The Nomad From Morwood

sixstringsmash

Well-Known Member

Dan Morrison

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
An olivewood Nomad would be sweeeeet. Should one of those come out, would current Nomad owners be able to purchase just a body and swap it out themselves? Or buy multiple bodies or other parts to mix and match?

The interchangeable parts are the Heater Modules and the Button. The bronze wood body, and sleeve/wood bottom plate are more or less permanently matched to each other. They need to be made together so that they all fit together perfectly. So I most likely won't offer just the body/bronze/sleeve up for sale as a stand-alone, since this is the most time consuming part of the build.. the discount of opting out of a button would be marginal and not really worth it for me.

Though, I would totally offer new buttons, you can swap out a button in less than a minute with the supplied allen key.

So....if these are still on track to ship in February, that means we're gonna see finished versions of these sometime with the next 2 1/2 weeks. Just sayin'.

Still on track, barely. You will see finished Nomads in the next couple weeks!

I hope @Dan Morrison will post individual photos of Nomads from the first batch. Then we will have a contest for the most beauty one.

I will definitely be taking photos of each and every Nomad, they're all so different!

@Dan Morrison I remember you saying the battery life was looking to be pretty good, about how long have you been getting off a single battery?

I am still at the same resistance value of around .65-.7 ohm for what I am calling the "standard" heater module. So battery life is the same as the post you were linked to above.
 

sixstringsmash

Well-Known Member
I just wanna know if the Cherry Burl shown on instagram a day or two ago is headed my way. That thing is beautiful! :clap:
Dan mentioned he had to scrap all of the cherry burl blocks that he made because they did not come out good enough. All of us that ordered cherry burl will be receiving a Maple Burl instead that looks equally as stunning though.
 

Dan Morrison

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
A little look at the last couple weeks.

For the copper bridge that connects the heater module and the battery I am using super-conductive oxygen free copper (99.99%). Yeah... it makes no practical difference, but it looks cool on the spec sheet, hahah. And I swear it oxidizes much slower than regular copper.

rC5bRNT.jpg


For these small parts I am trying out a new technique, using templates to locate holes. This ultra-pointy center punch marks a much more accurate dot than your average center punch... but it's only good for soft materials like this copper.

mxC2tVj.jpg


KIyXH57.jpg


I skipped forward a bit here, but lots of hand shaping, sanding, and polishing to get these bridges done. I am definitely getting these CNC'd for the next batch!

Here I am applying a satin brushed finish. I've found that a brushed finish looks better than a polished surface. It hides inevitable scratches nicely. It patinas more evenly and doesn't show fingerprints as much.

a5ENAg7.jpg


The paper template technique worked great for the bridges, so I decided to use it for the heater modules too. I've been really surprised with the perfect accuracy of the "center-punch, center drill, drill" method of making holes in tiny parts.

These parts will definitely be roughed out on CNC in the future (finished by hand), but for now I'm making them fully by hand on the lathe/mill.

In the prototype this part was made from African blackwood. But I chose to change this part to PEEK. I wasn't confident that wood would stand the test of time for this part.

vs6MauL.jpg


PEEK is a really cool material. Tough as hell, dimensionally stable, low moisture absorption, very high temperature resistance, inertness, FDA approved, biocompatable, odorless...etc..

This will allow you to boil the entire heater module to give it a deep clean if needed. You can also soak it in alcohol. Something that couldn't be done with a wooden part.

The only downside to PEEK is that it's darn expensive.

M6aeuky.jpg


9 holes per heater module... that's 450 holes to drill! Somehow they all turned out looking like they came right off a CNC machine... still amazed at the accuracy of this method.

The PEEK takes a really nice satin finish from 600x paper. Pen makers talk about the feel and look of the common plastics (celluloid, acrylic, hard rubber) used in making fountain pens. Each has their own qualities.

I think PEEK, when finished in this way, has a nice soft feel to it. Looks practically identical to A. Blackwood.

grMcqow.jpg


MghTn2g.jpg


A little peak at the 316 SS heater module shells.

aL3WNnd.jpg


Pencil for scale.

UJ4NTcp.jpg


One of the buttons in this batch is a custom request, blue coral.

