About the Pipemaker

Working with wood

I have enjoyed pipe smoking and collecting since a young lad of 16 and loved wood and working wood for as long as I can remember. I have picked up some skills with wood and tools, largely from my piano rebuilding work, and making a few pieces of furniture.

For many years I dreamed of making my own pipe one day, and I finally did. It was christened in February of 2006 as Etude #1, The Piano Tuner's Pipe. Many flaws and mistakes of course, but a wonderful and rewarding experience. I was hooked!

Since that first pipe I have dedicated nearly every spare moment to pipemaking and studying the work of the masters. My hope is to one day be among that elite group. For now, I'm hoping to soon be considered amongst the up and coming.

Rose & Pipe--reflection on a middle life passion

To the left is a shot of Etude # 8, one of my early efforts (completed April 14th, 2006). The setting features my wife, Kathy's beautiful work from her rose garden.

Early one morning the sun was streaming onto my desk where my wife of 27 years had placed a beautiful arrangement. She is an avid and gifted gardener.

I was enjoying a cup of strong French Roast and looking at her work while also reflecting on how our lives have evolved. You know the drill, young couple in love, newlyweds, busy parents struggling to make a living and build a life-- now with a bit more time again. I thought how cool it is that she has time for gardening, and I have time for pipemaking.

It was then I grabbed the camera.

Where there's a will...

In the US it is difficult if not impossible to find a formal apprenticeship arrangement with a master pipemaker, and my situation would not have easily allowed for this, even if I had found one. As a result, I am primarily self-taught. But I have received a great deal of help from a dedicated group of pipemakers on the pipemakers forum, which can easily be considered a virtual school of pipemaking in and of itself. It's a fantastic resource! Several members of the forum have been an amazing inspiration and encouragement. I also learned a great deal and have been very encouraged from hands on evaluations of my pipes at pipe shows by some fantastic pipemakers and dedicated collectors. And finally, my pipe smoking friends, family, and customers are another great source of feedback.

A reflection on the tuning of pipes.

I am a piano tuner-technician and piano rebuilder by trade, as well as a musician. I love music and I find musical instruments and the materials they are made from beautiful and fascinating.

The musicians, and the musical forms and compositions I work with are a great inspiration to me. I hope to use musical elements and themes as inspiration in my pipe making. I also hope to use some exotic instrument materials as accents in my pipes.

In pursuit of the well-tempered smoking instrument (a piano tuner turns to pipemaking).

Equal temperament, the meerschaum pipe of tuning schemes, is a scheme of musical tuning in which the octave is divided into a series of equal steps (equal frequency ratios). This has come to be the main tuning scheme for piano, and many other instruments. While equal temperament allows for completely free modulation between the keys, it comes at the expense of individual key color. I look at equal temperament as being the Meerschaum pipe of tuning schemes. Meerschaum does not contribute to the taste of the smoke like equal temperament does not add to the color of the various keys in music.

Well temperament is a term modeled on the German word wohltemperiert which appears in the title of J.S Bach's famous composition, The Well-Tempered Clavier. Bach is one my favorite composers and was also an avid pipe smoker. Recent research indicates the Well Temperament schemes used in Bach's time, and continuing into the late 19th century, preserved the character of each key, while also allowing for free modulation between the keys. You guessed it, well temperament is the briar of tuning schemes, well temperament adds its own unique color to the music, just as briar adds its own unique qualities to the smoking of tobaccos.

My goal in making pipes (well-tempered smoking instruments)

My goal is to incorporate the individual esthetics and smoking characteristics of each piece of briar. Allowing the pipes to tastefully and subtly color the different tobaccos smoked in them while hopefully satisfying the aesthetic sense of the smokers they're made for.

In my personal collection many pipes end up being dedicated to one tobacco, or a family of tobaccos. Some I save for Virginias only, and others I mainly enjoy with heavy Latikia blends. Perhaps this is analogous to Just Intonation tuning, which is a tuning scheme completely optimized for music in one key, and Mean Tone tuning schemes, which allow for very limited modulation between keys. Sorry, I digress.

Thanks for checking out the site.

Please feel free to E-mail me with any comments, suggestions, or questions about my pipedreams: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it