Absorbing

The lathe is only a small part of the process of pipe manufacturing. Some people still stick to just using basic hand tools, but the lathe and all the other bits and pieces of machinery, plus hand tools make the experience all encompassing. 
There's a piece of Lucite blank in the chuck, which will be slowly drilled through, slowly, because it melts and locks the drill bit in place. :-(
The main part of the pipe is usually made of a very hard wood, in this case root briar from a white heather deliberately grown for harvesting in the Alps. 
The extras are a curling wave and a whale. Often people remark on how I have conceived what is hidden in the wood. It's similar to photography, a case of what you discern not what everybody else sees.