whokrz

I didn't think anyone would really care where the contest was held. I was obviously wrong. I am talking with Eric at discountvapers.com about having the contest on his discountvapers facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/DiscountVaperscom/130998956980631 I think everyone except me is on facebook. Hopefully this will allow everyone to participate with out any forum or group feeling excluded. It will be at least a few weeks before the contest and it will be announced on both forums. Currently Eric is taking care of issues with the payment processors which is taking a lot of his time. When I have contest updates I will post them. There are pictures of more wood tubes on discountvapers.com. They are not made by me, but they guy making them also does very nice work. In the future my work will also be sold at the same site. Lewis

I will just be donating the wood tube/cone. I will not be running the contest. The person running the contest will be donating other parts and fluid. He is on the ECF and not this forum. Because of this the contest will be on the ECF. I assume most people are already on both forums. For those who are not on both I figured I would give them a heads up. The ECF is setup where you have to post 5 times before you can post in other threads which sucks. This is not meant to draw people away from this forum to the ECF. I personally like this forum better as it is much more laid back with its regulations. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause people who would like to participate in the contest. Lewis

Today I received a XL3 from discountvapers. The XL3 is a VV 3.0v-4.2v 18650. It looks like it will be possible to turn wood on that tube. On there forum http://discountvapers-com.2303315.n4.nabble.com/XL3-td4121876.html Posted by dowtort Just FYI, that XL3 will take 2 CR123a batteries. It's not just that it will "tolerate" the higher voltage, it'll actually give you one more (green) voltage choice... on mine, green is around 5V. dowtort is not the owner of discountvapers. I also do not know enough about electronics to say this is safe or not. I just thought the information may help to answer your question.

It really depends if it is possible on the other units. From what I have read it is possible to stack batteries in one of them to get around 5v. On liberty-flights site there is a 5v e-power but I don't know how the tube is designed yet or if I will be able to get tubes for them. I hope it will be possible but I don't want to say yes and not be able to do it.

Have a few updates. These are 14650 E-power tubes and cones. Sorry it took so long life has been busy. Stabilized madrone burl Stabilized redwood burl They will be for sale at some point but not threw me. This way your package will mailed to you much faster and with better customer service than I can offer. It will also allow me to turn on the lathe more so hopefully there will not be a waiting list like some other mods. These will also be produced on more modular battery units. I will let everyone know what they are when I am positive that they are practical to turn. Lewis

For people that want a lathe but don't have a lot of money. They requirements are that you must have good hand/eye/.....foot cordination and you profecient with a bow. http://wimp.com/chesspieces/ With this setup he uses a skew chisel faster and better than I do on a power lathe. Just thought I would pass along what i thought is amazing.

For the 18650 users that want a acrylic tube mod madvapes is now carrying a few different ones. For the price they are selling it for I won't be turning mine in acrylic, just the burl http://www.madvapes.com/Patriot-Acrylic-Tube-Mod_p_3503.html Britvapes looks like they will be selling a wood tube mod soon. It is about $70 and runs a 18650. Hopefully their finish is good enough to keep the e-liquid from staining. http://www.britvapes.co.uk/Hand_carved_18650_wooden_mod/p1204754_5564919.aspx

Mark and I are not trying to be rude. This is just how turning on a lathe for a hobby is. I enjoy spending tons of hours turning and I am sure Mark does as well. Some of my work is displayed as art and some of it is used. I actually like to see what I make in use instead of collecting dust.

I think hand turned items just sell to people that want them bad enough and have the money all at the same time. I can honestly say that I don't make enough money to buy my pens (construction worker). I have to sell them so I can buy more parts to make them again and supprt the addiction. Luckly I make them so I can afford to keep a few.

They will be made with 14650 and 18650 tubes/cones. The riva was just a test to see how it would look on a battery, sorry for the confusion. They are very similar to how I turn a pen. Here is a link. http://gentrywoodturning.com/cms.php?id_cms=7 Step 6 and 7 are skiped because bushings are not sold for these tubes. Bushings act as a guide while turning a pen blank these are just turned by eye.

I think 1,2 and 4 should come out really nice. It is hard to say with #3, you never really know until it is turned down. I would guess that the three pieces of redwood were cut toward the outside of the burl. Most burl actually has much more marble which I really like. The redwood was $3.99 at woodheadz.com and I couldn't pass it up. Normally stabilized burl in 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 5 1/4 sells for around $20. Here are some links of where I will be buying the wood form if anyone wants to see more pictures, woodheadz.com mostly redwood at this time. burlsource.com reel seat blanks burlsource.com knife blanks Those are the only two source that I found that have good prices. Eventually I will be posting up how they are made, materials and what tools are needed. If anyone else starts to make these I hope that the info will save them all the time it took me to do the research

I ordered a few stabilized blanks. Stabilized wood is used for knife handles and do not absorb water or oil. They should also not absorb the e-liquid. They should take about two hours to turn a complete set(tube and cone). Only a few thin coats of CA should be requird to help with the shine. Here is a few pictures of the blanks. Redwood Burl Redwood Burl Redwood Burl Madrone

Thanks mega, I was a little off on that one. I was trying to give a rough example of the cost. The materials I use to make these will not be marked up or down, only what it cost me to purchase them. The cost of the wood varies from cheaper wood like brown ebony to exotic burls. Each one will have its own material list just like my pens which is found on the data sheet tab. People could also mail me there tubes/cones. I would be happy to press their end caps into the finished tubes. By the time they pay USPS I don't think it would be worth the savings, but I could be wrong. Thanks blucavvy, I am not trying to make a living turning on a lathe. I actually wouldn't want to, it would turn my hobby into work which would be really sad. I just sell what I make to support my turning addiction. I understand that most people would just use the stock tube because they are cheaper and still look nice. I am sure it will be like the pens that I make. A small percentage of people buy them, but most people just use a 99 cent pen. I haven't seen anyone else selling these so I decided to make them available to people that want one but don't have the ability to make their own. I will be making six of these to start with. Two i will keep for myself and two are already spoken for. I really like the contests here so one will be donated to the forum, although I am not sure how I go about doing that. This will leave one remaining for sale in the first batch.

