First time restoration attempt. How'd I do?

racinghoss
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Fr_Tom wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:10 pm
racinghoss wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:06 pm Maybe I should send it to Fr_Tom and let him build up a good rim cake! That'd hide the nicks!
I am NOT a fan of the topped bowl. If I can tell it has been topped, it bothers me. Having said that I have bought a few knowing that they had been topped by a drunk monkey from the pictures. Rimcake will hide a lot of damage, and once I can't see the topped bowl, the memory of it gets slowly erased from the memory banks.
Yes Sir, I hear ya! The pics don't really show it well, but it looked like a boy scout took a few hacks at it with a hatchet. It was bad and couldn't stay that way.
racinghoss
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MikeDennison wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:20 pm Great job, sir! Looks fantastic!
Thanks!
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Fr_Tom
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racinghoss wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:23 pm
Fr_Tom wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:10 pm
racinghoss wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:06 pm Maybe I should send it to Fr_Tom and let him build up a good rim cake! That'd hide the nicks!
I am NOT a fan of the topped bowl. If I can tell it has been topped, it bothers me. Having said that I have bought a few knowing that they had been topped by a drunk monkey from the pictures. Rimcake will hide a lot of damage, and once I can't see the topped bowl, the memory of it gets slowly erased from the memory banks.
Yes Sir, I hear ya! The pics don't really show it well, but it looked like a boy scout took a few hacks at it with a hatchet. It was bad and couldn't stay that way.
My father used to bash his out on rocks, steel ash trays, etc. They took a lot of bashing and acquired some character. He was not concerned about resale.
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Mr Beardsley
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Fr_Tom wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:10 pm
racinghoss wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:06 pm Maybe I should send it to Fr_Tom and let him build up a good rim cake! That'd hide the nicks!
I am NOT a fan of the topped bowl. If I can tell it has been topped, it bothers me. Having said that I have bought a few knowing that they had been topped by a drunk monkey from the pictures. Rimcake will hide a lot of damage, and once I can't see the topped bowl, the memory of it gets slowly erased from the memory banks.
Not too long ago I was eyeballing a tinderbox unique pot that had a topped bowl. It was bothering me that the pipe was essentially 3 colors since the rim was just left raw so I finally messaged the seller and asked. He verified that it was topped and I saved $32 by passing on it.

On topic : looks good! Hout already covered whatever issues that may still exist.
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Tsal
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Nice handy work!
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Tsal
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houtenziel wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:57 pm
racinghoss wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:32 pm Lessons learned:

I burned a spot. I'm sure you'll point it out.
I left the minor tooth chatter untouched. I should've tried the candle trick. After all, this was an experiment to learn on.

Question:. Would restaining it have covered the numerous fills?
Looks a whole heck of a lot better! Great job. Restaining would lessen how much you see them, but you'd have to use a stain that was pretty dark to get them to disappear entirely. If the rim damage bothers you, you could put some sand paper around a block of wood, top the pipe a tad, and then bevel the inner rim with a piece of sand paper.
The only other thing I can offer is on the stem - I think everyone rounds the edge of the stem that meets the shank their first few times. To prevent this you can sand with the shank masked off, or you can do what I d0, and find a couple thin plastic washers that I put over the tenon and stick back into the pipe. Even an old bread bag plastic clip thing works well(actually I still use them sometimes).
Like so:
Image
this is a great tip! I rounded the stem on my old English made Pete prince. :twisted: it sends my OCD through the roof, I won't smoke it.
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racinghoss
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I'm not concerned with resale either. This was a pipe to learn on, and I have...and I continue to learn more from the tips you've all shared. I'll smoke it, topped, and enjoy it.
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Mr Beardsley
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racinghoss wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:46 pm I'm not concerned with resale either. This was a pipe to learn on, and I have...and I continue to learn more from the tips you've all shared. I'll smoke it, topped, and enjoy it.
Speaking for myself, I'm OK with a mildly topped bowl if it's needed. The one I was looking at was pretty majorly topped and then the inner and outer edges of the rim were left sharp with no stain, no wax, no nothing. As a matter of fact you could see the sanding marks. It was just horrible to look at. Considering this is your first one and giving the rim edges a little bevel has already been mentioned and noted, you've done a damn fine job
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Johnny
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I think you did great, man! :thumbs:
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Kevin Keith
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It looks great. DO NOT top it. If you think you don't like the nicks, just wait till you top it. They never look right after that. Those nicks are battle scars and something to be proud of!
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