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native style pipe

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BowEd:
That bowl looks great.Nice use of those crow beads & horse hair too.

Oglala Bowyer:
I'd like to chime in if I may, I typically make 8-10 pipes in a summer as this is when a lot of people ask me to make them for ceremonial purposes. I prefer ash as it is very strong and drill the stem. I used to burn the pith with a rod but have since stopped because as the hot wire passes thru it typically will burn passed the pith not by much but enough to suck in hot ash. This may happen with your cedar as it is a softer wood. Before becoming a bowyer I was strictly a pipe maker.  The alternative would be to split it in half and carve out the pith which I've done hundreds of times. During the winter I cut up to 20 ash stems. About half will be workable stems. I use catlinite and from time to time steatite aka black pipe stone.  In short, I would not recommend burning out the pith with a hot wire.  Good luck

Olanigw (Pekane):
Well, what Nation's style are you shooting for?
My folks used Sumac.  Way back they split and carved the stem, more recently they drilled.

I use this guy's method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgjheMgxZsQ

The wire needs to have enough malleability to follow the pith, and be tough enough to not break on you.

Cheers,
Pekane

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