I used the inside of a coral "branch", revealing the cool structure inside.

0X1rxHd.jpg


Looks like an eye!

PYD0Vnk.jpg


OOL6kPE.jpg
 

sixstringsmash

Well-Known Member
A little look at the last couple weeks.

For the copper bridge that connects the heater module and the battery I am using super-conductive oxygen free copper (99.99%). Yeah... it makes no practical difference, but it looks cool on the spec sheet, hahah. And I swear it oxidizes much slower than regular copper.

rC5bRNT.jpg


For these small parts I am trying out a new technique, using templates to locate holes. This ultra-pointy center punch marks a much more accurate dot than your average center punch... but it's only good for soft materials like this copper.

mxC2tVj.jpg


KIyXH57.jpg


I skipped forward a bit here, but lots of hand shaping, sanding, and polishing to get these bridges done. I am definitely getting these CNC'd for the next batch!

Here I am applying a satin brushed finish. I've found that a brushed finish looks better than a polished surface. It hides inevitable scratches nicely. It patinas more evenly and doesn't show fingerprints as much.

a5ENAg7.jpg


The paper template technique worked great for the bridges, so I decided to use it for the heater modules too. I've been really surprised with the perfect accuracy of the "center-punch, center drill, drill" method of making holes in tiny parts.

These parts will definitely be roughed out on CNC in the future (finished by hand), but for now I'm making them fully by hand on the lathe/mill.

In the prototype this part was made from African blackwood. But I chose to change this part to PEEK. I wasn't confident that wood would stand the test of time for this part.

vs6MauL.jpg


PEEK is a really cool material. Tough as hell, dimensionally stable, low moisture absorption, very high temperature resistance, inertness, FDA approved, biocompatable, odorless...etc..

This will allow you to boil the entire heater module to give it a deep clean if needed. You can also soak it in alcohol. Something that couldn't be done with a wooden part.

The only downside to PEEK is that it's darn expensive.

M6aeuky.jpg


9 hole per heater module... that's 450 holes to drill! Somehow they all turned out looking like they came right off a CNC machine... still amazed at the accuracy of this method.

The PEEK takes a really nice satin finish from 600x paper. Pen makers talk about the feel and look of the common plastics (celluloid, acrylic, hard rubber) used in making fountain pens. Each has their own qualities.

I think PEEK, when finished in this way, has a nice soft feel to it. Looks practically identical to A. Blackwood.

grMcqow.jpg


MghTn2g.jpg


A little peak at the 316 SS heater module shells.

aL3WNnd.jpg


Pencil for scale.

UJ4NTcp.jpg


One of the buttons in this batch is a custom request, blue coral.

I used the inside of a coral "branch", revealing the cool structure inside.

0X1rxHd.jpg


Looks like an eye!

PYD0Vnk.jpg


OOL6kPE.jpg
Hot Diggity Dog! That coral is stunning.
 

KeroZen

Chronic vapaholic
Hm... not thrilled about PEEK.

Those who know me around here also know that I'm not very fond of plastics in general...

Seeing the vape is unregulated, how can you warranty that a misfire during transport for instance and keeping the heater on for 5 minutes or more would not exceed the PEEK temperature rating and melt the shit out of it?
 

Fat Freddy

FUCK CANCER TOO !
I'd be willing to wait for a good PEEK substitute...would also pay a reasonable, additional amount to offset the cost of a customized order, e.g, ceramic or other suitable material that wouldn't be susceptible too a melting scenario such as @KeroZen described.

You've come this far with the Perfection of Art, and the Art of Perfection...yes? :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

FF

.
 
Fat Freddy,
  • Like
Reactions: KeroZen

Jammypac

Well-Known Member
I have one of Dan's pipes ("Pipes of the Wizard IV", so badass lol) which has a blue coral nub on the end...figured I'd take a chance and ask that my Nomad be a matching companion. After seeing everyone else's buttons come out so beautifully I was worried if I'd made the right choice...feel like I totally did :)
 

delloy

Well-Known Member
@Dan Morrison Can I ask a small question about the different heater modules. You mentioned in the initial letter pre-orders get 2 heater modules a Medium/Low and a High/Medium module. How do the heater modules differ in temp ranges and how do they work if there is no temp dial as such.
 

