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bigbob2322

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  • Jul 27, 2014
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    Someone left the furnace on again! 102 yesterday, and the peak is supposed to hit 109-110 degrees on Saturday!!

    That's great for relaxing the day away in the pool with a drink - but sucks for trying to stay in the shop much past 9am even with the big, new cooler. Doesn't cool off out there till pretty late in the evening as well.

    I've since hand sanded the Dragon body up to 600 grit, and can find no scratch marks on it. Next, several coats of CA (super glue) will be painted on the body, then a little sanding before hitting the buffing wheels.

    The Oba mod is just starting it's journey on the mill - more to come.

    Stay cool and vaped!

    Rick
    You are a true artist.
     

    renderwerks

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    Yup, it arrived alright...
    35176417403_89631c4981_c.jpg

    Two days at this, a few on either side at 3-10 degrees cooler.

    I've just started machining on the Oba mod (Model II LiPo), and was looking at the thin pieces left over - wondering how I could use these for drip tips when nothing big enough was left over - only thin pieces left over on the Dragon Mod as well. I've done lots of laminations with our Vape Stands and decided to do it on a smaller scale for drip tips.

    I prepared the thin pieces left from the Dragon blank and used 16ga (.051") brass sheet to alternate when gluing. Cut them into 3'4" squares.
    35176423933_7327627524_c.jpg


    Mixed up some black epoxy and started the messy job of coating, stacking and putting some light pressure on the groups. Very thin coats of glue squeezed tightly by hand then rubber banded for an hour or so.
    35176422543_23e02f83ca_c.jpg

    Later, more pressure was provided with pipe clamps.

    Final prep was to glue the individual laminations atop oak pieces for clamping in the lathe.
    35146841554_6f5a575f38_c.jpg


    Into pipe clamps after an hour or so:
    35176424533_6ea1747018_c.jpg


    After turning the assembly to a cylinder shape on the lathe -
    35597724730_23c6c6b371_c.jpg

    An exact match for the Mod, the brass heats up very quickly, and must be taken in steps slowly to prevent melting or catching the stabwood on fire! The orange nozzle provides cool air under pressure to cool the brass while spinning. The cylinder is 17-18mm in diameter - just under 3/4". They will be bored for SS cores with dual o-rings.

    I'll probably take this further and put a drip tip section on the website and add tips when I can.

    Talk to you guys soon - stay safe! Lates -

    Rick





















     

    renderwerks

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    Hey Vapers -

    Well, the brass drip tips are proving to be too problematic to continue with. There is an issue with the glue separating at the brass. Also tried CA gel glue and still too much stress on the lathe to stay together:

    36351875300_07aed218c0_c.jpg

    They all broke at least twice each before I said "enough", move on... I might try again by placing little brass "dowels" through the layers first. We'll see.

    I got back to working on the actual Mod that's using these materials - I finished all the polishing, and I was able to test fit some of the brass pieces in the body, and shot a few pics with my cell:

    Standing, showing the (empty) faceplate -
    36712629351_6f43f63fd3_c.jpg
    [/url]

    On it's face, showing the reflection of the chandelier above the table.
    36712629101_3a684d4739_c.jpg


    This means we're very close to final assembly - better get out my white gloves!

    Rick
     
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    renderwerks

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    Yo Vapers!

    I'm currently working on assembly of the faceplate for the Dragon Mod - a Model V. Boring - not much excitement watching me hold a part in place with two pairs of tweezers for 20 minutes. I'll probably post some video of connecting leads to the board and powering it up for the first time.

    For now, I have a short (<2min) video of a milling operation on another Mod - the Oba Mod, a Model II. This is after I cut the space for the door to sit; and this operation is cutting the t-slot that makes the door a captive, sliding type of door. Here ya go!


    Talk to you later -

    Rick
     

    renderwerks

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    Hey everyone -

    I hope you're well and doing alright. Prayers and thoughts to all our vape family in Texas, Florida and beyond that were impacted by Harvey & Irma.

