Making Draw Tubes... Flower Quince?

TommyDee

Vaporitor
Rosewood aroma. very strong on the lathe.

About sealing; no, the hint I got from the Dynastem thread, the 'sealing' process in the 'smoke room'... something I remember. Didn't make sense before because FQ doesn't have nearly the aroma of most tree samples. Maple, for instance, is a very neutral scent.

This rosewood was kiln dried so it is stable. And since I don't line the stem, they need seasoning like any good pipe. There is no way I could endure the seasoning process without a dose of out-gassing, which is what this sealing process really is. What's the right formula? Don't know but 4 hours at 150F did a world of good on this stem. Haven't put the Shellac on it yet. It is impressive as a stem though.

Several Shellackings later... WOW :p

 
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stark1

Lonesome Planet
You my modest friend are the fabricator par excellence! Each time we blink, you come up with
Something new.

Are you keeping up with the influx of new IH coming out these daze, or are you proudly using your flat pack?
 
stark1,

stark1

Lonesome Planet
You my modest friend are the fabricator par excellence! Like the old time Dutch masters.
 
stark1,

TommyDee

Vaporitor
I am very happy with my own creation. Yet there is a few more to go. and I only need one... er, 2 ... unless - maybe - yea three should be plenty.
 

stark1

Lonesome Planet
Drumroll.

TD, I very much like your flowering quince legends.

Hove you thought about turning meerschaum, with a similar sheen to your stems.


 
stark1,

stark1

Lonesome Planet
While metal is good for durability, I love the feel of wood.

:myday:HMU when you start producing wooden stems like your quince for the masses.

 
stark1,

TommyDee

Vaporitor
I ordered some Cherry wood to play with. I have a request for a 4" version.

I'm getting skunked out of my FQ season. We've had 4 days of rain this season. The FQ is too dry to process. I need saturated bark.
 

stark1

Lonesome Planet
100+ degrees along the West Coast, and the vegetation is dry as tinder this
Labor Day Weekend. Hope the winds don’t pick up too much tomorrow. 💥 :p

Stay Safe.
 

stark1

Lonesome Planet
A buck ten in LA, today

You do know you can get pen blanks. Wood. Acrylic. Perhaps even FQ

Quill you make some
 
stark1,

Planck

believes in Dog
Hey Tommy, about kiln dried woods;
Wood is hygroscopic and that is that. It will always respond to relative humidity regardless of how it was "dried". Kiln drying is a process that allow wood to be dried to a usable moisture content as quickly as possible, nothing more. Air drying, rule of thumb is at least 1 year/inch of thickness.

In my experience air dried wood is mostly free of internal stresses and kiln dried wood is not. I've had poorly kiln dried wood that was done poorly that was essentially unusable. Given the choice I would always pick air dried over kiln dried. It looks better, it smells better, it is more stable, it machines better too. Compare air dried walnut to kiln dried walnut, the difference is clear and astonishing.

In case you are out of rabbit holes the USDA is a tremendous data source about wood and wood processing.

Cheers. :)
 

Planck

believes in Dog
I'm glad my ramblings are of some use. :wave:

Perhaps you have some species in your area that could be harvested for stems. Big leaf (soft) maple perhaps?

I should add that like walnut the true beauty of American cherry is also seriously compromised by kiln drying.
 
Planck,

stark1

Lonesome Planet
Have your FQ stems survived the heat test?

Because the heat tends to dry out the tip of the stem, they fail, and crack.

Thus, the metal caps, for reenforcement.
 
stark1,

TommyDee

Vaporitor
@stark1 - with flying colors. The super-fine grain makes for super-fine binding bonds. It is not something that seems to decompose.

I think the difference is the associated shrinkage. When the FQ stems cracks, like my original DD did with a rolled o-ring on the '20 tip (killed two stems!), the split didn't recede the remaining bulk. In other words, there are no internal stresses to facilitate the propensity to crack.

Thanks for reminding me to get providence @Planck - Seller forwarded this...
Hello,
Those blanks are air dried. The region would be Appalachian mtns.
s-l400.jpg
 
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