Inspired by the use of fancy heat guns, I put this together, it is pretty good:
The heat gun is a Milwaukee precision hot tool, like 300 watts. $20 used on ebay.
It plugs into a socket controlled by a 500 watt dimmer, total cost for the box was ~$10 at lowes. It adds a lot of control, but heat up times are a few seconds longer when not at full power.
The pipe is a $3 corn cob with a narrow enough opening that the gun doesn't fall in the bowl and the deepest one on the rack. I bored out the stem and the tip, removed the filter, and installed a screen to suspend the material and make a little plenum area underneath it.
I used a candy thermometer to take some of the guesswork out of the dimmer setting, by putting it in the stream and messing with the dial, trying to approach 400f here. The resistance of the pipe will affect the temp so I keep a slight suction on it.
Procedure, put a pinch of material in the bowl, turn on the gun for about 7 seconds if it hasn't been on in a while (otherwise 2-3 seconds is good), then in quick succession breathe out, turn it off, put it on the bowl and turn it on and start drawing. I usually draw at a good pace for 10-15 seconds, and will redraw the same bowl till i think I got it all.
The heat gun is a Milwaukee precision hot tool, like 300 watts. $20 used on ebay.
It plugs into a socket controlled by a 500 watt dimmer, total cost for the box was ~$10 at lowes. It adds a lot of control, but heat up times are a few seconds longer when not at full power.
The pipe is a $3 corn cob with a narrow enough opening that the gun doesn't fall in the bowl and the deepest one on the rack. I bored out the stem and the tip, removed the filter, and installed a screen to suspend the material and make a little plenum area underneath it.
I used a candy thermometer to take some of the guesswork out of the dimmer setting, by putting it in the stream and messing with the dial, trying to approach 400f here. The resistance of the pipe will affect the temp so I keep a slight suction on it.
Procedure, put a pinch of material in the bowl, turn on the gun for about 7 seconds if it hasn't been on in a while (otherwise 2-3 seconds is good), then in quick succession breathe out, turn it off, put it on the bowl and turn it on and start drawing. I usually draw at a good pace for 10-15 seconds, and will redraw the same bowl till i think I got it all.