your favorite smoking jacket and slippers and relax with a good book or maybe even contemplate a difficult physics problem. - By Jason Earls

Comment Script

Post this page to: del.icio.us Yahoo! MyWeb Digg reddit Furl Blinklist Spurl

Comments

briar
um...cherry wood isn't at all the best pipe making wood.. briar is.
#13 - dave - 07/20/2008 - 04:54
davidcagesawyer@googlemail.com
Hi, could anyone tell me of a company, that would buy a Old Cherry Tree, that needs to be cut down.(Quite Large). Would be grateful
Thanks Dave
#12 - David Sawyer - 07/16/2008 - 08:18
Awesome Idea
Thanks for that idea Jon, because here I was planing on making the stem out of seperate pieces to get the desired length... Im still wondering how I got some state aword in design... lol!
#11 - Mr X - 07/06/2008 - 10:29
sofisticated
yes, well i just went into my woods grabbed a branch and started carving. itis really long. anyway u take a saw cut it in half and carve a v in each side glue er back together and use a drill to make a bowl then smoke whatever
#10 - bob - 06/16/2008 - 17:14
question
Hello everyone, I just wondered if you should carve the pipe before or after the wood has seasoned.
Thank you
#9 - JW - 05/21/2008 - 17:40
Thanks, I will try it.
#8 - Hickory - 05/11/2008 - 12:06
=)
I like the idea of making a pipe in wood!
#7 - Elttil - 03/30/2008 - 12:07
ive made pipes from on solid piece of ash.
find yourself a branch with a fork in it. the branch must be a larger than the bowl to be and the fork of of that should be about 3/8th to 1/2 inch in diameter.
once a section of brach has grown over an inch the pith becomes hard, so dont worry about a pith hole in the bottom of your bowl. the forked stem piece should still be small enough to have a good pith.
cut the stem of about a 1/2 longer than you would like untill the bark is off and the final shape of the pipe is finished just bore out your bowl and use a wire either hot or could, or even in a drill to remove the pith from the stem. use rasp and rattail fiels to rough in the shape and then finish with sandpaper and your coice of finish.
i made a 11" long churchwarden this way, by steaming the stem to shape.
#6 - matt - 03/13/2008 - 16:54
blazzin
forget a pipe just get you a poster role and make a huge steam roller
#5 - pothead - 03/07/2008 - 11:09
Another Pipe material
Also, you might try a solid peice of antler for a stem. You can use antler for a bowl as well, but to prevent undesirable fumes, coat the interior of the bowl with beeswax.:-)
#4 - Bryan - 01/17/2008 - 02:12
elderberry safe
elderberry isn't poisonous when used as pipe stem. It's been used forever for this. it can be poisonous if you try to eat the leaves or roots or even a whole branck
#3 - Bill - 10/25/2007 - 14:27
copper poisonous
i wouldnt use that copper pipe,it is poisonous and very unsafe>-(
#2 - buck - 10/16/2007 - 00:42
Wow ^_^
This is good ^_^ Me and my friends are going to try this, we made a copper smoking pipe today, but a good old fashioned wood one is brilliant!
#1 - Kayleigh - 09/09/2007 - 16:10
Stem wood
I have heard that elder is no good for pipe stems - apparently it's poisonous, see http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Sambuca.htm
I use ash, it's also a lot stronger than elder. The pith is harder to remove though - I burn it out (slowly) with a wire heated up in a blow torch.
Green semi-ripe stems seem to give the best smoke. The hot wire helps to dry them out.
#0 - jon - 09/09/2007 - 15:59
Name
Title
Comment
;-) :-) :-D :-( :-o >-( B-) :oops: :-[] :-P
To prevent automated Bots form spamming, please enter the text you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.



Related tags:Do it Yourself

Rustic Girls Home

Webkinz Cheats
2008 RusticGirls.com