Custom CARBLESS VapCap Ti stems

[DirtyD]

Holy Smoke! are you serious?? i don't know what to say and that happens not very often.

The only thing i come up with: WOW what a great day!! many thanks!!!!! very happy!

This

I'm having a small problem.
Before I've used white vinegar ( contains acetic acid ) for anodising Titanium and almost got
up to the green hue ,without even etching the metal surface.

Did some searching on the web and found quite a few professional in Titanium anodising are
using oxalic acid. Dilute and cold it serves as an electrolyte for the anodisation bath ,
while in more concentrated solutions and hot it etches lightly and nicely the Titanium ,
thus making it easier to achieve the 2nd order* colors -being from yellow gold to green -
So ,Went to the local chemist store and got it .
Ain't the cheapest chemical,that's for sure.

But ...
Up till now I get really wonderful and vivid 1st order hues.
When I try for second order hues ,nope.
The surface gets really dull (looks like it is covered with thick transparent varnish )
and the 2nd order hues barely show.


-The amperage is not that high ( must not be ,it dulls the hues ).
-The electrolyte solution is very cold ,as it has to be.
-the aluminium cathode has about 1/4 more surface of the stem surface
and it sits deeper than the stem.

The set up is close to ideal .
Oxalic acid has double strength od acetic acid
( both are organic acids ,relatively safe to handle and with low toxicity).
What goes wrong or what's missing ,I can't tell ,right now ...

I really do not wish to use other electrolytes such as dangerous inorganic acids ,
like phosphoric and sulfuric acid .
Both are the most preferred acids to anodise Ti ,but both are extremely dangerous to handle and
work with.

Anyway.
Maybe I'll make a small electrolyte batch by just mixing them both and test it.
Now it's late at night.

I'll leave alchemy for next morning.
Feel a bit-but only just a bit - disappointed and really tired right now.

Cheers.

*orders are for hues ,what the octaves are for music notes)

You ll figure it out, no doubt..

 

[KeroZen]

I didn't follow the VC evolution much, so excuse my ignorance, but how does it work without any carb hole? I have only the OG glass vapcap from the crowdfunding campaign and when I block the carb hole (the only way to get any kind of vapor) it feels like sucking a golf ball through a straw, to reuse that metaphor often heard on FC.

That's also why I never use my VC. So how and where does the air enter in these newer models and with your stems?

 

[stardustsailor]

I didn't follow the VC evolution much, so excuse my ignorance, but how does it work without any carb hole? I have only the OG glass vapcap from the crowdfunding campaign and when I block the carb hole (the only way to get any kind of vapor) it feels like sucking a golf ball through a straw, to reuse that metaphor often heard on FC.

That's also why I never use my VC. So how and where does the air enter in these newer models and with your stems?

Brother Kerozen ,most probably you are not aware of the mouth-pulling tokes.
Most people here either have long forgotten how they used to smoke joints ,
due to the near-zero "sip/toke" resistance of many modern vaporisers ,
or either they've never smoked one.

With the carb hole totally closed or without a carb hole whatsoever,
if you try to sip with your lungs (like on most vapes) you will get that feeling of
" sucking a golf ball through a straw ".Quite normal.

But if you use your facial muscles to induce a vacuum inside your mouth
(its's when you sip and both chicks are " sucked inside " ).
It's like milking the vapor with your mouth muscles.
one-two -three or even four short or longer mouthpulling sips and then you take a brief inhale of
air (mouth now is a bit away from mp of the VC ) ,thus forcing the vapor to go down
to the lungs.Repeat until cool down click is heard.

Remember.
You 've to use the facial muscles (mostly the chicks ) to create a vacuum inside your mouth.
Needs a bit of practice ,that's all.
When you master the technique ,then a new world will be -almost-revealed in front of you.
A parallel VapCap universe ,I should say.

Personally ,most of my friends and fellow vapcapers when they tried the carbless stems
along with mouth pulls,they never went back to their carbed stems.
I 'm even aware of one case that has put a tiny screw on the carbhole of his woody,to seal the carb.

In this parallel carbless universe ,VapCaps hit you like trains do .
Trust me on that one.

Cheers.

 

[KeroZen]

But where does the air enter? Through the minute gap between the stem and the cap? Or you create a vacuum when you draw which in turn sucks air back in via the stem when you release the pressure?

