Two friends of mine that are also pipe collectors asked me to make them a new pipe to add to their collections.

Finished Horn

The horn pipe I was working on has turned out very nice.

Horn almost done

The horn pipe is much closer now to being finished. All that is left now is hand sanding the pipe to its final shape and finishing the stem.

The pipe will then be ready for stain and polishing.

All of this hopefully will be completed by tomorrow.

Horn pipe shaping up nicely

With the stem now attached, I have only to finish refining the shape.

Horn in Progress

I have a bad case of A.D.D and more than a few of my pipe maker friends know this. I have a hard time making one pipe at a time. This is not a good thing since now there are about 15 pipes ready to be finished sitting on my workbench.
Most of these pipes have only minor things left to be done. Some of these pipes need only to have a stem made. Some pipes just need a final coat of stain or an end cap attached.
I always know my mind has wandered again when I look up from the shaping wheel and see the unfinished pipes sitting on the bench.
I am shaping yet another pipe and the shame is overwhelming.

This happened again to me last night around five o'clock.

I was sitting at my work bench hand sanding a pipe when all of a sudden a block of briar laying on the table in front of me started to take my attention away from the pipe I was working on.
This block of briar was calling to me to make it into a horn. Without realizing what had happened at the time, I put down the pipe that was so close to being done and began to shape a horn.
After the pipe was roughed out on the shaping wheel I cleaned it up a little and took this photo.
I know this will make a beautiful horn pipe once the drilling is done and the shaping is refined.

But at what cost do I do these things?

When God gives you small blocks?

You make small pipes!

This block of briar could not have been more than 3 inches long by 2 1/2 inches tall. I almost put the block aside but the grain of this small piece of briar told me to start carving.
There is still much to be done but when it is finished it will make someone a nice " little" pipe.

Pipes in progress Nov 29, 2010

Blowfish in progress.
I love working with the cross cut briar. The blocks offer a great deal of choices for creativity.