Carving a Pipe
We get asked often about how to make a pipe some worry about it being difficult, but in truth it’s not too difficult a process. The art on the other hand comes from spirt and from years of experiance working with the stone. Here are some basic instructions you can use to make your own — please contact us with any questions about the instructions. And if you’d like to share with us a pipe you made using our instructions, please send your finished product to pipe@iw.net and we’d love to see it.
Tools and necessities
To make a pipe, you’ll need to round up the following tools, some of which you might already have but some you can probably also find at most hardware stores. Some are almost imposible to find we do sell the rasps in our store. You may be able to use a rasp which will work. Some wood rasps have been used and regular horse shoe rasps are much larger but can be used.
recomended tools
1. Horse shoe rasp 12” x l ½ wide, one side course and the other fine. (Rasp is flat, not curved.)
2. Hack saw with a 16 or 18 teeth blade.
3. One or two finishing files or mill cut 1 fine & 1 courser about 6-8” long and 1 inch wide.
4. At least 1 rattail for round file about 8” long. If you will be doing effigies you will want various sizes.
5. 1 half round file or more, I have at least three sizes.
6.Sand paper 100 & 220 and 320-400 wet & dry.
7. A cloth for polishing (old sweat shirt works great.)
8.Bees wax to polish pipe. 1 oz. is enough for several pipes.
9. A pan to heat pipe.
10. Brace & bit, or electric drill with the following bits:
— ¼ inch long enough for the pipe you are carving
— 3/8 drill, short is fine.
— 7/16 drill, short is fine
— ½ inch, short fine
11. Wood chisels and a knife for carving if desired
12. Pipestone for the pipe bowl, of course
13. Stick for your pipe’s stem
Choosing the wood for the pipe stem
Many wood can be used for stems. One of my favorite stem materials is sumac because it has a soft core that can be pushed out with a coat hanger; it is easy to carve and it has beautiful colors of greens, golds, browns and white.
Ash is also used and even sot after by some as a traditional stem material. This stick is much harder to work with and is not recomended for beginners. With ash, you’ll have to collect it while it’s green and burn it out immediately or buy the sticks already burned out. It’s a harder wood to carve and it has a lighter, almost white, color.
Any wood at the hardware store may be used. You will need to find a clean clear piece at least 1.25 inches thick, 1.5 inches wide and the length you desire. Next, you’ll have to split the wood lengthwise with a table saw and then run a gouge down the center on one side .25 inches deep lengthwise, and then glue the two pieces back together. You will need clamps every few inches of the length using small wood blocks under the clamps will keep them from leaving dents in your stem. Give your stem a few days to dry, and then you can begin carving.
Working with your stone
Each artist has a unique way of preparing themselves spiritual to work with stone, but it’s most important to go into the process with a relaxed and open heart. A pipe is easier to carve if you let go of any preconceived ideas and let it take you where it will.
When you choose the stone for your pipe, make sure to look for cracks, which might not be very visible. With pipestone, you can wet the stone and watch carefully while it dries to see if there’s a line that stays wet while the rest of the stone looks dry. If you are sure the stone has no cracks and is the right size for what you are doing, the next step is to draw in pencil the outline of the pipe or effigy on the flattest side of the stone. (You can file the stone to make it easier to draw on, and you can erase pencil on stone with a piece of sand paper.)
Drawing and cutting out your pipe
Position the pipe so you can make the best use of the stone. If you are making a T-pipe or an elbow pipe, many times you can cut two bowls out of one piece of stone if you are careful. If you are making a large bowl there will be a (two for plains)square or rectangle piece where you cut out the bowl these can be used for smaller pipes or effigies. Cut your pattern out of cardboard first and move it around the stone for the best possition.
When you are ready to cut, be sure to cut straight in both directions. You can use a vise to keep the stone from moving, but be sure to leave a little extra stone to compensate for errors when cutting. Keep in mind the more space you leave for error, the more time you’ll have to spend filing off the excess. Go slowly and be careful.
After your pipe is cut out, use the course side of your rasp to round the pipe. (Some people prefer to leave the bottom flat so the bowl will stay upright by itself. Do what feels right for you. Bowls can be any shape or style that you want, although most are round or oblong in shape. If you have a hard time getting the bowl the shape you want, it might help to draw the shape on the top of the bowl as a guide.