    I have some pics of early assembly processes with the Dragon Mod - was hoping to show a little video of a power up after I got the faceplate pieces put together. Alas - a defective part reared it's ugly head - the display for the DNA75 was dead - nada - no good - phooey - you get it... The board powers up through the USB and I get a green light - all looks good. All my displays are in faceplate assemblies for other mods right now. A couple replacement displays are ordered, and I'll RMA the dead screen.

    Well, I hoped to debut these in the power up video, but I made some custom screens for the Mod (still editing), here are the two opening screens (shown in black text):


    37122322202_08b56a4a02_m.jpg


    37122322282_7625661d0c_m.jpg


    Assembly of the faceplate first needed cleaning of the tiny (1mm or less) gaps around the flexible areas for the control button pushers - barely as wide as the xacto blade. The plate actually has the buttons, pushers and the mounting posts for the DNA board in a single 3D printed piece.

    36897119440_aaa3555600_c.jpg


    A little clean up around the "Punisher" fire button.

    36897119690_f796a6343c_c.jpg


    Because of 3D printing limitations, the screw holes for the DNA board mounting had to be printed undersize then carefully enlarged.

    36897119580_e0f63af4a9_c.jpg


    Here, you can see the backing plate attached to the faceplate with brass shaving enforced epoxy. I used a fine file to produce tiny spiraled and barbed shavings, and added them to 2500 psi epoxy resin. The bosses on the faceplate that the backing plate sit on are also drilled to accept the modified adhesive. The "pock" marks are from all the supports that are needed during the 3D printing process.

    37122120282_5cf2cd1e4c_c.jpg


    Here are a couple images of the initial soldering of the battery leads for the polished brass battery tube - first the top insulator with the positive connection:

    37104049306_cab360e608_c.jpg


    The connection to the solid brass tube itself. A SMD rework gun was used to heat the tube from the inside while a traditional iron was used simultaneously to apply the solder - a third hand would have been handy - LOL. Great adhesion with this method. Pic shot before cleaning.

    37122120122_9c57d5550d_c.jpg


    I'll solder the leads onto the board and get the 510 connections soldered up. Then, when I have a display in hand, we can power up and check copasetic juju Dragon togetherness...

    Vape On!

    Rick
     
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    renderwerks

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    Hey Gang-

    The replacement display for the Dragon came in. I test assembled most of the Mod (with the display!) to check fitment & figure out what the wire lengths were going to be. Plugged it in...



    I might need to machine a little height from the bottom cap, the polished piece added some thickness to it. The brass will need a little touch up of the polish here and there. It's lookin' good!

    Be good to each other -

    Rick
     
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    renderwerks

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    Hey hey -

    Well, attack of the killer gut... Emergency Room, Morphine, comedy show (I'm told), next morning being driven home not really remembering much of the prior 24 hours, or the next day.

    Started feeling pretty ill for a few days before, and the above was last Thursday night - things are better now - finally.

    And with that, this is what I've been doing today:

    37574139236_127bf63562_b.jpg

    The soldered assembly of the battery tube, DNA board and the connector. Actually, the soldered parts of the connector are the tabbed washer (-), and the center pin assembly (+). The nut that tightens the base (pad) just slips over the positive lead before being placed in the Mod. The connector was put together so I could put a battery in it and assure everything was working - Roger that... A-OK.

    37574144086_2730b5d380_b.jpg

    Here's a close up of the 510 connector leads on the board. Notice the brass nut over the red wire for tightening the base (510 pad). All these connections get a dab of silicone to protect and isolate them.

    37574142796_1faa6991b2_b.jpg

    The battery leads coming from the brass tube.

    There's just one task left - assembly! (well, shipping will make two)

    The pictured assembly will slide in from the bottom and the 510 connector will be screwed together. Then everything gets put to it's exact position, and held in place with strategically placed glue joints. This allows the Mod to be taken apart later if repair or upgrade is ever needed. The battery tube is permanently glued in, and becomes a structural part of the device.

    I hope to make a post by next weekend as I'll shoot some good pics of the Mod with proper lighting & expensive optics!

    The term "time I stalk the UPS guy" comes to mind... :banana:

    Rick
     

    renderwerks

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    Hey Everyone -

    So much for assembly going smoothly enough to have made this post by "next weekend". The Model V is designed so it can be taken apart - albeit difficult - for repair or RMA of parts. Thirteen days later, it's finally in the mail.