Dan Morrison

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
@KeroZen and @Fat Freddy

On paper, from an engineers perspective, PEEK is an ideal material for this application. It would allow me to switch to CNC (something I can't do with A. Blackwood), it gave the user various deep cleaning options, and aesthetically looked very nice.. all in a material that is, as of now, known to be safe.

But one thing I failed to realize when making this switch is the sheer comfort factor of using an old school material like wood.

I hear you, and it makes sense. If there is any doubt about the PEEK, it's going to negatively impact the user experience.

So, I will re-do the heater module insulators in A. blackwood.

I thought about doing both, and letting the user decide, but I'm offering so many options with this, I'd rather just keep things simple here and go with one material for all.

I've made a slight design change to the way the two are connected so that the fit can be adjusted with a set screw if it's ever needed. This eliminates any worry about the dimensional stability of using wood for this part.

@delloy

The two different ranges of heaters are made with different thickness and lengths of resistance ribbon. So the high temperature heater ends up having a lower resistance. Lower the resistance, and you increase the amount of current that will flow out of the battery and through that coil.

Think of it like a water spout at the bottom of a tank of water. The tank of water is your battery. The valve on the spout is your heater resistance. The more open your valve, the less resistance to that flow, the more water will naturally come out.

To control the constant heat output of any un-regulated coil, you have two factors at play, ambient air temperature (not so much a factor) and air flow over the coils.

You're constantly teetering on a knife edge, balancing heat energy to airflow. If heat energy coming from the coil is constant, and airflow is also constant, heat output should also remain constant.

So, theoretically, you can achieve a heat output in your perfect temperature range with an unregulated heater. The issue is that everyone has a totally different inhale rate, and thus the flow of air over the coils is always different between individuals.

This is where the various heaters come in.

The high/medium heater is just over-all more aggressive. It heats up faster, and is harder to control. It requires a very fast air flow to reach equilibrium. So it is more suited to hard rips, watertools, etc.. This idea behind this heater is that it has all the power you'd ever need to combust. You're not left wanting more. But the dangers of combustion are there. If you hold the ON button, and draw at a slow/normal rate, you will combust eventually.

The low/medium heater module is basically for everyday use. It's the standard heater in my mind. You can pass it off to anyone and they will be able to use it. Just hold the button on, draw slow, and the equilibrium reached is right within that perfect vaporization range. No chance of ever combusting. It's basically the only heater you'd ever need.

My intention with this first batch is sort of to give two extremes of the scale. And based on user reviews I want to tweak the HM range to include other resistance values. I suspect that I will need to come out with one or two heaters that are between the two mentioned above.

@rz I would not use ceramic for this part. Too much risk of ceramic dust, chips, what have you. Too much of an inhalation risk in my mind. Also, this part has a couple critical material property needs that ceramic doesn't have.
 
Last edited:

szai

Well-Known Member
I have one of Dan's pipes ("Pipes of the Wizard IV", so badass lol) which has a blue coral nub on the end...figured I'd take a chance and ask that my Nomad be a matching companion. After seeing everyone else's buttons come out so beautifully I was worried if I'd made the right choice...feel like I totally did :)

I think you did. It looks great!

I want a button made from ruby. I happen to have some that might work and were cheap enough that it's not an insane idea. I'm talking like $5 for a pretty large one. I'll post a pic when I get home.
 
Last edited:

KeroZen

Chronic vapaholic
@Dan Morrison: sorry for being a needle in your butt my good man! :p

You might have well answered that in the case of a misfire, wood would char instead of melting so in all cases it's bad... I imagine we will have to tell users to remove the cell during transport like we do for the Milaana and Zion (unless you find a way to lock the trigger... or we could insert an insulator disc of some kind between the battery terminal and the sprong thing, similar to the guitar pick hack in the Milaana)

I know that PEEK is deemed safe as of now, but at the same time it's also a relatively new material (from the 80's I think?) and it takes time to realize when there is an unforeseen problem (ex: BPA, phtalates, all deemed safe and even used in baby bottles until proved otherwise)

But PEEK indeed looks quite inert and has interesting properties. I guess it will depend as always on the additives used and how well it is polymerized etc.