Once you’re satisfied with the shape, you can start drilling your pipe. Start with the ¾ drill bit — the bit should be long enough to drill a little past the middle of the bowl when drilling from the back. Be especially careful when drilling to drill straight; stop and look from all sides. Back the drill out often and tap it to clean out the pipestone dust or your bit will bind and can break your pipe.
After drilling is successful, use a finer file to finish shaping and smoothing the pipe to get it ready to sand. You can start with the backside of the rasp and then switch to the smoothing file. (Rolling it slowly as you file it will make a round surface smoother.)
You’ll need to decide what to do with the front, or prow, of the pipe. It can be straight, tapered slightly or made to almost a point. Sometimes even effigies can be carved on this part of the pipe.
Once the pipe is ready to sand, use the courser paper to take our larger scratches, then use the wet and dry to finish sanding in water. Then it’s time to polish. Start by using either a pie pan or cookie sheet in the oven on high, or a frying pan with about a couple inches of water in it on the burner on high. Heat till the water boils and the pipe is evenly hot. You may want to turn the pipe every so often so it heats evenly. While you wait for the pipe to get hot, get a bowl large enough to fit the pipe and fill it with cold water. Before taking the pipe from the heat check to see if it’s hot enough by touching the wax to the bowl. If the wax melts quickly it’s ready. When you pick up the pipe, hold it in the cloth and use the beeswax to rub on all surfaces of the pipe. You will not be able to get the wax from the cloth so use a thick rag. When you have applied wax to all the surfaces, rub the pipe quickly with the cloth and immediately put it into the cold water, which should be cold enough to quickly cool the pipe and set the wax. After a few minutes the pipe should be cool, and you can remove the pipe and buff it with a soft cloth. Any cloth will do. Again wax will get on the cloth so do not use something nice. Old pantihose work great for this.
Carving and fitting your stem
You’ll need a few tools for carving your stem that you did not use on your pipe — some you can reuse. Carving your stem is possible without a wood plane but much easier with one. If you’re working with sumac, you’ll need a plane that has a rasp on the bottom.
Rasps used for pipes, or other wood rasps
Sand paper
Knife for fitting or beadwork (hacksaw can also be used)
Oil or beeswax to rub into the stem once sanded
Stems can be round, oblong, tapered or even twisted. Once you have decided on what you want your stem to look like, think about what to take off your piece of wood to get that shape. Sumac is usually curved and requires that you have a straight piece near the end you will fit in the pipestone so you can fit the stem more easily. Start with any piece of wood start with a piece a little thicker and longer than the finished stem will be. With pine or any other wood that is cut and re-glued, the wood is straight, and is usually easier to carve than sumac or ash.
Choose the stem length that you desire by cutting to length with a saw. Place the stick against a wood block to steady it, then hold onto with one hand while planing with the other. Keep planing until you have the basic shape. The back of the stem is the mouthpiece and the front of the stem will fit into the back of the pipe.
It is good to have a fitting block, which can be a scrap piece of pipestone with a hole drilled into it (3/8 -7/16- ½ inches). If you don’t have a piece of pipestone, you can use a piece of hard wood. We use this to fit the stem so you don’t break you’re your pipe while cutting it to fit.
Use a knife or saw to cut through about a fourth of the way through the wood on each side of the stem about 1 ½ inches from the end that you smoke from. A file works well for this. And a wood rasp or pipe rasp works well to take out the gouges before you begin sanding. If you’re making a round stem, file across the grain of the wood rocking the stem from one side to the other while pushing the file across the stem. Just like you did for making the pipe round
Once the stem has the shape you desire, the next step is sanding. Sand with the grain of the wood. Start with a 60 to 120 grit and go down as fine as you dare. You can use beeswax to finish the stem, or you can use tongue oil, linseed oil, varnish, or any other wood finish. (We suggest using natural finishes rather than petroleum-based finishes.)
After your stem is done, choose what kind of decoration you might like. Some people continue to add to their stems throughout their use, but decorations can include carving, burning, inlaying, wrapped beadwork, peyote beadwork, leather, fur, feathers, paint or anything else.
Enjoy your pipe, and may it bring you many blessings.