Wood Tube Mod

[whokrz]

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.

[Mark]

From one wood turner to another---Welcome to Vapor Talk. Nice work ya got there.

[mega]

all i have to say is wow, nice work

[Viper Ron]

Very nice indeed!

[blucavvy]

Very nice indeed!

can you do one for a Leo?

Edited February 4, 2012 by blucavvy

[whokrz]

From one wood turner to another---Welcome to Vapor Talk. Nice work ya got there.

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?

can you do one for a Leo?

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.

Edited February 4, 2012 by whokrz

[Mark]

I haven't forgotten Lewis--LOL. Right now I'm working on casting my own acrylics and possible making a few Marksmods out of them for future giveaways. I did try the ca finish but I'm a purist and the finish just looked kinda plasticy to me (need to work on it some more). Glad you decided to join us here at Vapor Talk. Hope to hear more from you soon.

[Uma]

That's beautiful! I hope you do more.

[whokrz]

I haven't forgotten Lewis--LOL. Right now I'm working on casting my own acrylics and possible making a few Marksmods out of them for future giveaways. I did try the ca finish but I'm a purist and the finish just looked kinda plasticy to me (need to work on it some more). Glad you decided to join us here at Vapor Talk. Hope to hear more from you soon.

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.

[mega]

I am deffinatelyy trying this with my epower.

[whokrz]

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?

Edited February 7, 2012 by whokrz

[Jeffb]

I love the looks of the wood tube. I think the price range is way too high and you may have a hard time selling them for that. But who knows, I could be way off base. I would be willing to pay maybe $20. I wish you luck

[whokrz]

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

[Rip Topaz]

I use CA as a finish on bass guitar fingerboards every time I make a fretless bass. It leaves you with a finish that looks like glass, and is very easy to maintain between string changes. I just keep some micromesh handy.

[mega]

e power battery tubes are $7 and cones 4.50

[blucavvy]

i think the prices are fair honestly. it's out of my price range but if i had the money i would absolutely get one. the problem is jeffb is right, most people aren't going to want to pay that.

[whokrz]

e power battery tubes are $7 and cones 4.50

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.

i think the prices are fair honestly. it's out of my price range but if i had the money i would absolutely get one. the problem is jeffb is right, most people aren't going to want to pay that.

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.

[whokrz]

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

Edited February 9, 2012 by whokrz

[mega]

i really like the second piece. nice marble effect imo.

[whokrz]

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

[blucavvy]

that first piece......"drool"

[bobthesalesclerk]

I love the looks of the wood tube. I think the price range is way too high and you may have a hard time selling them for that. But who knows, I could be way off base. I would be willing to pay maybe $20. I wish you luck

I think those prices for abeood tube mod are pretty damn reasonable.

If he makes one that will take an 18650 so i can fit a 5v nimh battery i will buy one!

sent from my Ice Cream Sandwiched Gtablet

[Jeffb]

I think those prices for abeood tube mod are pretty damn reasonable.

If he makes one that will take an 18650 so i can fit a 5v nimh battery i will buy one!

sent from my Ice Cream Sandwiched Gtablet

I agree if it was a mod with a replaceable 18650 batt, but from what I could tell from the pick it's a Riva batt with a wood skin glued on the exterior. Am I missing something?

[Brian]

I agree if it was a mod with a replaceable 18650 batt, but from what I could tell from the pick it's a Riva batt with a wood skin glued on the exterior. Am I missing something?

Yes, you are missing something. He's going to use the epower 14650 and 18650 parts so you will be able to replace the battery. The pic is just a Riva battery, but his plan is not to just use a riva battery.

[Jeffb]

Thank you kind sir