Freshman....

What you need to do is geat a real hard wood and (fire it) with a torch and then sand off the black. It will have a cool loook and bring out the grain. Then you need to smoke about 100 bowls in it before you dont get that wood taste in your mouth. Make the mouth piece I.D. big enough to clean easy. Are you creating the bowl with a 45 degree chamfer?

Just a few thoughts...