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Design Work
Design work for morta pipes is really little different from briar
design, except that often the blocks are so much smaller that the range
of available shapes is very limited. One unique challenge of
morta is the length of the blocks - often they are quite short and
square rather than longer than they are wide, as with briar blocks.
This can produce a very "shankless" look if one isn't careful, and can
also put the tenon tip too near to the tobacco chamber without very
precise drilling and fitting. I expect to produce a large number of
morta pipes with bamboo shanks or other types of shank extension for
the higher grades, to help overcome this visual stylistic limitation.
Below I am holding various stem styles to the block to help visualize
the look of the finished pipe, and thereby finding a shape that I think
will look good and smoke well.
Finally I have a simple design that I think will look graceful, and I
mark the drilling lines on the block and return to the bandsaw to make
some pre-drilling cuts.
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Talbert
Morta 
