My Turn! Another DIY pipe

Cavediver;10911845 said:

I've been collecting tools for years.

Years.

I'm not talking about buying collectable tools and putting them on display somewhere, I'm talking about gathering a home shop full of tools used for hobby level woodworking. There's no problem there, right? Wrong. The only thing I ever use them for is the occasional home repair. There's absolutely no hobby to it.

Enter vaping

Six months ago I dropped cigarettes like, well, you know. About a month after I started vaping, I spotted my first e-pipe, and EPM, and it was love at first sight. Finally, something I could try my hand at that doesn't require a six month plan!

So, here we go. I've got a lathe (a cheap import from Craigslist), drill press, table saw, and more hand tools than most folks need.

Last night, I finally chucked up a piece of wood and turned my first project. A shankless pipe in cherry. Or a really small cup with an ugly base. You decide


View attachment 259238 View attachment 259239

Pipe blank #1
It'll be about 2" tall, and it's 1-5/8" at the widest point. It's made to hold an 18350, an EPM VapeSafe resettable fuse, and an EPM flat-top button.

Starting life as a 2x2x12"cherry turning spindle from Woodcraft, the first step was to cut the blank down to (3) 4" sections; I felt this would be long enough to give me room to grip it in the chuck. The holes for the battery and button were drilled on a bench-top drill press, and then the block was clamped in a 4-jaw chuck; a live center was used in the tailstock to keep everything nice and aligned throughout the shaping process.

During and after the turning process, I wished I'd have cut the blank into (2) 6" pieces. The lathe tools and my knuckles were getting mighty close to the jaws on that chuck. Way too close for comfort when you're a beginner! I've a bit of experience working with wood, and some ancient experience on a wood lathe, so I went ahead and turned it anyhow. One of the primary rules of shop safety: if something doesn't feel or look right, stop 'till you figure it out and correct the problem. After thinking about it, I decided to go ahead with the current plan, and almost suffered the consequences. See the chipped corners of the block? That's where the gouge clipped the square corners of the wood.
Yeah, that could have been ugly.

Fortunately, everything came out well in the end. I'm setting back the other two 4" blocks 'till I figure out a better method of holding them during turning, or until I gain some more experience and better control over the lathe tools.

Cherry is a great wood for the beginning woodturner. It's got nice grain, it's easy to work with, and it sands / polishes beautifully. I'm planning on using an oil and wax finish, but am open to other ideas.



For now, unfortunately, I've got to let it sit. The cherry blank I bought at Woodcraft still has a lot of moisture in it. I didn't realize it would be so bad, but I could feel the moisture on the inside cut. I'm a bit concerned that it'll shrink too much as it dries out, and won't fit the button or firing ring. In the meantime, I'm headed to one or two stores this week to find some dry wood to use in attempt #2.

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