Reply by fatandy2003

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I have found that the best woods to choose for the stummel (shank and bowl) are 1) non-toxic when burning and 2) of a dense hardwood with tight grain, the more “inter-twined” the grain the better it seems to be at heat disipation to the hands.

For anyone nervous about the skills it takes to make a pipe, you could look into a pipe kit like those sold on Amazon and ebay. These kits have the hard parts done for you: drilling the holes and fitting the stem to the stummel. They only require your creativity in shaping them. Or, you could dry out a piece of corn cob, drill 2 holes, drill a hole through a dowel and shove it in the cob…

Another great resource is www.pipedia.org

Should be fun. Looking forward to the swap!

Cheers,

-- -- Andy, “Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it” - Thomas Paine