Novice advice needed

[buistd]

Hi there - This is my first post on this forum. Let me preface my question by saying that my level of ignorance in most things woodwork related is phenomenal so please forgive my ham-fisted attempts to describe what I'm after!

I am an amateur pipe maker (smoking pipes, not plumbing ones - and yes, tobacco pipes, not other ones!) My question is this:

Many of you who are even remotely familiar with pipe smoking may be aware of an ingenious pipe design called Falcon. It is different from standard smoking pipes in that the shaft of the pipe is metal, and the tobacco bowl screws onto this. I would like to make my own bowls for Falcon stems but need advice on how easy it would be. The male part of the connection (On the base of the wooden bowl) is domed and threaded. Apparently I do not have the necessary privileges to post links yet so if you do a google image search for Falcon, there are couple of pictures that show the mechanism.

How easy would this be to make. Are there standard tools that could do the male dome shaping and the threading or would it be a custom tool?

Many thanks, and apologies for my lack of knowledge!

 

[Anima]

I'm very much a novice as well but from looking at falcons on google I can tell you will need a lathe and the associated tools.

Have a look through the turning section. There are ways of carving threads into wood but you will need to know the turns per inch and then get the appropriate tool.

One of these I think. Keep an eye on fleabay for cheaper versions.

 

[RogerP]

The term most often used for making threads in wood is "chasing" and Here is a short PDF about it. You will need a lathe.

 

[buistd]

Hi all - thanks for the replies so far. Just to clarify one thing: Would a lathe be needed just for the shaping of the bowl or for the threading as well?

 

[RogerP]

Hi all - thanks for the replies so far. Just to clarify one thing: Would a lathe be needed just for the shaping of the bowl or for the threading as well?

Both.