E-power battery parts and wood cost more than $20

It is looking like I am going to get laid off for the rest of the week and possibly part of the next. This should allow us to finish up my mom's rental house where I have been working every weekend. If everything goes as planned I should be able to start making wood tubes and cones in small batches within 2-3 months instead of 6 months. Currently I turn at my fathers house which is an hour away. I will be setting up my lathe and other tools in my garage so that in 2-3 months I will be able to turn more frequently. In 2-3 months this should allow me to make 4-16 a month compared to 1-4 a month. I do plan on selling these, but the prices will vary with the material used, the finish and how long they take to make. Price = material + $20 per hour. Out of the $20 per hour comes the cost of a felt sleeve, sandpaper, glue, activator, paper towels, dust masks, broken blanks, electricity, time spent shipping packages, time taking pictures, time posting to store and PayPal takes 3%. By the time everything is said and done I should be around $14 per hour. This will generally be used to buy more supplies and tools. I will be using wood with a CA finish like the picture and acrylic. The CA looks nice but is vulnerable to rough use. The acrylic should hold up better to rough use. I will also try experimenting with friction polish and other finishes that will retain the wood look but will not be stained by e-liquid. These should be about the same price as the acrylic taking 1 hour to make. Wood battery tube with a CA finish Labor 2 hours = $40 Battery parts = $9 Wood $5-$15 Total = $54-$64 Acrylic battery tube Labor 1 hour = $20 Battery parts = $9 Wood $10-$16 Total = $39-$45 Wood battery cone with a CA finish Labor 2 hours = $40 Battery parts = $4 Wood $3-$8 Total = $47-$52 Acrylic battery cone Labor 1 hour = $20 Battery parts = $4 Wood $5-$8 Total = $29-$32 These prices are not fixed in stone but I think they should be very close. I made a website about a year ago that would be activated when I have more time to turn. If there is an interest in these I will be selling them at http://www.gentrywoodturning.com. Currently the site functions, but the paypal is not active and almost all of the pens have been sold. I have ordered 5 tubes and cones from hoosier to play around with. I will post pictures when I get one finished. If you stuck around to read all that what are your thoughts?

The ca finish does have a bit of a plastic look to it. Any wood feel and grain turns smooth under the ca. Ca is also a plastic when it drys. Another downside to the ca is when it is hit hard it fogs over like a lacquer. It is the only finish besides lacquer that I have found that gives wood the dipped in glass look. If the tube lived on a desk I think it would do ok. For heavy use like a construction site a friction polish or acrylic blank would probably show the damage less. If you get back to a ca finish I would be happy to mail you a pen done in ca so you have something to compare your finish to. Pictures only go so far, I like to hold it in my hand. Happy to hear that you all like them. Hopefully I can get some time to turn more, but for now I have to go back to work laying a wood floor.

Thanks Mark. Btw this is Lewis, I emailed you a few weeks ago about this idea. If you are interested in making them I would be happy to send you info. Did you ever get a chance to try the ca finish? Unfortinatly I don't have a lot of free time. I have been working for 3 weeks straight. You might be able to talk Mark into making these, they are basically the same as turning pens. As for turning a Leo. What is needed to turn these is a empty tube. This means that the battery has to be completly taken apart and put back together. Depending on how they are wired and how tightly they are packed things break when disasembled. On the riva the wire to the base cap broke when I disasembled but I was able to solder it back on. When life slows down in 6 months or so I should be able to make 1-4 a month. These will be on the 14650 and 18650 e-power tubes because the battery unscrews. Eventually I will also be making a cone that will match the tube. The hole in the cone will be big enough to go over a fluxomizer. The current e-power cone is to small which bugs me. I also want to try making a cone that will fit under a map tank for a cleaner look. I am also interested in a smaller e-power type device. The e-power 14650 is twice the size of my riva which is a little on the large side. I was thinking of cutting the e-power tube so that it would fit a smaller battery. I would like the battery to be lithium ion with 800-1000mah, 2/3 the height and the same width as the 14650. Unfortinatly I am not to good at electronics, so any help would be apreciated.

In the future I will be making wood and acrylic tubes for them. The number I will make will be pretty limited due to work and life getting in the way. Here is a thread that has a pic

Hello everyone. I turn wood on a lathe for a hobby. I normally make things like pens, pepper mills, bottle stoppers and goblets. I decided to put wood around a Riva 510 battery tube to see how it would turn out. I dissembled the riva down to just the tube. I glued a piece of brown ebony around the tube. Then I turned it down and sanded it to 1200 grit. Next I applied 10 coats of CA glue(crazy glue) as a finish. The finish was also sanded to 1200 grit and buffed with white diamond. It took ~3hours from start to finish. About a week ago I bought a E-power 14650 to test and see how good they work. The newer buttons seem to function fine and I have not had any issues yet. My next project will be to turn the tube on the E-power. The tube on the E-power unscrews from the switch so when the battery dies it will be much easier for me to change compared to my riva.