A Dead Ordinary Billiard

[DGErwin11]

Sasquatch thesis on Billiards https://pipesmokersforum.com/community/threads/a-dead-ordinary-billiard.10910/
I copied the first post. I don't think we can move the whole thread over.


I posted this series of pictures elsewhere as an attempt to help newer carvers understand what a billiard needs to look like, some of the standard things to look for.

A billiard has some mathematical relations that make it look "right". You still need to make a nice looking pipe on top of this but understanding the basic proportions of the pipe helps.

Basically, relating only to itself, a billiard is a pipe with a fairly "tight" bowl, approximately 4 times as high as the shank is thick. The height of the bowl measured from the shank should be about the same as the length of the shank, measured from the bowl. The total length of the stummel, the bowl diameter + the shank should be equal to the stem length.

So.... we mark out a block. The drilling is going to be at about 3 degrees beyond 90 - if you build a pipe at 90 degrees it looks awful. So we cant the bowl forward a bit. In my case, I just literally cut the block so that the front and back ends are at 3 degrees - whenever I seat it in a vise or a chuck, the angle is there.

In the chuck, starting to have a shape:

Now I have bevelled the inside of the rim - this makes the pipe look lighter up front. Stem material is roughly shaped and the tenon is cut to fit.

At this stage, the new billiard-maker will stop, fearing he hits the chamber or something - keep going! This is not a billiard yet! It's a big ugly lumpy fist thing!

Tons of material has come off the bottom "chin" - now it looks a bit like a billiard. Notice that the bowl does NOT dip below the line of the shank. This is what we big time famous pipe makers call a "nono".

Et Voila!
Tons of material has come off the bottom "chin" - now it looks a bit like a billiard. Notice that the bowl does NOT dip below the line of the shank. This is what we big time famous pipe makers call a "nono".

Et Voila!

So at the end of the day, we want to see a nice tight joint between the bowl and the shank, we want the shank to taper just a little, the stem to taper more than that. The bowl is softly curved but not "fat".

Easy as pie after about.... #25 or so.

 

[Sir Saartan]

Thanx for moving this here.

@DGErwin11
@Maddis
@Sasquatch

I have a question about that pipe in the pictures:

I doesn't have a straight grain, but rather a curly kind of grain I referr to as a "cloudy grain" in lack of better words.
Now my understanding is that people are mostly looking for straight grain, and are willing to pay big coin for it.

I don't really have any information about this kind of grain in that picture. In most pipes, I like that cloudy grain
much better. sure, it usually needs special contrast stain to really come out and shine, but when it does it looks
just great.

Is it considered a inferior grain, and if so: why?
If it's considered a desireable grain: what is it called? and why isn't anybody talking about it?

 

[darth finster]

Thanx for moving this here.

@DGErwin11
@Maddis
@Sasquatch

I have a question about that pipe in the pictures:

I doesn't have a straight grain, but rather a curly kind of grain I referr to as a "cloudy grain" in lack of better words.
Now my understanding is that people are mostly looking for straight grain, and are willing to pay big coin for it.

I don't really have any information about this kind of grain in that picture. In most pipes, I like that cloudy grain
much better. sure, it usually needs special contrast stain to really come out and shine, but when it does it looks
just great.

Is it considered a inferior grain, and if so: why?
If it's considered a desireable grain: what is it called? and why isn't anybody talking about it?

You do hear about it, and it is considered desirable, it just seems you're unfamiliar with the term. It's called birdseye, and is actually the exposed ends of the grain in the briar...on a typical vertically oriented straight grain you'll find the birdseye on the top and bottom of the bowl and perhaps even the shank. It really depends on how the block and pipe are cut. Straight grain is still typically considered more desirable as consistent, bold, tight straight grain is rare.