    For this customer, I reduced the size of this Mod slightly to make it more friendly to smaller hands. The space was so tight that the rubbery cement used to attach the Faceplate would allow it to push away from it's recess because of increased tension from the wiring because of the reduced space behind the Faceplate. So it had to come apart to try and get a little stronger adhesion by adding some epoxy at the corners of the Faceplate. It worked, but the body might be damaged if we ever have to take it apart again. Oh well, do what you have to - a new body might have to go with any removal of the Faceplate.

    But that wasn't the end of it - after reassembly, I put a battery in to test it again, and when turned on, the watt setting immediately began to drop as if the down control button was being pushed. The Faceplate button looked fine, but would not "click" when pushed and I couldn't stop the behavior. Great, it needs to be opened up again... I wrapped a screwdriver with a little piece of leather to protect the polished brass and took the bottom plate off (rubbery attachment still works there). It was the positive wire from the battery pushing up just the corner of the DNA board and depressing the down button on the board. I moved the wire as much as possible and placed a small epoxy "bridge" between the body and board to hold it in place. After putting it back together, everything worked as designed when tested again. Finally!

    Without further adieu -



    And, a few images made with "the good stuff", Canon DSLR, L series lens, Strobes & Umbrellas - enjoy

    37162424713_706315bcc8_b.jpg
    37882650201_272e744fb2_b.jpg


    37851079372_15a734783c_b.jpg
    37162424313_beacc62c47_b.jpg


    37851078842_28ce5c4892_b.jpg
    37172414164_1158cc8594_b.jpg


    And, there you have it! I'm quite proud of it - awesome materials make an awesome looking Mod. For those wondering - The Mod V is $259 base price. The stabwood block was $74, and the cast polished brass option is $179. The standard is an Oak or Walnut body, and black plastic parts instead of brass. Other materials like stainless are available at a lesser cost than brass.

    I'll add more Mod news occasionally as I work on the next five that are on the production schedule - well, four plus another customer trying to decide what options to get! Check the home page of our website for more places to learn about our Mods.

    A couple interesting notes:

    I might have a Mod coming up that will have Damascus Steel - at least a Faceplate! I'm going to attempt a couple drip tips first.

    I will be designing a DNA Mod to look similar to the Augvape Gragas - that should be kewl - :cool:


    Give someone a thumbs up and a smile today, it'll improve their face value, and yours -

    Rick
     
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    bigbob2322

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  • Jul 27, 2014
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    Schiller PK IL USA
    Hey Everyone -

    So much for assembly going smoothly enough to have made this post by "next weekend". The Model V is designed so it can be taken apart - albeit difficult - for repair or RMA of parts. Thirteen days later, it's finally in the mail.

    For this customer, I reduced the size of this Mod slightly to make it more friendly to smaller hands. The space was so tight that the rubbery cement used to attach the Faceplate would allow it to push away from it's recess because of increased tension from the wiring because of the reduced space behind the Faceplate. So it had to come apart to try and get a little stronger adhesion by adding some epoxy at the corners of the Faceplate. It worked, but the body might be damaged if we ever have to take it apart again. Oh well, do what you have to - a new body might have to go with any removal of the Faceplate.

    But that wasn't the end of it - after reassembly, I put a battery in to test it again, and when turned on, the watt setting immediately began to drop as if the down control button was being pushed. The Faceplate button looked fine, but would not "click" when pushed and I couldn't stop the behavior. Great, it needs to be opened up again... I wrapped a screwdriver with a little piece of leather to protect the polished brass and took the bottom plate off (rubbery attachment still works there). It was the positive wire from the battery pushing up just the corner of the DNA board and depressing the down button on the board. I moved the wire as much as possible and placed a small epoxy "bridge" between the body and board to hold it in place. After putting it back together, everything worked as designed when tested again. Finally!

