The Nomad From Morwood

tepictoton said:

How about not having the tray slide out, but make it another little cube that will klick in place above the heater? Maybe with magnets to hold it together? Hope that makes sense

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I don't think using *that* vaporizer is a very good representation of the pod system. I had an Air One and all I remember from using it was all the vapor that leaked out from it.

If we're going to look at pod chambers from my experience I think the minivap flexicone baskets are the best design of pod loading in a vaporizer yet. No leaked vapor and airtight seals into the air path.

Dan Morrison said:

@Shit Snacks, Thats the idea! Modules man! Modules!

Thinking more on it.. it makes no diference in crafting time/cost, making stem packed style or heater module packed style. Both need to be explored further, no clear winner yet. Would definitely offer both options if thats what someone wanted.

Being able to adjust distance between heater and chamber isn't such a big deal. Button hold-down-let-off time along with draw speed is all you really need to control the heat.

A heater module with an all glass casing is definitely doable, so that would cut down on conduction if you wanted to have the herb chamber as part of the heater module, while retaining that pure convection functionality.

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Alright I'm convinced, forget the stem, that all sounds pretty good and an all module system is simpler with less variables (but I suppose both will always be possible anyway) plus unique

I don't have the money to spend on this as I just bought two vapes within a month when I was only planning on one (damn Vapcap M), but I can't wait to see how this turns out. The aesthetic is to die for.

Dan Morrison said:

@natural farmer, don't get too excited! I only mean't partial conduction. On-demand full conduction in a manually operated vape is like a paradox.

The airflow is adjustable, yep!



Done!

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But, but, the Vapcap... Manual, on demand conduction?

natural farmer said:

But, but, the Vapcap... Manual, on demand conduction?

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Plus the good ol' MFLB.

I could be wrong here but I'm pretty sure the VC and MFLB both utilize a sort of hybrid convection/conduction heating, not 100% conduction.

I guess you guys have a point!

I suppose I was thinking about the fact that to ramp up to the correct temperature, then hold it there, would take some serious button control. With a heater that heats up that true, on-demand, style...

But then again.. Using a more massive heater, with a slower heat up time, ~15 seconds, would also give you a slower cooldown time...so the up and down temp waves are not so violent.. if that makes sense? Could be the way to go!

I know nothing about vape design, but I can't help wondering if unregulated conduction wouldn't quite easily result in combustion.

@Dan Morrison, maybe thats what you just said(?).

Either way, I'd personally prefer convection and/or hybrid option(s) over conduction.

Essentially that's what I was getting at @RelaxedNow.

You need some sort of temperature indicator with conduction. Whether it's a click, a sight window, temperature probe..etc.. You don't have the air flow to help you as a gauge and heat controller.

100% conduction is a bit of a pickle with manual electronic control and no temp indicator.

Not to say it's impossible to build a module with built in temp indicator.. but it's just not my focus at the moment.

I'm all for a convection/hybrid heating unit.

In regards to a conduction heating module, you should check out what @Pipes, @rz and @hardboiledfrog are up to in the 'VapCap Induction Heater for Desktop and in Car Use' thread.

It's well beyond my knowledge area but it's fun trying to work out what they are saying.

I don't know if it could be scaled down into a module or not but it seems like they are onto something in regards to temp control and induction heating.

RE: Loading and multiple screens.

What I've been doing with the Milaana is having one basket screen pushed into the stem a bit. Then I fill the screen, and pop in one of the small ELB/DDave style rimmed basket screens to close it up. Gives all the perks of a two-screen system but is much easier to deal with than using two basket screens. If the sizing works out for your system it could solve your issue of easy loading and not having a heater screen, though personally I'd prefer to have a heater screen no matter what.

Milaana & Firewood4 are right in your niche (on-demand convection portable) and good examples of stem-loading vs capsule-loading (Firewood4 is my daily driver and Milaana is my heavy hitter/camping vape).

Milaana has a permanent screen above the heater, had it almost a year w/ almost zero maintenance and no problems. Occasionally a few bits fall out of the stem and need to be dislodged w/ a pointy tool, but loading the stem basket-style, even w/ kief, just isn't a problem - weed is sticky enough to stay in place w/ the lightest tamping. When I'm going for deep extraction I'll unpack and grind to powder in my fingers, suck the powder back into the basket, and just to be safe I'll take the next hit upside down, and the heat from that hit is enuf to make the almost-spent powder sticky to stay in place. The downside to this method is I can't load and go (also not good to leave glass stem in glass female when not in use).

Firewood4 has no permanent screen above the heater. The capsule is easy to reverse for loading w/ straw method (not so great for hand or funnel methods), a good feature, which also means a couple times I've -cough- forgotten to un-reverse it and material has fallen into the heater for a little combustion event. So a permanent screen would be nice, but it's only happened a couple times so I haven't felt compelled to add one. The capsule is perfect for load and go, that and the no-look interface (and compactness) is why it's my daily driver. Some folks don't love the capsule system, other's buy extra capsules for easy/fast reloads (glass capsule is too hot for all of 30 seconds).