 

[Sir Saartan]

You do hear about it, and it is considered desirable, it just seems you're unfamiliar with the term. It's called birdseye, and is actually the exposed ends of the grain in the briar...on a typical vertically oriented straight grain you'll find the birdseye on the top and bottom of the bowl and perhaps even the shank. It really depends on how the block and pipe are cut. Straight grain is still typically considered more desirable as consistent, bold, tight straight grain is rare.

Thank you Sir.

Yes, I've heard the term "birdseye" but thought it to be a certain kind of the "cloudy grain".

Now for me - being half italian - rarity doesn't matter as much as beauty does. So you guys can keep your straight grain, if I can have the
beautiful birdseye pieces.

 

[Sasquatch]

Yeah, think of wood as being made up of tiny straws, and if you see the side of the straws it's straight grain, and if you see the end of the straws it's birdseye, and if you see them at 45" it's flame grain.

 

[User9]

Sasquatch thesis on Billiardshttps://pipesmokersforum.com/community/threads/a-dead-ordinary-billiard.10910/
I copied the first post. I don't think we ca move the whole thread over.


I posted this series of pictures elsewhere as an attempt to help newer carvers understand what a billiard needs to look like, some of the standard things to look for.

A billiard has some mathematical relations that make it look "right". You still need to make a nice looking pipe on top of this but understanding the basic proportions of the pipe helps.

Basically, relating only to itself, a billiard is a pipe with a fairly "tight" bowl, approximately 4 times as high as the shank is thick. The height of the bowl measured from the shank should be about the same as the length of the shank, measured from the bowl. The total length of the stummel, the bowl diameter + the shank should be equal to the stem length.

So.... we mark out a block. The drilling is going to be at about 3 degrees beyond 90 - if you build a pipe at 90 degrees it looks awful. So we cant the bowl forward a bit. In my case, I just literally cut the block so that the front and back ends are at 3 degrees - whenever I seat it in a vise or a chuck, the angle is there.

In the chuck, starting to have a shape:

Now I have bevelled the inside of the rim - this makes the pipe look lighter up front. Stem material is roughly shaped and the tenon is cut to fit.

At this stage, the new billiard-maker will stop, fearing he hits the chamber or something - keep going! This is not a billiard yet! It's a big ugly lumpy fist thing!

Tons of material has come off the bottom "chin" - now it looks a bit like a billiard. Notice that the bowl does NOT dip below the line of the shank. This is what we big time famous pipe makers call a "nono".

Et Voila!
Tons of material has come off the bottom "chin" - now it looks a bit like a billiard. Notice that the bowl does NOT dip below the line of the shank. This is what we big time famous pipe makers call a "nono".

Et Voila!

So at the end of the day, we want to see a nice tight joint between the bowl and the shank, we want the shank to taper just a little, the stem to taper more than that. The bowl is softly curved but not "fat".

Easy as pie after about.... #25 or so.




So at the end of the day, we want to see a nice tight joint between the bowl and the shank, we want the shank to taper just a little, the stem to taper more than that. The bowl is softly curved but not "fat".

Easy as pie after about.... #25 or so.

@DGErwin11 .. thanks for posting this here.

 

[User9]

Yeah, think of wood as being made up of tiny straws, and if you see the side of the straws it's straight grain, and if you see the end of the straws it's birdseye, and if you see them at 45" it's flame grain.

@Sasquatch .. thanks for writing the original post, it's very informative.

 

[Sir Saartan]

Yeah, think of wood as being made up of tiny straws, and if you see the side of the straws it's straight grain, and if you see the end of the straws it's birdseye, and if you see them at 45" it's flame grain.

Thanx.

BTW I was reading in the Pipemakersforum about how to do a contrast stain... So yesterday, I got a bunch of samples of water based stain and went to work. We'll see tonight how it worked with the first coat.

 

[Russ H.]

Timeless--the original post is absolutely timeless. The man knows how to nail--literally nail traditional shapes. Shapes that for me truly define what the pipes that many knew from the early years looked like and should still look like. The "Billiard" is just that--timeless and never boring yet simple looking in aesthetics and a shape that is a favorite by many.
The thread was one that needed saved and moved. Thanks for doing it to all those involved.

