DIY

Three Pete Service Announcements ... or wait, is it more or just a 404? There really wasn't going to be a post this week, but my one public service announcement quickly attracted others... and then I mis-scheduled it, allowing it to go out half-baked yesterday (oops), then deleted it for the dreaded "404," then it grew some more, and well, here we are. You probably won't even see most of this! Especially if I keep ramblin' on. . .  Last Chance to Order! LARRY BLACKETT P-LIP PEWTER TAMPERS Last call for the amazing Larry Blackett hand-cast Pewter P-Lip tampers, fellow Pete Geeks!  Gigi will, as usual, wait until Monday at noon CDT to begin sending out PayPal invoices.  She will probably not send the order to Larry until Thursday or Friday to give those preoccupied with other matters a chance to recollect themselves, rush to their device, and make payment. Tampers are $50 ea, including shipping, for the US, and $70 ea, including shipping, overseas. Justin has asked that proceeds go as a fundraiser to help underwrite the expenses of the blog, so order 5 or 6 and give them to friends! If you want one more more, fill out Gigi’s Google Form requesting which finish (shiny or patinated) and how many of each you want. Because Larry is making up the exact number of tampers we request, this is a prepay venture, and you will receive a PayPal invoice.  Here’s the Google Signup Form: Sign Up:  BLACKETT PEWTER P-LIP TAMPER EVENT   NEW BLOG: FLETCH HINER'S THE HAWSEPIPE ANTIQUE PIPES 1920 AGE Extra Cased Bulldog This morning I am delighted to announce the creation of our fellow Pete Geek Fletch Hiner's new blog site, The Hawsepipe Antique Pipes.  I suggest you head over there immediately and sign up to receive automatic notifications. Whether you want to learn new techniques for restoring and maintaining your Petes, look at Fletch's amazing restoration work of antique pipes, or just check out some of the great acrylic stem he does, you owe it to yourself and the Pete Geek community to give him a warm welcome as he begins down the perilous path of a pipe blogster.   AND SOME BOOK NEWS Not really a PSA, but I did get around to updating the BOOKS page, adding both the new 1906 catalog and The X Pipe.  By the way, Smokingpipes.com will be restocking the 1906 catalog--if you didn't get a copy of the first print run of 125 copies, a second edition of 150 copies, slightly revised with the help of Gene Umberger and Gigi, should be available in mid-August. I've added reviews from Smokingpipes.com to give readers an idea of what others have said about these two book.   ..and while we're at it, some tin fun from Dave across the pond:   Dave, a guy on eBay, has tintackers of both the 1896 and 1906 catalog covers for sale at really reasonable prices.  He's currently out of stock on the 1906, but should be getting…