So I'd say 1) yes, protect heater w/ screen, 2) yes, don't need variable distance, draw speed takes care of it, and 3) a capsule system is a great match for your compact size, as long as you can load via straw method.

@GreenHopper Very neat stuff linked there! The scaling down part is an issue though, haha. Inspiring non-the-less.

@ZC, Very good point. That works!

I think what I will do is offer both options. Removing the glass stem to re-load is faster than removing the heater module. So there is definitely some advantage to having both.

@hippogriff, Great points all around! Thanks!

It won't be an issue to add a screen to the top of the heater. The only issue here is that a metal screen can rob some heat from the air... but it also acts as a sort of heat diffuser.. so.. zero sum game I guess. Either way the heater screen is removable.

In my design, the stem itself is the "capsule". You swap stems. OR, as discussed above, if you have your setup where the chamber is part of the heater module, you swap heater modules.

This gives you the advantage of pairing your heater with your material for different experiences with each change out.

I think that one of the first aux. accessories will be a small wooden box, with sleeve cover, that holds about 6 or so modules all nice and neat and ready to go.

Dan Morrison said:

@GreenHopper Very neat stuff linked there! The scaling down part is an issue though, haha. Inspiring non-the-less.

@ZC, Very good point. That works!

I think what I will do is offer both options. Removing the glass stem to re-load is faster than removing the heater module. So there is definitely some advantage to having both.

@hippogriff, Great points all around! Thanks!

It won't be an issue to add a screen to the top of the heater. The only issue here is that a metal screen can rob some heat from the air... but it also acts as a sort of heat diffuser.. so.. zero sum game I guess. Either way the heater screen is removable.

In my design, the stem itself is the "capsule". You swap stems. OR, as discussed above, if you have your setup where the chamber is part of the heater module, you swap heater modules.

This gives you the advantage of pairing your heater with your material for different experiences with each change out.

I think that one of the first aux. accessories will be a small wooden box, with sleeve cover, that holds about 6 or so modules all nice and neat and ready to go.

Click to expand...

Well shit I don't even have the vape yet and I already want the accessories.

The last prototype. A lazy Saturday evening in the shop.

As you can see, a slightly different body shape compared to the last prototype.



Paper template on the bottom plate.





My favourite hammer.



Magnification can get you really darn close to perfect with the center punch.





The Okin charcoal drill helping out with the starting of the holes.



Ready to be screwed onto the bottom of the body.



Playing around with some metal stamping... just a test. The patina on this brass is really great... it's the natural patina from leaving it in my shop for years. I'm shooting for a patina a bit like this with the brass parts.

@Dan Morrison yeah that hammer looks lovely Dan not surprised its ya fave! I have tool envy.

I love stuff like that!

Dan Morrison said:

The last prototype. A lazy Saturday evening in the shop.

As you can see, a slightly different body shape compared to the last prototype.

Paper template on the bottom plate.

My favourite hammer.

Magnification can get you really darn close to perfect with the center punch.

The Okin charcoal drill helping out with the starting of the holes.

Ready to be screwed onto the bottom of the body.

Playing around with some metal stamping... just a test. The patina on this brass is really great... it's the natural patina from leaving it in my shop for years. I'm shooting for a patina a bit like this with the brass parts.

Click to expand...

Thanks Dan, these amazing photos help make the wait more bearable. Keep them coming!!

So jealous of the hammer. I'd love to hear a little of it's history. It looks generations old.

"If I had a hammer..."

@Southern Chef, A member of the "Following the Iron Brush" forum sent it to me as a gift. He was playing around with some blacksmithing techniques and ended up having a few extra hammers that he decided to give away. Very generous of the guy!

Well, we're back on the lathe. Boring out the hole for the fire button. Why not just drill it you ask? Well, a drill bit never makes an accurately round hole.. and as you'll see this hole has two diameters, with a flat "step".





Here's that step I was talkin' about.



Back on the drill press. Really wishing I had a proper milling machine right about now.

Prototyping is all about working with the tools you have, so you can eventually afford the tools you need, ha.



Back to the lathe again. A view through the microscope lens helps to get awkward tiny parts back on center.



Boring the battery hole.





And another hole that'll make more sense later..



Bottom plate pretty much done.



Matching holes in the wood.



Fits in the palm of your hand.



More boring on the lathe. This block is starting to look like swiss cheese.



Mortise for the stem collar.



As it stands right now... starting to take shape!

I love this thread and can't wait to try the final product

That is some seriously beautiful craftsmanship.

b0 said:

I love this thread and can't wait to try the final product

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duff said:

That is some seriously beautiful craftsmanship.

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Agreed !! I have been laying back silently watching things unfold here and I'm seriously impressed with where it's at . Dan your eye and attention to detail are amazing to me . You do beautiful work !!

Wow Dan, the behind the scenes pictures are just as beautiful as your mock-ups!

I never would have thought that boring could be so interesting!