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That's the gimmick a hobbyist with a basement workshop and a little mechanical skill can really cash in on these days. Take Bob Walls, of Mansfield, Ohio. In civilian life he's an engineer-draftsman. But in his neat, modern basement workshop, he's a man with a hobby, a man who earns an extra $350 a year on pipes alone.

An inveterate pipe smoker, he went to a weekly naval reserve training session one Tuesday night and made the "mistake" of smoking a newly-made pipe. Some of his mates naturally kidded him about being so loaded with money he could afford a new pipe nearly every two weeks. Pipe-smoking pals got to asking how big was his collection. That began it all.

"I've got hundreds of them," Walls replied. "I ought to. I make them myself, and if you order one I'll deliver it ready to fill and smoke next week." There was the idea that keeps Walls busy many nights each week turning out new pipes of all designs, shapes, sizes and prices. Pipe smokers who know him often design a shape they want and he follows out the plan by producing just what the customer asked for. He gets to work and in a matter of four hours, bingo, there's the finished product and $5 more in the family kitty.

THE MANSFIELD hobbyist buys his briar blocks by the sack from a New York distributor about every six months. His choice is imported Algerian briarwood. He keeps his selection of more than eighty different pipestems well stocked from wholesalers and just goes ahead filling orders and experimenting now and then with a new shape.

"Any hobbyist who owns an adequately equipped home workshop with a lathe and some wood turning tools can learn the trick of making saleable and smokable pipes by trying," Walls says.

The operations are more time-consuming than tedious. A future pipe-maker should take his favorite pipe and study it carefully, measuring the height of the bowl, length of the stem, diameter of both tobacco and smoke holes, the size of the stem bit and so on, before attempting to create one out, of a rough block of briar. First, the beginner should square and scribe the rough block by drawing a line across the base of the block from bowl to shank, up both sides of the bowl and then across the top of the bowl. The block is then placed in its special lathe chuck ready for the boring of the tobacco hole.

Use a four-jaw independent chuck or a homemade one which can be fashioned from a plain or slotted faceplate, adapting it by fitting it with four studs which have pin screws. The pin screws are tightened to hold the rough briar block.

The briar block is always chucked with a hardwood wedge between it and the faceplate, the wedge being used to produce the characteristic "taper" or slant of the bowl which gives it the normal pipe shape. Mount the briar block with its center-line on a pre-marked diameter line on the faceplate. Merely tighten the stud screws and the second operation is ready.

THE NEXT operation is the cutting of the tobacco hole. This hole varies, but a ¾-inch or ⁷/8-inch drill is typical. The hole also can be cut with a carbide tool holder drill. The pipe's shape will dictate the actual depth of the tobacco hole. Walls suggests the beginner should copy the dimensions of any pipe as to the depth of the hole, its diameter, and the general shape of the pipe itself.

Next, begin turning the bowl. The speed to use in turning should be quite slow while roughing the bowl and shank; however, some pipe-makers disagree, saying high lathe speeds should be used. It is Walls' argument that more damage results from high speeds than from slow ones, and the beginner is going to ruin more than one block before getting the knack of this operation.

Twelve hundred r.p.m. is sufficiently last for the initial shaping with the gouge or skew chisel, while 1,350 r.p.m. is a good speed for the second cutting operation. One important difference between working with common wood and briar is that all cutting tools must be their sharpest. Walls learned that simple fact long ago. "Briar will chip in any direction and at any time because it has no grain structure," he points out. "Try and hand carve a briar block and you'll see how easy this prince of all woods is to work with though."

Now the bowl has been rough-shaped to the maker's liking and the top must be turned square. Rechuck the block, using the same hardwood wedge, this time putting it under the remaining portion of what was the end of the block. Align the block with the marks on the faceplate so the bowl and stem will be centered.

In rough-shaping the bowl Walls cuts it down only two-thirds of the final shape and shapes the bowl to its maximum size. If the novice runs into flaws during this operation Walls says to keep cutting until they disappear. Flaws appear anywhere in even the best briar blocks.

Rechuck the block again using the tailstock chuck and bore a ¹/8-inch smoke hole (the bit of the stem fits into this hole) in the shank. Then counterbore a ⁵/16-inch or ³/8-inch tenon bit hole to a depth of about ¾-inch. The diameter of the pipestem will determine the size of the tenon bit hole, which also should be squared and beveled, Vulcanite pipe stems bought from dealers are ordered according to their bit diameter so it is a simple process to make this hole according to the size of the stem bit.

