hello Dennis ,Welcome aboard Friend,there are a few of us that have maden pipes i think Travis also has made some ,He's the chief bottle washer of the club(owner) there are others too .Lots of pen makers so you too us the same size wood blank to start off with.I'm guessing that hard woods are the best for these projects .Glad of you to get to set up shop."Dennis' Man Cave"That's a great place to get away from it all and relax behind a scroll saw .Lots of places to buy scroll saw blades .i get mine from Mikesworksshop.com great service quality strong blades and getting 3 hours out of one 30 cent blade is not uncommon.A # 5 #7 blade is most scrollers go to blade ,so you could start there.i prefer the scroll reverse blades and it leaves you with little sanding .keep coming back your family now Send us lots of pictures as they are worth a million words of your projects ,fire wood ones and other wise.lol.Hope to see lots more of you Welcome again.