The Nomad From Morwood

[DocGonzo]

Shouldn't be hard to have a SS air path with a wood sleeve, if that's the preferred aesthetic. Best of both worlds.

 

[The Stranger]

Okay. Some more revisions here. The next step is deciding between a single or dual battery setup.

To achieve the sort of design I'm presenting here, in a reasonable size, I doubt I will be able to fit the necessary components for a regulated setup.

Going unregulated will keep things simple, robust, smaller.

Consider the fact that I want this thing to be sort of like a one or two hitter, extracting a small chamber quickly on demand. Taking that into account, the smaller size becomes more appealing, and the voltage drop becomes less of an issue. The losses in voltage consistency and battery life are acceptable if we approach this design as being more of a wild beast...rather than a tamed cat.

I am still debating single vs. dual battery. But I think that ultimately the heater design will make the choice for me. In any case, here are some example of what's I've got now.

It would be great to get some feedback on which setup ya'll would prefer (single vs. dual battery).

I removed the "heat sink" tube, made it more minimal..streamlined. And I'm playing around with two different body materials, patina'd steel body with wood airway tube, or wood body with steel airway tube.

The wood body has the advantage of being easier to make, but comes at the price of being less robust if dropped...especially on the corners. The steel body would add a nice weight, and be much stronger.. I suspect I will be able to make the over-all design smaller with a steel body as well.

I have the battery compartment cover done up in kraft paper. I will most likely have the battery drop out the bottom of the device. The sliding bottom cover will be African blackwood. Removing this cover would also give you access to the bottom of the heating element in case it needs to be removed for repair.

Both the on/off and fire button will be on the top plate.

Holy shit those look amazing. Put me the fuck down for one of these pronto!

My favorites are number 2 and 4. I assume the difference is one vs two batteries. I'm going by a purely design sense but I love the contrast and different feels you will get from the patina steel on wood.

I'd love to even see these made with copper in place of the steel, even though the steel looks SO good. I just have a thing for copper hehe.

I'm all in for 1-2 hit extractions for this thing, definitely would not be needing a grasshopper the .

I don't know much but what if, instead of either wood or stainless steel path, the path was glass, with the outside being either/or still, like it looks now. So you just slide the glass tube into the hole and on the bottom, where I assume the heater is, it stays in place by friction by an o ring or something? Maybe then it's too fragile, like I said, I don't know much about engineering. I don't think I have a preference really, just an idea. Maybe wood would be harder to clean, I've never had to try.

 

[VaporSipper]

Just tweaking the design a little bit... I know the logo design needs to be changed, but it's a stand in for now.

I really like this design the best. I like the "heat sink" look better than the plain sleeves.

 

[Dan Morrison]

@stickstones , I checked out his mods, very cool. That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking. Thanks!

Thanks for all the input everyone! Looks like it's still split...whether or not to do the steel or wood body. So we will leave it in the air for now. I'm still split as well.

Anyhow, here is the updated concept. I've tweaked it to be a bit more manufacture friendly. The three rectangular LED windows were swapped out for dots. It's easier to drill three holes than it is to mill three slots. And the lenses can be cut from clear acrylic rod and press fit into the holes.

I added a stripe of paint. I feel like it sort of helps anchor the LED array, giving it a frame. And it will also wear off in spots over time and look totally awesome. Instead of offering variations in the colour of the kraft paper, I would instead offer variations in the colour of the painted stripe.

I'm still not sure about the look of the paint stripe... I have to sleep on it.

@The Stranger was already on my wavelength regarding the stem. I would like to make the glass mouthpiece extend down into the body, held with a couple O-rings fitted into the wood or steel stem sleeve. The end of the glass mouthpiece will hold a basket screen. I imagine you could have a few stems handy to swap out between sessions. Nice and simple.

For a case, It would be neat to have a nice leather roll pouch that holds a few stems and batteries, herb canister, and the vape.

I've included graduations printed onto the glass mouthpiece... these could act as a guide to how close the chamber is to the heater for temp control.

I added some subtle grooves to the mouthpiece sleeve as well.

 

[The Stranger]

Oh YES to everything, graduations for temp control is a great touch and the stripe looks SLICK! Especially in the steel, I think that's the way to go for sure!
Also, with a basket screen and everything, this has the potential to be an on demand, quick extraction, portable log vape?

