Wooden Pipe

In this project I will show you how to make a functional wooden pipe that can be used for smoking or as a prop.

There are some great pipe making resources out there; here are some pages I referenced: pipedia, wikipedia, and WAMO.

Wood- I used walnut, oak, purple heart, maple, and beech

Finish- I used a beeswax finish and spray lacquer

Tools:

Table saw

Band saw

Drill press and forstner bits

Sanders- belt sander, oscillating spindle sander, Dremel sandpaper attachment, loose sandpaper

Router and ogee bit

Pipes come in all shapes and styles. The standard pipe components are the reservoir and the hollow tube leading to the mouth.

The shape directly correlates to the difficulty of the project. If the stem is straight or if the mouthpiece doesn't flatten the project would be much easier and different from the bent billiard pipe I make in this tutorial.

The part of the pipe which includes the chamber and draught hole is called the stummel. It will have the main hole for the reservoir and a hole coming in from the side connecting to the bottom of the reservoir.

The stem is a narrow hollow tube that connects into the stummel/band. It begins rounded and flattens near the end of the mouthpiece.

Lots of pipes have decorative bands which are usually metal but in this case will be wood. This is in between the stummel and the stem.

To connect the 3 components there needs to be a strong joint. I decided to use a dowel with a hole drilled in the center to allow airflow.

This piece will likely need to be 2 pieces of wood glued together as it's pretty large; my block was 2.5" x 2.5" x 5". Sketch out the profile of the pipe you would like on the wood. Next, after squaring up the block, drill a 1" hole (which is relatively large for a pipe) down about 1.25" deep. Then cut off a corner of the block of wood at 50 degrees where the stummel will connect to the other band. Then use this cut off piece to prop up the main block as you drill the drought hole connecting it with the bottom of the reservoir. This main hole should be about 3/16" for good airflow. Next, while the block is in the same position in the drill press, switch to a bit the size of the dowel you will use (3/8" in my case) and drill down about 1/4".

Using a bandsaw cut the profile and top profile of the stummel out being sure to steer clear of the holes you drilled.

With a belt sander clean up the rest of the corners shaping it and making the walls however thin you would like. Make sure that the end you will be joining to the band and stem remains flat. This step takes a fair amount of hand sanding.

I started with a piece of wood about 2.5" x 4" x 1". Making the stem hollow is a slightly tricky challenge. The easiest way to do this is to start by re-sawing the piece of wood you would like to use in half vertically on the bandsaw. Then on each side, using a Dremel, cut a channel symmetrical in each side starting at 3/16" round and ending at an oval that is narrower but deeper. Then, glue these back together, carefully lining up the channel. For the glue-up, leave a pipe cleaner or a piece of twine in the channel to capture any glue squeeze out; remove it once the clamps are in place.

After the glue dries, square up the edges of the block on the table saw and cut the desired angle on the face that will connect to the band/stummel. Next, use the same cut off piece from the stummel to prop up the stem block on the drill press as you drill another hole for the dowel centered on the air hole on the bottom half of the stem.

On the bandsaw cut the profile of the stem.

Using a sander round the corners and get the desired shape making the walls however thin you would like. Make sure the end you will be joining to the stummel/band remains flat. This step also takes a fair amount of hand sanding.

For the decorative band simply cut a circle larger than your stem diameter. Make sure this wood is a good thickness (mine was about 1/4"); the thicker it is the more imperfections it will hide in between the stummel and the stem.

Drill a hole in the band keeping consistent with the dowel diameter.

Cut off a section of a dowel that is the combined height is the depth of the holes in the stummel and the stem as well as the thickness of the band.

Then drill a 3/16" hole all the way through the dowel.

Dry fit the stummel, band, dowel, and stem before gluing; in my case I had to re-drill the dowel hole in the stem because it was offset from center. When gluing, make sure to find a happy balance between enough glue to hold and light enough to not clog the air passage. There was really no way to clamp this; my best bet was to press the components tightly together in my hands for a minute.

Sand the assembled pipe to its final desired shape. Then sand up through the grits finishing with 400.

The finish I used was a food safe homemade mix of mineral oil (*not mineral spirits*) and beeswax. This can be made with 4 parts mineral oil to beeswax by weight heated on the stove stirring to make sure not to burn oil or wax. After it cools it can be wiped on with a rag.

Because of the design the pipe doesn't stand up by itself. I made a simple stand out of beech to keep it upright. It has 1.5" rounded corners with a decorative ogee edge all the way around both cut with the router. Next, using a dremel, sand an indentation for the stummel to rest.

Then, cut and sand out of a smaller piece of wood to make a yoke to keep the stem elevated.

Screw the 2 pieces together from the bottom. Finish the wood with whatever you prefer; spray lacquer gave me a consistent glossy look.

The shape and color of the pipe are modeled after the pipe from the famous painting "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" or "This is not a pipe." by Magritte. My pipe was made as an art project attempting to question art that questioned our beliefs, creating a double negative of disbelief. The irony of this ironic art was that in the process of disproving Magritte's assertion I created a statement expressing it in an artistic way.