Pipe Making

This section is under development. Thankfully there exists an excellent forum dedicated to pipe making information with many very helpful participants called the PipemakersForum.org. We highly recommend reading and participation in the forum.

Getting Started

Many pipe makers in the US started out with a small Book called Pimo's Guide to Pipe Crafting at Home. This book has a lot of helpful tips on pipe making with minimal tooling. Also helpful is the article Pipe Making For The Rank Amateur, by Bob Everett.

Kits: Pre-bored pipe making kits with pre-fit stems are also a good way to start, especially if you don't have access to many tools, or previous woodworking experience. Pimo offers kits, but many pipe makers recommend the ones from American Smoking Pipe Co. (Mark Tinsky). Available from The American Smoking Pipe. Or the ones from Tim West (J.H. Lowe) available from J.H.Lowe. In Denmark kits available from P.E.Hermann. In Norway kits available from Tabago.

A Cautionary Note: Because some ultra high grade pipes sell for thousands of dollars, it is tempting for the uninitiated to think they may be able to get rich making pipes, or at least make a decent living. Relatively few pipe makers make their primary living as pipe makers, and it is a very small handful of pipe makers that can sell in the upper price ranges, let alone ultra high grades. Those that do have this very unusual talent or gift and, to reach this level, have dedicated a great deal of time developing them, as well as invested a considerable amount of money in equipment and materials. Having said this, pipe making is great fun, and very rewarding in many ways, but be careful--often pipe smokers are not addicted to smoking, but I know very few pipe makers that are not addicted to pipe making!

Basic Tools

It is wise to refrain from investing in expensive tooling until you have made your first few pipes. A good start on basic tools:

Hand drill(variable speed, plug-in)
  Buy or build a jig that will enable you to clamp the drill to your work bench or table. 
  then it can  be used with affordable accessories as a disk sander, and a buffer.    
Files(Nicholson makes nice file sets at affordable prices. One can never have too many files of   
various sizes, shapes and cuts). 
Sandpaper(150, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800+ is optional)
Coping saw
Eye protection and respirator

Note: The above tools are very adequate for working with pipe kits. If you're planning on drilling the stummel (briar block) and then fitting the stem to the block, you will also want either a more elaborate jig for mounting your hand drill, such as is described in the Pimo book, a drill press (drill press frames for holding your hand drill would also work), or a lathe. In addition you will need to buy or make tobacco chamber bits, and buy drill bits for drilling the mortise and airway.