One of Walls's tricks for overcoming a tightly fitting stem is to mark the bit portion with a soft lead pencil. The graphite will lubricate the stem bit better than any other substance available and will not harm the pipe's smoking qualities. Drops of oil used by some smokers often run down into the shank and bowl bottom and aren't sweet tasting at all, Walls says.

SHAPING THE bottom of the bowl and the portion which joins it to the shank is the operation which will test the patience and skill of even the veteran wood worker. The excess stock is best removed on a convex sanding wheel or by hand with a heavy-toothed rasp or file. Remember always, Walls says, every single cutting process in pipe-making must be made with the sharpest possible tools.

For the final shaping of the inner bend of the bowl, the portion nearest the shank, a cup sanding disk will be necessary. However, the operation can be done with rasps, files, and sandpaper.

Next, Walls sands the bowl and shank, never using a rough grade of sandpaper. He suggests a medium-fine grade followed by a fine grade and finally a soft cloth charged with jewelers' rouge. Sanding on the lathe can be done at 1,350 r.p.m., but preferably at 2,250. The beginner would be wise to do this operation with sandpaper, being so near to the end of the task it would be too easy to ruin the whole pipe on a sander. Care must be taken either way not to burn or scorch the briar while it is being sanded. Pipe smokers are strange persons who are proud of their pipes, a scorch spot on a bowl might mean a turned down purchase.

Another Walls tip that will keep the amateur from creating a poor tasting pipe is to fill the tobacco and smoke holes with cotton, during all sanding and polishing operations to prevent the bowl from being filled with sawdust or polish and stain.

THE FINE gloss finish for pipes is produced by an application of carnuba wax combined with high lathe speeds. Carnuba wax, the hardest of all waxes, brings out the luster, grain, and all of the hidden beautiful qualities of the Mediterranean coast where the briar grows. Walls does not stain or varnish his pipes unless it has been ordered, and he never stains or varnishes the inside of the tobacco hole. A pipe-smoker himself he knows the "horrors" of breaking-in the new pipe with its varnished or waxed hole.

For that matter, he rarely stains a pipe because he has a penchant for the "natural" finish. But here again the buyer tells him what is wanted and he complies. Grain for natural finished pipes may be brought out by a linseed oil application followed by several buffing operations at high speeds. All finishes are buffed several times; this polishing to a high gloss brings out the rich and pleasing shades of the pipe as they are smoked.

"There aren't any short cuts or quick, easy methods to making your own pipes," Walls says. "You just have to struggle along ruining a good number of blocks before you get the first good pipe. After that it's both easy and fun to make them."

Walls workshop is always well stocked with a variety of pipe shapes. The Mansfield hobbyist suggests the beginner start with a straight or billiard shape pipe for the first one. After that other types such as the bent bulldog, Oom Paul and apple can be tried.

IF THE beginner is fortunate enough to live in a city where pipes are manufactured on a commercial basis, he should attempt to visit the plants for a first-hand view of the complete process.

Walls learned the technique from pipe craftsmen in Japan, Manila, Boston, and New York City. An old Londoner whom he met in Philadelphia during the war taught him the rudiments of the dying craft and Walls has been experimenting and learning ever since. This Cockney had been a pipe-maker for the world famous Digby Pipe Co., Ltd., of London, and passed along numerous tips. Walls's travels as a carpenters' mate in the Navy during World War II gave him the opportunity to visit pipe-makers in many foreign countries.

Since 1945 Walls has produced more than 700 pipes. A good number of them he gives to pipe-smoking friends but the majority bring in the extra amount of money that's' needed these days. Normally, Walls sells a pipe for $5; however, collectors' items and special made ones bring as much as $15 and $20.

His normal sales channel is through friends who own one of his pipes, but he also advertises in the local newspaper off and on. His membership in the naval reserve has led to numerous sales to men who pass along his address and telephone number. His wife tells her friends about it and "hubby always did need a new and sweet-smelling pipe!" He distributes them to two newsstands in the city and in surrounding cities as well, working out a profit margin as best he knows how. "It still takes the guys who smoke your pipes to sell them for you though," he says.