Acrylic blanks for the ultimate DIY pipe bits

If you've watched any of my videos you've noticed that I film most of them against a very boring wall in my wood shop. I've been an active woodworker all my life, and even worked fro the PowerBook company Shopsmith for about ten years in two stints. I mention this because I've noticed that a bunch if cob smokers have been drawn to replacement bits for their pipes which are made from acrylic. Some folks market them a "Lucite" bits, but Lucite is simply a brand name of DuPonte for one of their acrylic products.

One of the most rewarding projects that Woodworkers have been making in the past ten years or so have been pens and other small, turned accessories. Once a woodworker gets the hang of tuning them from wood the next logical thing to try is acrylic. Companies who cater to Woodworkers have been stocking some very cool acrylic blanks that are roughly 3/4" x 3/4" x 6" for $7-$15 or so which could yield one to two pipe bits!

If you have any interest in giving this a try you should stop by your local Woodcraft store for an excellent selection of blanks. You'll be surprised that some of the very colors and patterns that you've seen for sale for up to $30 a bit are available at Woodcraft.

Here's a link to Acrylic Pen Blanks for making pipe bits