Spectacular Doug Finlay XL Bamboo Belge

[macaroni]

@georged - I'm glad you didnt learn to fly Harrier (sp?) jets back in the day... we might not have you to enjoy ))

 

[alaskanpiper]

Just got my first piece from Doug, excited to fire it up when it arrived!

 

[dPero]

She looks great

 

[doug535]

Just got my first piece from Doug, excited to fire it up when it arrived!

I thought it might have been you that picked that one up, Thank You! It's on the way.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I thought it might have been you that picked that one up, Thank You! It's on the way.

Hahaha indeed. I am everywhere…

 

[dunnyboy]

Dunhill's pinning method of bamboo attachment is definitely mechanically superior. There is only one way to do it, and failure of the connection is literally impossible unless the strength of the materials is exceed. Also, it does not degrade over time.

Using metal tubing and adhesives falls on a spectrum. If you are mechanically minded, understand the stresses and tolerances involved, and the properties of the bamboo and metal tubing being used, and the properties of the adhesive used, and mix it correctly in both time and proportion, and it hasn't exceeded it's shelf date, and the joint wasn't moved before full cure was achieved---the end result is solid. If you don't, the pipe comes apart. (And fixing it will be a major PITA for many reasons).

The root problem is a percentage of pipemakers are "shape imaginers" first and concern themselves little with technical stuff. "Make it look like X, and make sure it has a short fat hole in it connected to a long thin one" is the entirety of the situation in their mind.

Their bamboo pipes come apart.

Those carvers who understand that pipes are quasi-mechanical tools, not just static 3D exhibits, and do all the right stuff when designing and putting together multi-component ones, do not have their bamboo pipes come apart.

Doug is 100% one of the latter. (Arguably the benchmark... he's been a professional auto/shop mechanic for a third of a century.)

I stopped cleaning my pipes by running water through the chamber and out the stem precisely because I was afraid of loosening those joints over time. Even when I let the stem and stummel dry separately over night, I found the tenon harder to insert into the mortise after a water flush. Between the increased torque required to reinsert the stem and the direct effect of the water on the adhesives themselves, I worried that it would eventually loosen the bamboo or other ornamentation.

Not to start another water flush debate or hijack this thread, but I wonder if others have worried about this.

Gorgeous pipe @georged!