 

[stardustsailor]

But where does the air enter? Through the minute gap between the stem and the cap? Or you create a vacuum when you draw which in turn sucks air back in via the stem when you release the pressure?

The first.
It enters through the cap-tip gaps ,swirls around and then into the tip
and finally enters the condenser.
Really strong hits with lots of vapor(try to exhale as little as possible,though *)
Usually I do 3 cycles,then open the cap,scoop the dried up " herb blob "inside my left hand palm,
break /grind the " blob" with my right hand fingers ,suck the herb into the tip,close the cap
and do two to three more cycles.
That's the usual " VapCap trip " for me.

Cheers.

*That's a whole different story.Keep the toke in your lungs,inhale then some air to fill up the lungs.Keep it for 4 secs max ,exhale 25%-50% of lung capacity.Then inhale some more air ,
keep for 4 sec and then completely exhale everything that is left inside your lungs.
Once the herb is of a certain good quality ,then it is almost sure that it will feel like you are loaded in a huge canon and fired into universe with 10x the speed of light.Yeap.

 

[snackmaster]

@KeroZen the ti and ss tips let a good amount of air in between them and the cap. I think the glass models rely on the carb a lot more for air flow.

 

[stardustsailor]

@KeroZen the ti and ss tips let a good amount of air in between them and the cap. I think the glass models rely on the carb a lot more for air flow.

With a sand blasted borosilicate glass "tip" ,
I would guess that the cap has already a pretty tight fit.
Almost a "seal" maybe ,rather than "fit".
Let alone the sucking of the cap further into the glass,while you toke.
Never had an OG ,but most probably you are right, @snackmaster .

Cheers.

 

[stardustsailor]

At pic below you can see my basic stem "shaping" tools .
Nothing fancy ,ordinary tools.


At this pic you can see two stems being made .
One is a 63 mm (the one already "shaped" to it's basic form ) and another at 80 mm XL
(the tube that is still unshaped ).
Unfortunately those are the two last stems I'll be making for now,
until the next stock of Ti tubing arrives,in about 2-3 weeks.
It will take some time for things to start rolling smoothly ,so have some patience ,please.


And here is last night's failure.
Yes it's the one with the 89 mm xtra-short stem .
Sanded off the old hue (hazy purple stone washed )
and has became my favourite lab rat by now,besides being my EDC VC.
Anodised at 90 V ,went for green ,but no !

Besides is the "basic shaped " 63 mm stem .



Today ,I have noticed a thing ,not so weird afterall.
The stems that are anodised in any of the second order hues ,
feel like holding/touching a polished stone and not a metal surface.
This is due to the thicker layer of Ti dioxides (rutile ,anatase,etc ) that are forming .
The stem is not slippery at all -as opposed to the non-anodised ones and
does not conduct heat like the latter ,also.
As a result of these ,the "feeling" of the surface
reminds a more "gentle" material than metal.
Some may say that feels kinda like plastic or varnish of some sort.
Other may say that feels like touching a stone or a semi-precious gem of some sort.
Fact is that certainly doesn't feel like touching metal.
Cheers.

 

[KeroZen]

Thank you guys, indeed the OG was kind of a different beast and I knew the later iterations greatly improved the design in many aspects.

Please keep posting all these marvelous technical details about Titanium working, it's very enlightening and instructive.

 

[stardustsailor]

The 63 mm stem became a tree bark one (BRK)

I read last night that is a pretty good idea to use a non-ionic surfactant agent ,in order
to eliminate the surface tension of the water content of the electrolyte solution.
That helps into wetting the metal surface ,allowing for an even and without blemishes anodisation.
I had already handy the right stuff ,from previous "adventures" of mine !

It's called Pluronic F127 aka Poloxamer 407.It's used in Listerine mouthwash ,in tattoo inks ,
in medicine and in many other applications.

Well the brother who ordered those two stems asked for a 63BRK02 SW (stone washed)
I've mixed mostly white vinegar with a some oxalic acid and a bit of Poloxamer 407.
Well,things did not went as expected.The stem did get a nice reddish copper like hue ,
but the sculpted areas went slightly purple.The stem is awesome as is.
So,I've to wait for the brother's verdict.If he likes it ,then I leave it as is.
If he does not like it and still wants the 63BRK02 SW,then I will have to clean the dioxide layer
and move on to anodising the stem again.






