Discontinued Lil' Bud by Vapwood

Bravesst

Bravesst

Full Steam Ahead
Manufacturer
Testing Update

I went from passing stems from unit to unit to check overall functionality, then moved to sticking with one unit for extended sessions, then taking that stem and swapping back and forth with an iHeat. In other words, if a stem was done in Lil' Bud, I pop it into the iHeat (Witcher Box), to see what's going on, sometimes I'd even swap the battery as well.

I was disappointed when I got one last hit after the swap (no stirring). Then I stirred and put back in Lil' Bud and got two or three more monster hits, back in iHeat, still done. I need to be very mindful of the state of the flower, pulling from one unit to another might just allow heat to saturate one last area. Having the iHeat to cross reference with has been invaluable as a gold standard. Just being in iHeat's ball park is a huge hurdle.

Overall testing is going well. Functionality seems to be what I expected - pretty consistent. If I do run into any lag in performance, or other issue, the plan is to investigate the source of the issue, and eradicate the possibility of it reoccurring.
 
Bravesst

Bravesst

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@little maggie

Lil' Bud features all wood construction, including tapered female 19/22 joint - no glass, no glue. Glass steals heat from where it should be, in the herb. Alan has been using this design in his iHeat, and just like the iHeat, much LESS heat is radiated into the body of the unit, as glass does nothing to stop radiant heat. This helps with having to stop using the vape because it gets too hot (doesn't happen), and battery life is extended because no heat is wasted. The coil is vertical, that is it runs parallel to the long side of the vape, and will maintain its shape and all clearances. The battery is loaded from the side, away from the face, and is very quick to swap out. There is a switch box, which houses all the electronics, including a very low profile switch. All surfaces are hand finished, and polished with hot beeswax before being shipped out.
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Here's another 11 Lil' Buds. I use the 12th Lil' Bud as a test dummy, helps to have an actual model to set up the table saw, router table, and drill press, or anything else. It really takes the pressure off. One of these is my first attempt at the entire unit from the same piece of stock (second from right). The first few batches have been either Cherry / walnut, Walnut / cherry, or Cherry / cherry, and that's what going to ship first. Next batch there should be some Walnut / walnut units. Not sure just how many, but some units will ship real soon. I'd like to point out, this batch is clean, crisp, with minimal adjustments. Dialing in...
voI5i46.jpg


The unit in the pic below was made from one piece of cherry. It's a bit of extra work, but I can do it as a special order. I didn't think I'd be impressed, but I like it.
r79JYkb.jpg
 
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P.A.M.

P.A.M.

Vapo Rising
The beeswax sounds interesting, the last pics posted were smooth and shiny looking , can't wait to see more.
It will be fun to reapply beeswax every now and then or every 3 months as user guide suggests. a convenient way for everyone or anyone wanting to keep the wood protected and clean looking, all while taking that time to fully enjoy the hand crafted touch of the lil'bud.
 
Bravesst

Bravesst

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It's funny you mention hand crafted touch. It's very old world, the way everything used to feel. I heard a woodworking guru of mine describe the difference between hand cut dovetails and dovetails cut on a CNC machine. Not only did he mention the feel, but the unique irregularities of handcrafted products. This is something we're losing in our technologically advanced society. It's the difference between designing and building something or cloning it.

About beeswax. I never was a huge beeswax guy, until I added a heat gun and pure sticks of beeswax. The original coat is applied as the heat gun opens up the wood fibers and melts the wax. I were gloves to both apply the beeswax and protect my hands from the heat. It really penetrates deep into the wood, and dries immediately with no smell, or addition of anything impure to the wood. On a small application it's very practical, might be challenging to work with a coffee table, but it is awesome stuff.
 
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P.A.M.

P.A.M.

Vapo Rising
Very neat! reapplying for us, the end users, would be less intensive? Reapplying is mainly for spots that might have gotten more wear from heavy use or to give the whole unit a quick overall ?

Thank you for the indepth explanation on your beeswax application, it does sound like your method has the quality to really penetrate for a long lasting protection .
 
P.A.M.,
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sickmanfraud

Well-Known Member
Bravesst said:
@little maggie

Lil' Bud features all wood construction, including tapered female 19/22 joint - no glass, no glue. Glass steals heat from where it should be, in the herb. Alan has been using this design in his iHeat, and just like the iHeat, much LESS heat is radiated into the body of the unit, as glass does nothing to stop radiant heat. This helps with having to stop using the vape because it gets too hot (doesn't happen), and battery life is extended because no heat is wasted. The coil is vertical, that is it runs parallel to the long side of the vape, and will maintain its shape and all clearances. The battery is loaded from the side, away from the face, and is very quick to swap out. There is a switch box, which houses all the electronics, including a very low profile switch. All surfaces are hand finished, and polished with hot beeswax before being shipped out.
----------------------------------------------
Here's another 11 Lil' Buds. I use the 12th Lil' Bud as a test dummy, helps to have an actual model to set up the table saw, router table, and drill press, or anything else. It really takes the pressure off. One of these is my first attempt at the entire unit from the same piece of stock (second from right). The first few batches have been either Cherry / walnut, Walnut / cherry, or Cherry / cherry, and that's what going to ship first. Next batch there should be some Walnut / walnut units. Not sure just how many, but some units will ship real soon. I'd like to point out, this batch is clean, crisp, with minimal adjustments. Dialing in...
voI5i46.jpg


The unit in the pic below was made from one piece of cherry. It's a bit of extra work, but I can do it as a special order. I didn't think I'd be impressed, but I like it.
r79JYkb.jpg
Click to expand...

