smoking pipes

[gary n.]

Has anyone considered the possibility of cutting a smoking pipe on a 4th axis? Is it possible? Could it be cut from a solid blank?

[TReischl]

Depends on what the pipe looks like.

But if you are thinking like a Mearschaum (sp?) then the answer is no if you wanted to carve the whole thing.

BUT, what could be done is carve the vast majority of it. Especially if you understand you cannot get into undercut areas and you break it down into the bowl and stem. Most pipe makers buy their stems, right? I would think you are primarily interested in carving cool bowls?

Sounds like a very cool project! Never smoked a pipe myself but they are fun to look at, especially really ornate ones.

[garylmast]

I was surprised I found so many free ones you can download. Once downloaded you will need to split it using a different program then Aspire. I used Netfabb. Then do a double sided job, then glue them together once machined. I attached the stl file if that can be useful to you.

Gary

[Leo]

I was thinking a 2 halves design, before I read the last post. That opens a vast array of possibilities.

[gary n.]

It looks to me as though if the pipe were turning slowly on a 4th axis(cnc lathe) that a 2-sided approach would not be necessary. And that as long as the stem was not a curvy "S" shape or similar that it could be done. What am I missing?

[garylmast]

The problem using a rotary is the shape may or may not come out right. The hole will definitely be beveled. You can take it on a drill press and drill the holes out and you will also need a very long and small drill bit to go down the shaft. Doing a double sided job seem a lot easier and will probably come out better.

Gary

[TReischl]

If all you are going for is looks then the double sided approach will work well. Though wrapping a design across two halves gets a little problematic.

The kind of pipe I was thinking about is one of those that I have seen with stuff like mermaids on the bowl, a ship's captain, dragons, etc.

The other issue I see with two sided pipes is if they are going to be used, most glues do not react well with heat and a pipe gets hot.

I was thinking more like a bowl with a small stem sticking out for inserting the rest of the whatever ya call it that people stick in their mouths. I would probably drill the bowl first, then the stem on a block of wood. I would use the drilled out bowl to locate it on the headstock (think turn a boss) and then bring up the tailstock.

Challenging project that is for sure.

[dealguy11]

You could do it as a double sided job, or an any-sided job for that matter on the rotary, using the rotary as an indexer rather than a rotary lathe. Cut one side, flip 180 degrees with gcode, cut the other side, flip 90 degrees, drill the hole. As long as the pipe isn't too big, your machine can cut away from the centerline, and your rotary has enough power to hold it still while it cuts, it should work. Has to be a pretty stout rotary stepper to hold it still, though.

[gary n.]

Thanks for the comments and feedback. After thinking about it, I am thinking that the easiest approach may be cutting it as an indexing job on a 4th axis. A 5 axis machine would probably cut it, but that is probably a bigger investment than this individual would want to make. If this project gets engineered, I will try to make some pics available.