Now ,it's time to start making the second one.
A 80STN08 one .

Cheers.

 

[stardustsailor]

Tip & condenser fitting test .





*** Left click on the image,then wait for the pic to load ,right click at he pic
and choose "view image" and then again left click for a zoomed view .

 

[stardustsailor]

I need your opinion on these (another lab-rat-stem is being tortured ) :

*** Left click on the image,wait for the pic to load ,right click at he pic
and choose "view image" and then again left click for a zoomed view .





Awesome -kinda nice -nothing special or really bad ?
What do you say ?
Any further notes and advices ,are more than welcome .

Cheers.

 

[muunch]

I like the cross, and I'm sure the texture feels cool.

Awesome stuff, watching your work and posting your experiences.

 

[stardustsailor]

I like the cross, and I'm sure the texture feels cool.

Awesome stuff, watching your work and posting your experiences.

I kinda like the cross hatch myself.
It was a really quick experiment.
if I work more the technique involved ,maybe the final result will be very good .
Thanx for the reply.Really appreciated.


Cheers.

 

[Drexciya]

A fully cross hatched stem will be to a lot of peoples liking. Especially if you'll pull off the same texture consistency as you did with your other stems. I am sure of that.

I myself like am a fan and of the more natural looking textures.

 

[Prolusio]

@stardustsailor I like the rough finish it seems like a nice transition between the HMR and STN/MRR. Got some texture but looks more warped and flowing, more natural? Really dig it. Are you going to try anodizing that one?

The cross I really really like the effect it has; the light top parts contrast with the dark gouges awesomely. That gouge technique might make some awesome contrast lines or stripes too? Not sure what's possible!

In the 2nd and 3rd images there's some parts of the stem where the cross hatch came out even and that looks really sharp... I think it'd look good as both a whole stem finish or just a band of crosshatching.

Do you think it'd be possible to mix crosshatching with other finishes? Have a rough finished stem with a cross hatched band? Guess it'll depend on how the technique progresses! You really turned that BRK into something cool fast so I'm excited to see how this process develops as well.

 

[stardustsailor]

A fully cross hatched stem will be to a lot of peoples liking. Especially if you'll pull off the same texture consistency as you did with your other stems. I am sure of that.

I myself like am a fan and of the more natural looking textures.

Well the consistency of the textured stems is rather easy.
Each texture has it's own "procedure" and once one masters it ,then it's easy to make
quite consistent textures from stem to stem.
What can not be the same is the exact design of each texture.
That's almost impossible to do, by hand at least.

Still,I keep refining each texture.
For example I did not like that much the first tree bark trials.
Reminded me more of damascus steel -due to shallow and dense grooves -
rather than of tree bark.
The new tree bark is way much better.
Deeper grooves and not so dense.
Better feel and grip in hands .



I guess the next ones will evolve somewhat too.

Cheers.

 

[stardustsailor]

@stardustsailor I like the rough finish it seems like a nice transition between the HMR and STN/MRR. Got some texture but looks more warped and flowing, more natural? Really dig it. Are you going to try anodizing that one?

The cross I really really like the effect it has; the light top parts contrast with the dark gouges awesomely. That gouge technique might make some awesome contrast lines or stripes too? Not sure what's possible!

In the 2nd and 3rd images there's some parts of the stem where the cross hatch came out even and that looks really sharp... I think it'd look good as both a whole stem finish or just a band of crosshatching.

Do you think it'd be possible to mix crosshatching with other finishes? Have a rough finished stem with a cross hatched band? Guess it'll depend on how the technique progresses! You really turned that BRK into something cool fast so I'm excited to see how this process develops as well.

1) Well ,this texture ( rough) is not sculptured deep enough,
for any contrast from anodisation to show really.

2) the black thing inside the grooves of the cross hatch texture ,is plain polishing dirt .
But yes this can be anodised in several different ways ,as also to be stone-washed .
and it will really "show" .Make the texture come "alive" .

3) yes,its possible to combine cross hatch with others .
As a band ,yes.But I'm not quite sure for the aesthetics of the final result.
It might be too much for both the eyes and hands.

Cheers.

 

[stardustsailor]

A finished 80STN00


I think by now ,we can agree that this particular mouthpiece style,
along with the absence of a carb hole ,are the SDS Ti handmade stem "trade marks" .


The tip end.