The all cherry is what I "pre-ordered.
 
sickmanfraud,
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Bravesst

Bravesst

Full Steam Ahead
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Hello All,

Testing still taking place, discussion with Alan always is enlightening, educational, to say the least. Details, details, details, every little thing being ironed out. Building this vape reminds me of an old book titled, *Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Repair*. I hear the words, "Be the Lil' Bud" in the back of my mind. So, as you can imagine the tweaks, adjustments thought of are minor, but will add up to a better Lil' Bud.

Today I paired some wood bodies to switch boxes, like I'd do with a much larger piece of furniture. This is done by hand, one at a time, with a chisel, file, and some sand paper. The unit is too small to plane, but I can use a chisel to take fine shavings. Things fell together with very little fuss. The cherry units are looking sweet.

Tomorrow just may be finish and assembly day, and we know what that means. Actual beta testing with prototypes is over. These units still need to be tested for functionality, but the batch I have now are working overtime, and will continue to do so. I have a little help locally, putting these boys to work. All of my parts will arrive shortly, and I am officially preparing for the first shipment. I will contact everybody who purchased or made a down payment, and eventually everybody on the waiting list. All paid / down payment orders should be filled in February, waiting list in March.

Hang in there FC, almost there.

Thanks for Your Patience,
Mike
 
Bravesst

Bravesst

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Manufacturer
I don't even remember who asked, but as promised, here's the 12 I coils formed over the last couple of days. They still need final tweaking right at installation. Assembly starts tomorrow. I got pretty comfortable forming coils out of mesh strips with this last batch of 12. This was a big hurdle to get over, to create high quality coils in a practical amount of time, but I nailed down a very doable process. There is a lot of stuff going on here that you might not pick up from the picture, gotta have some trade secrets.
46GIP2Y.jpg
 
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Bravesst

Bravesst

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Jill NYC said:
Is it just me or do those look like daddy long legs with top hats?
Click to expand...

I know, I know, but they're not meant to be pretty. I got the request to post *coil porn*, but it just doesn't translate like the wood pics. Those Lil' beauties will be installed over the next couple of days. This will be the first batch that makes it out of the prototype category. I wanted to incorporate what I learned from all my prototypes into every unit that eventually ships. Now that can happen.

I promise to take really nice shots with this cherry batch (of the wood), and the walnut one to follow.
 
cpk

cpk

Brother of the Leaf
@Bravesst everything is looking good! Patiently waiting. What are the dimensions of the wooden and glass mouthpieces along with the wooden wpa?

Thanks
 
Bravesst

Bravesst

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cpk said:
@Bravesst everything is looking good! Patiently waiting. What are the dimensions of the wooden and glass mouthpieces along with the wooden wpa?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I believe the wood stems are standard short @ 2.5", the glass long is 4", and the wooden wpa is 2". I can special order custom sizes in the wood stems / adapters, prices will vary slightly. The glass is just what I was able to purchase for the bare bones units.
 
Bravesst

Bravesst

Full Steam Ahead
Manufacturer
I counted up all my orders, from waiting list, to full pay. There's a lot, but the good news is I'm up to the job. What's happening is a better way to do many of the things that slowed me down. Assembly day is now the best day!

I got a couple of units just about there. Here's one I completed the battery lid for.

This is not a prototype, after some basic testing for functionality, this unit will be ready to ship. I have 10 or so coils, bodies, switch boxes, lids, all built. I hope the operation stays as smooth as today, and I should be shipping this batch by week's end.

I will probably continue to work in batches of 10 or 12, and ship when I have the batch finalized. This unit is cherry / walnut, with a southern pine lid and a kick ass cherry mouthpiece. Not sure if this is the final lid for this unit, I just had this crazy looking stock and gave it a shot.
c1SLHnd.jpg


6GPhXGM.jpg
 
Diggy Smalls

Diggy Smalls

Notorious
I like the look of that wood but I'm not sure about that contrast. I could see a walnut door to match the front color scheme. Wow those are some vivid stripes!
 
Diggy Smalls,
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Bravesst

Bravesst

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Andreaerdna said:
Love the front looking of this unit

Personally not big fan of another wood for battery door (even if it looks nice by itself)
Click to expand...
I agree... don't like it. Nothing lost but a couple of magnets. My original idea was same wood, or maybe the switch box wood, or combos of both.

More importantly, I got three to completion (quitting time is 5 for me, I start early). The tweaks have paid off. These units got the benefit building a shit load of prototypes and testing to death. Next batch won't be so much different than this one.

We got ourselves a finalized Lil' Bud!
 
Bravesst

Bravesst

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The 3 units with switches are finished except for the lid. The other 11 are in pre-assembly, where final planing, sanding and finishing take place before being taken apart and reassembled with the coil and other electronics.

gIQWTpp.jpg
 
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