Sandblasted Briar

[Herf N Turf]

Someday I'll figure out how to make them really shiny, but for now a dull matte will have to suffice.

Look up "French Polish"

Simply a fantastic effort and a GREAT thread. THanKS! wow

[Bruck]

Look up "French Polish"

Sounds dirty

JK, I'll take a look.

[Bruck]

Latest installment - a billiard that I sanded down and shellacked.



This started out as a "sandblasted" briar, and I have attempted to smooth it out as I prefer that look. Unforch (1) some of the sandblasting artifacts are too deep, so I had to leave them be, otherwise the walls would be to thin overall, and (2) although it's aged well, it's not all that high of quality briar, so there are some cavities in the bowl.

Here's the other side, close up.



No dyeing or other coloring, and coated with clear shellac - several coats of thinned shellac. Sort of like the "French Polish" method that Don, @Herf N Turf , mentions above. Shellacking is considered "cheating" among master pipe finishers, and the quick and dirty way to get a good shine on a cheap pipe, and all I can say is, guilty as charged on both counts, your honor. Thought I'd give it a try, mainly to see if Bullseye shellac stands up to the heat. So far so good, breaking it in with some Esoterica Stonehaven at this time.

[GWBowman]

Looks very nice, Bruce.

[Bruck]

Update - the shellac gets a little tacky when warm, maybe not such a good idea. Or maybe it just needs more time to cure. I'll let it rest a couple weeks before smoking it again.

[Bruck]

Latest pipe refinishing pr0n, a Dublin that I put together for dear daughter's boyfriend. It started out as a sand blasted square Dublin, which I sanded down a bit, retaining some of the relief, bleached white, dyed blue, and carnuba waxed. It still had some black spots, which I think are fills. (these aren't exactly high quality briars to begin with)

Starboard side:



Port side:



And the inside of the bowl, so you can see what bleached briar looks like:



As with about 75% of what I do, this is "experimental," in this case the experiment is hoping that bleaching doesn't degrade the integrity of the wood too badly. And in case you're wondering, yes, I put it thru several soak/rinse cycles to remove all vestiges of bleach from the wood.

[Bruck]

Did a yellow one (not bleached) for a friend in MI. Father of a friend actually, who's been smoking a pipe for as long as I can remember and then some.





The dark spots are fills, but as I've mentioned earlier, they were dirt cheap.

[Bruck]

Latest one, a "natural," i.e., unstained Dublin. Just sanded and waxed. This one is going to my BIL in Michigan.



Starboard side.



Port side. I picked up some 1200 grit sandpaper for the final sanding - really makes a difference over the 600 I was using previously.



Birdseye view of bowl. Okay so the hole isn't perfectly centered... But I think it will still work

The black marks are putty from fills, and there are some remaining pits from the sandblasting, or perhaps they would have been there anyway. I think these pipes are made of well-aged, low-quality briar.

[Bruck]

A couple more of my recent projects:



Both started out sandblasted, one I left a little more sandblasted than the other. This is a regular billiard and a brandy glass nosewarmer.



The other side. The black one is about as black as I could get it - the briar soaks up the wood dye like a sponge. The natural one I soaked in red wine for a while, but not much remained on the outside.



Inside the bowls - you can see the wine stain inside the bowl where it adhered better to the rough wood. You can also see the oval shank on the brandy glass, which I think is a pretty cool shape.



And here are the bottoms because why not.

[Bruck]

A couple of my latest projects, for your viewing pleasure:



A blue-green egg w/ slightly bent stem. Made it for a co-worker.



Other side.



Here's a bleached natural billiard. I'm keeping this one. It reminds me of the sand on a Lake Superior beach.



Other side thereof.