 

[Calvinandpipe]

I agree that the man knows how to make a pipe. However, I can't say much for his tastes in clothing. Is that a pink shirt?

 

[Lionman]

Yeah, think of wood as being made up of tiny straws, and if you see the side of the straws it's straight grain, and if you see the end of the straws it's birdseye, and if you see them at 45" it's flame grain.

Sas,
Is flame grain the same as quartersawn? Just wanting to make sure I understand. Quatersawn oak produces a pattern many refer to as tiger oak.

 

[Sasquatch]

Quartersawn oak (or anything) occurs when the log is cut perpendicular to the growth rings. (If you run a log through a mill, the cuts in the middle of the log are quarter sawn, the cuts on the edge of the log are flat sawn). So in a technical sense, one side of "straight grain oak" would be quarter-sawn. Or put another way, on a piece of plateau briar, where the growth rings are radial (like a tree) compared to the cut, you could call the best cuts of plateau quarter sawn. Funny to think of it that way. The growth rings in oak (or fir) are really noticeable compared to the rest of the grain, where in briar it's the xylem that we are usually staining for effect (growth rings being shown up with sandblasting).


Here's a pipe where you can see the growth rings (horizontal) and the xylem (vertical).

 

[Lionman]

@Sasquatch
Thank you for the explanation. The photo is a remarkable example. I’ve seen blasted examples referred to as ring grain that I have admired, but that smooth is to die for, it is absolutely gorgeous.

 

[jpberg]

Quartersawn oak (or anything) occurs when the log is cut perpendicular to the growth rings. (If you run a log through a mill, the cuts in the middle of the log are quarter sawn, the cuts on the edge of the log are flat sawn). So in a technical sense, one side of "straight grain oak" would be quarter-sawn. Or put another way, on a piece of plateau briar, where the growth rings are radial (like a tree) compared to the cut, you could call the best cuts of plateau quarter sawn. Funny to think of it that way. The growth rings in oak (or fir) are really noticeable compared to the rest of the grain, where in briar it's the xylem that we are usually staining for effect (growth rings being shown up with sandblasting).


Here's a pipe where you can see the growth rings (horizontal) and the xylem (vertical).

That is one ugly pipe.

 

[Sasquatch]

That is one ugly pipe.

Guy who owns it lacks judgment, so it's a fair trade.

 

[jpberg]

Guy who owns it lacks judgment, so it's a fair trade.

Fair smoker though.

 

[Sasquatch]

I agree that the man knows how to make a pipe. However, I can't say much for his tastes in clothing. Is that a pink shirt?

That shirt, which I still have, is now 20 years old, it's one of the original "Brush Popper" shirts, thick as tent cloth. Got it free one time when my wallet was stolen. A weird tale.

 

[davidbeinct]

Fair smoker though.
View attachment 2165

Nice picture. That would’ve blasted up real nice.

 

[Russ H.]

Quartersawn oak (or anything) occurs when the log is cut perpendicular to the growth rings. (If you run a log through a mill, the cuts in the middle of the log are quarter sawn, the cuts on the edge of the log are flat sawn). So in a technical sense, one side of "straight grain oak" would be quarter-sawn. Or put another way, on a piece of plateau briar, where the growth rings are radial (like a tree) compared to the cut, you could call the best cuts of plateau quarter sawn. Funny to think of it that way. The growth rings in oak (or fir) are really noticeable compared to the rest of the grain, where in briar it's the xylem that we are usually staining for effect (growth rings being shown up with sandblasting).


Here's a pipe where you can see the growth rings (horizontal) and the xylem (vertical).

That right there is an absolute work of art--good gawd--if that pipe doesn't make you foam at the mouth---WOW--

 

[Russ H.]

As a matter of fact I’ll go as far to say that pipe makes my——uhhh—-tongue hard.