Now,what's left is the most difficult part.
Turn that 80STN00 into a 80STN08 .
Anodise it to the "infra-pink" hue.

I need all the luck I can get ,at the moment being.

Cheers.

 

[stardustsailor]

Something tells me,that someone is going to be pretty happy ...
Houston ,we have infra-pink !
A finished 80STN08 .Simply gorgeous XL stem !!!
I love it !
Amazing hue !

*** Left click on the image,wait for the pic to load ,right click at he pic
and choose "view image" and then again left click for a zoomed view .



I'll post some pics tomorrow under morning ambient light.

Cheers.

 

[stardustsailor]

Green ...
GREEN !
G-R-E-E-N !
The most difficult hue to anodise Titanium to !

https://www.finishing.com/79/26.shtml
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/anodizing-titanium-green.590478/

New color code available soon !

11 - Andromeda Green

(pic taken with using flash ,under 3000° 80Ra ambient LED lighting )

So happy tonight !
Cheers!

 

[stardustsailor]

Some notes about anodising titanium to green :

1) Not all Titanium alloys can reach to green hue.
The more Ti content in the alloy ,the easier to achieve green.
High quality Titanium Grade 2 tubing is used for the stems,
which is almost pure Titanium( > 99% pure Titanium ).

2) If the current is high or the electrolyte bath is warm or gets hot ,
green will never show.

3) the Titanium piece anodised has to be super clean ,for anodising to green.
The slightest fat ,fingerprint,dirt ,debris,etc will show at the final result.

4) usually the titanium pieces being anodised to green hue ,are previously etched
in a very dangerous acid solution (hydrofluoric acid.Nasty stuff.Disolves glass ,amongst others ! )
I do not know how exactly I managed to get the -awesome-green hue without chemical etching !
I have to make some more greens before the " Andromeda Green" / "11" hue/code becomes available.At least,I know which electrolyte ingredients have been used and at what ratios.

5)Rough surfaces are very difficult to be anodised green.
Still I've managed that too !
A tree bark (BRK) or a hammered (HMR) green stem is very difficult to achieve .

Very tricky hue ,but the most appealing ( at least to me ) .
I hope really to make that hue available ,by achieving consistent results in the
near -future tests.


Notice : I'm out of Titanium tubing.Next stock arrives in 2-3 weeks.
Until then I won't be making any stems.
Stll,there's a queue list.

Cheers.

 

[stardustsailor]

Titanium Anodising Type II aka AMS 2488 alkaline anodising.

When the titanium gets to be dark gray .

" To obtain a dark gray, the electrolyte Ph has to be greater than 13.
You will get a white layer that needs to be mechanically removed to reach the gray underneath.
This is military stuff and the details of the process are highly protected. "

http://www.dot-coating.de/index.php/en/coatings/ortho/titanium-anodising/dotize
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/633986.pdf
https://www.finishing.com/1200-1399/1265.shtml
http://www.electrohio.com/finishing/timed2/timed2.htm
http://www.dot-coating.de/images/pdf/english/coatings/ortho/Titanium-Anodising.pdf


Now that's a new whole adventure !
Dark gray titanium stems ...

 

[stardustsailor]

Well,not that I thought that would be a piece of cake to achieve the "proprietary " dark grey
Titanium coating .
Still...

Let's take it from the beginning.
Before 10 minutes I made a small anodising experiment.
I had handy a scrap piece of Ti tubing (a really short piece ,useless for making a stem ) ,
so I thought "let's try for the dark grey Type II coating" .
Made an electrolyte consisting of deionized water and NaOH ( Sodium Hydroxide aka lye )
and placed the scrap piece into the bath .
Measured the pH and found it to be well over 13.
Nice ,I thought ,naive me.
Let's start.
Switched ON the anodiser and started increasing the voltage up to 118 VDC.
Did I get that grey coating ?
Nope!

But can you guess what hue the piece got ?

Spoiler: Hue

The scrap piece alkali anodised -on the left-as
opposed to another "lab-rat-of-a-stem" which was previously acid anodised to green hue-on the right-

So I guess,one way or another ,the "Andromeda Green" will be eventually available .

 

[KeroZen]

Is it possible to perform successive anodisings? Are the layers opaque or is there some transparency that could show the underlying layer? Can you submerge only part of the stem to create multi-color effects?

What about using masks to create surface patterns?