Back to the blackwood, in the iHeat thread we discussed this material and some users reported that with heat that wood can ooze some natural oils and it also has a distinctive smell. I was intrigued because I hoped a blackwood iHeat would feel better than the bamboo I have (which has quite an unpleasant smell, don't like this wood at all)

I imagine at this point you have more time spent testing the blackwood in your Nomad prototype than the PEEK rings?

I really like the idea of having that part made of ceramic or porcelain (possibly 3D printed? apparently it works pretty well and the big online printing services offer it) or glass. The shape reminds me those glass discs with holes found in the very early (and awful) Atmos vapes...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glass-Screen-Filter-Atmos-Vaporizer/dp/B01EX457Z6

Maybe something along those lines? I don't know.
 

szai

Well-Known Member
So, I will re-do the heater module insulators in A. blackwood.

I thought about doing both, and letting the user decide, but I'm offering so many options with this, I'd rather just keep things simple here and go with one material for all.

I really hope you're able to offer the peak insulators for sale. The ability to deep clean a vape isn't all that common. That feature is prized by me and I'm sure others. If you're ever traveling internationally the ability to iso soak everything clean is a huge plus.

I went on a trip to Pakistan over the winter break and I left my FF2 at home. I only took my dynavap. If you make a pressed hash heater core then I'd have even more need for that clean ability. Even with the normal heaters, being able to deep clean is key for those of us in illegal states/countries.
 

Dan Morrison

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
@KeroZen , No problems here, communal discussion is important!

In case of a prolonged misfire, constant on with no airflow. There would be other things I'd worry about beyond the PEEK. Mainly burning out the coil, browning the wood body, and most of all, heating the 18650 cell or over draining.

And just so we're clear, there are two safety measures I took to make sure that doesn't happen. One, the button itself is difficult to accidentally depress, it's not what you might call a hair trigger, the throw is relatively long, and the spring pressure is enough to resist, say.. the pressure of your pocket.

But more importantly, there IS a hard OFF lock feature that breaks the circuit. It's built into the design of the connector bridge. When swiveled, and the locking screw slightly tightened with your finger, the bridge is locked into place. You physically can't swivel the bridge back into a position without breaking the device.

I would definitely encourage everyone to engage this safety when the vape is not in use, as it guarantees no misfire is possible.

Also keep in mind that the massive bronze bottom plate is a huge heat sink that has a fairly large contact area with the heater module. Any heat that travels back down the shell (which is thin SS, so not very good at transferring heat in the first place) is conducted into the bronze bottom plate. In my mind, this is an important safety feature and part of the reason I used a thick bottom plate. Non of this gets hot in use, but in case of a misfire, I think it will soak up a lot of the excess heat and channel it away from the more heat sensitive areas.

In case you are interested, here is the PEEK I used. This material isn't like a consumer-grade plastic, it needs to be made to very strict guidelines. This stuff is used in extreme vacuum (because of it's purity, high temp, low outgassing, etc..) and it's put into peoples bodies for medical implants etc.

But yes, there is definitely a stigma around plastics in general, and I think that alone is perhaps worth the change. The average consumer is not going to be knowledgeable in the nuances of PEEK, ha.

A. Blackwood, like a lot of the dense exotics, is relatively high in resin content. With thin-walled smoking pipes, I noticed the effect you're talking about, with a slight oozing of the resin on the outside of the wood. This was mostly a result of abuse, burning the pipe too hot. The resins can be wiped off, and in my experience, smells pleasant, just like it smells when you machine A. blackwood, sort of sweet candy like.

But, the insulator end of the Nomad HM does not reach temperatures anywhere near what would be required to do this. I've never noticed this effect here. Also, the part is so small that the actual resin content would most likely be negligible compared to a larger body of wood.

@szai , A very good point. In normal use, you're bound to have a few exhale events that blow a bit of vapor back down the stem into the heater module. I have soaked the heater end of my module in acetone a few times to clean it, but don't submerge the wood.

I have a feeling that A. Blackwood would be able to take being boiled and soaked in ISO, but the cracking risks increase with that sort of abuse.

hmmm... what to do...
 
Top Bottom