    Without further adieu -



    And, a few images made with "the good stuff", Canon DSLR, L series lens, Strobes & Umbrellas - enjoy

    37162424713_706315bcc8_b.jpg
    37882650201_272e744fb2_b.jpg


    37851079372_15a734783c_b.jpg
    37162424313_beacc62c47_b.jpg


    37851078842_28ce5c4892_b.jpg
    37172414164_1158cc8594_b.jpg


    And, there you have it! I'm quite proud of it - awesome materials make an awesome looking Mod. For those wondering - The Mod V is $259 base price. The stabwood block was $74, and the cast polished brass option is $179. The standard is an Oak or Walnut body, and black plastic parts instead of brass. Other materials like stainless are available at a lesser cost than brass.

    I'll add more Mod news occasionally as I work on the next five that are on the production schedule - well, four plus another customer trying to decide what options to get! Check the home page of our website for more places to learn about our Mods.

    A couple interesting notes:

    I might have a Mod coming up that will have Damascus Steel - at least a Faceplate! I'm going to attempt a couple drip tips first.

    I will be designing a DNA Mod to look similar to the Augvape Gragas - that should be kewl - :cool:


    Give someone a thumbs up and a smile today, it'll improve their face value, and yours -

    Rick

    A work of art.
     
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    renderwerks

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    Hey everybody-

    I wanted to check in with y'all to let you know I've been busy since the Dragon made it into the mail. But, I'm doin' boring, not worthy of documenting types of things. It's amazing how much of a mess the making of something as small as a Mod can cause or make!

    The main mission has been to get the shop back into shape enough to comfortably continue on the rest of production. Adding in all the ancillary things around the house that have been neglected or minimally done have contributed to the cleanup - mainly a large task of going through the back yard to remove "summer" (garden, pool, etc...) windstorm messes, you get the idea, total BAM (big ash mess) ;)

    That being nearly done, I do have a bit of new news -

    I found a material online while searching "damascus" and "mokume gane". They're called composite designer materials. Fairly new, they are similar to sintered metals - but with dust sized particles instead of tiny beads.The "new" of all this is the ability to make lightweight metal materials that can have multiple, separate metals in them - like damascus steel or mokume gane. They are made under pressure and heat - it's hard to get details about the process, they're very secretive about it.

    Here's a blurb from the website about the materials:

    Macro-Molecular Materials are part of the new breed of new age designer materials that make everything from the Stealth Bomber to the International Space Station possible. These materials are made with high purity metals and other exotic elements that have been deconstructed to the macro-molecular level, homogeneously combined and then reconstructed with highly refined proprietary chemical binders. Metal deconstruction requires very specialized equipment - a Gas Metal Atomizer that super heats the metal and then shoots it with water, gas or plasma causing it to explode into molecules of specific shape and size. Heat, pressure and an exothermic chemical reaction cause the molecules to cross link forming a new material with a unique macro-molecular structure. Because the molecules are distributed homogeneously through a process known as the Micelle Phenomenon, the new material gains the benefit of all the unique characteristics of the individual components.


    Yea... it looks really cool too!

    m3_mokume_square_mods.jpg


    I've purchased a 3/4" diameter x 5" piece of damascus to make some drip tips with. We can learn together if this material will be viable for Faceplates and other pieces.

    Should be fun -

    Rick
     
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    renderwerks

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    Hey peeps-

    Well, we're back in the shop and working on a different Mod - Oba, a Model II:
    38313642766_b5db947476_c.jpg

    It's natural Afzelia burl. The door recess and body cavity have been cut, and you can see I'm working on the Faceplate cut through and details. A block of Oak is used to fill the void of the cavity to reduce vibration when machining.

    Plus, I received my little piece of the new material - M3 Damascus (expensive little booger - $5/inch). I made a handful of driptips, it polishes nicely - (3) 510 bases & (2) 12.5mm bases on the right, the largest one in the foreground is 19mm diameter and 19mm height not including the connector protrusion:
    38368664251_6c41b11c38_c.jpg

    It's lighter than solid steel, but heavier than the acrylic blanks used to make many driptips. It's harder than resin or acrylic as well. Turns well with sharp carbide tools - go slow. It's made with 316 stainless and "Black Carbonite" (a new proprietary material- apparently stolen from Jaba & George Lucas). 316 SS cores with double o-rings are epoxied to the M3 Damascus bodies. Takes the better part of an hour to cut and polish one.

    What'cha think? I figured $20/ea.

    I'll probably photograph them properly and put them on my Facebook page @ /pvstands.


    Rick
     

    renderwerks

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    Wow - how time flies...

    Hope Santa's Sleigh was heavy with vape gear for you!

    I'm nearing the sanding phase of the Oba Mod - a custom Model II of Afzelia Burl. Here is a pic of fitting of the door with a small diamond flat file:
    39364667531_e319a93879_z.jpg

    The top right corner is being filed square, the left side waits for the same treatment. The door sits on the left.

    A new vape stand has finally been added to the website. In Stock Holders, all the way at the bottom - #60. Made of African woods - Wenge and Padauk. Natural colors!
    39376155611_8d81c78be5_z.jpg

    There is a link to see a CAD drawing in the listing on the website. Most items have viewable drawings.

    Also, in other news...

    A new Drip Tip Section has been added to the website. Caribbean Rosewood, M3 Damascus, M3 Black Gold Mokume. More to come. Plus, we'll make custom Drip Tips - just drop us a line. We even have CAD drawings of the tips - :thumb:
    37954575665_cda29f9197.jpg


    Enjoy!

    Rick
     

    bigbob2322

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  • Jul 27, 2014
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    Schiller PK IL USA
    Wow - how time flies...

    Hope Santa's Sleigh was heavy with vape gear for you!

    I'm nearing the sanding phase of the Oba Mod - a custom Model II of Afzelia Burl. Here is a pic of fitting of the door with a small diamond flat file:
    39364667531_e319a93879_z.jpg

    The top right corner is being filed square, the left side waits for the same treatment. The door sits on the left.

    A new vape stand has finally been added to the website. In Stock Holders, all the way at the bottom - #60. Made of African woods - Wenge and Padauk. Natural colors!
    39376155611_8d81c78be5_z.jpg

    There is a link to see a CAD drawing in the listing on the website. Most items have viewable drawings.

    Also, in other news...

    A new Drip Tip Section has been added to the website. Caribbean Rosewood, M3 Damascus, M3 Black Gold Mokume. More to come. Plus, we'll make custom Drip Tips - just drop us a line. We even have CAD drawings of the tips - :thumb:
    37954575665_cda29f9197.jpg


    Enjoy!

    Rick
    A true work of Art from a true Artist.:drool:
     

    renderwerks

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    Well - Happy New Year Everyone - hope your new year is filled with flavorful clouds!

    I have an update on the Oba Mod, I've completed the machining and have started the sanding - up to 220 grit right now - here's a few pics.

    The Faceplate inset had to have the inside corners chiseled out by hand (tiny chisel!). Fits pretty well.
    39717235881_d1b5d32508.jpg
    39717235951_d150bc99e6.jpg


    The door's magnet holes have been bored, and the filing of the corners of the door opening has been completed, matching the door:
    38819385755_a4e8edf261.jpg
    39717235731_21f57bd681.jpg


    Here's a few pics of the Mod after routing a 3mm radii over all 12 edges, and sanding to 220 grit paper:
    25845051178_a72c55edd2_z.jpg

    38818754505_53244f1621_z.jpg

    25845051278_53244f1621_z.jpg


    Ever finer sanding until it's time to start layering the cyanoacrylate finish on.

    The next Mod on the schedule will be very similar to this one, but will be a squonker, and might be a DNA250 Color!

    Take care of each other -

    Rick
     

    renderwerks

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    Hey Gang -

    Well, the last couple weeks haven't been much fun... been ill for days - finally feeling mostly better. On the good side, our crazy, "Julyuary" weather continues! Mid 80's for a week or more so far. Wow - weird even for Cali.

    I thought I'd post the first pics of the Oba Mod after getting it's first two coats of finish last week. It has since been sanded and recoated a couple times. Now has six coats and is ready for the final four coats. Then comes polishing - almost done!

    Check it out:

    40138680321_c0d7e6bce1_c.jpg

    Above we're looking at the back of the mod, and the outside of the door. What awesome wood.

    25266850557_1be162fbda_c.jpg

    Here's the doorside and the inside of the door - notice the magnet holes for securing the door.

    Talk soon!

    Rick
     
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