By the way, just out of curiosity, what do you use to make these illustrations, Illustrator? I love the look of them.

 

[Dan Morrison]

@The Stranger , I use photoshop. I do my sketches on paper, photograph em', import into photoshop, extract the lines... now I have my rough template.

I can clean up my sketch, and fill in the textures with photographs from google images. For instance, If I want to fill in the body with wood, I just find an image of wood and paste it into my sketch, erasing whatever is outside of the lines.

I use the dodge/burn tool to lighten and darken areas of the wood to give it dimension.

Keeping everything on it's own layer is really handy because you can then swap out different materials, tweak the colour, move things around, resize individual parts..etc..etc...

 

[nosmoking]

I prefer the wood with the steel path for looks and flavor IMHO. The stripe also looks good on the wooden base model, whereas on the steel one it seems to stick out or pop more which I don't really like. Over time I think the stripe will blend better with wood, but with the steel it might just look like it's wearing off because it was done cheaply or incorrectly. The graduations for temp control is cleverly awesome!

 

[Stu]

whether or not to do the steel or wood body

If you do choose to go with steel, proper insulation will become paramount as the thermal mass of the steel will try to rob all the heat energy it can (which would make the vape much less efficient).

For that reason alone, I'm in the wood camp.

 

[friedrich]

I really like that one on the right with the darker steel!

So you would hold it with thumb on top plate/trigger, fingers around the stem side of the body, paper resting in your palm?

 

[DocGonzo]

With the right paint I think the stripe would age really well on the metal body. I'm thinking about the old rail car sort of look, something films like Alien and Blade Runner tried to imitate with their dingy, aging tech. Still much prefer the sci-fi styling of the patina body, especially since it sounds like the path will be glass and/or stainless regardless of the body.

 

[delloy]

@stickstones , I checked out his mods, very cool. That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking. Thanks!

Thanks for all the input everyone! Looks like it's still split...whether or not to do the steel or wood body. So we will leave it in the air for now. I'm still split as well.

@Dan Morrison Its a tall order but if you could make both the steel and wood variations, it would give people more of a preferential choice of finish. I know I would probably end up buying both if that happened

 

[Dan Morrison]

@friedrich , Yep! I think that's how it will go.

@Stu , The steel body would be drilled out over sized, and then fitted with an insulative sleeve surrounding the heater. The air would go straight through the heater, directly into the chamber, and through the stem, never touching metal. I agree that steel would definitely rob too much heat.

Even the wood body will probably be fitted with an insulative sleeve.

Regardless of body material, the airway would be the same all the way through.

@delloy , I did consider that... but the body will need to be outsourced and CNC'd to rough shape before I can shape it further by hand. For jobs like that, it becomes much cheaper if you can do a lot at one time. And it would be rare to find a place that can handle steel and wood machining in the same facility (wood and metalworking machines don't mix well). So I'd have to split the job up between two different shops.

Also consider that the two materials will allow for different tolerances, different wall thicknesses, etc. So each model would be slightly different to adjust for strengths/weaknesses in the materials.

At the end of the day, you're almost dedicating yourself to crafting two completely different vaporizers. Which means two different tooling setups in the shop.

And to top it all off, I like the process of choosing the best of something. There will be a single model that is better suited to the task...for whatever reason. And I like knowing that I'm producing the best and nothing else.

But it's a nice idea in theory! haha.

@DocGonzo , Totally with you on the rail car vibe!

 

[ChooChooCharlie]

Your new ideas remind me of a classic film, Brazil
Move over Harry Tuttle, there's a new heating engineer in town: @Dan Morrison

 

[ragnorokk]

@friedrich , Yep! I think that's how it will go.

@Stu , The steel body would be drilled out over sized, and then fitted with an insulative sleeve surrounding the heater. The air would go straight through the heater, directly into the chamber, and through the stem, never touching metal. I agree that steel would definitely rob too much heat.

Even the wood body will probably be fitted with an insulative sleeve.

Regardless of body material, the airway would be the same all the way through.

@delloy , I did consider that... but the body will need to be outsourced and CNC'd to rough shape before I can shape it further by hand. For jobs like that, it becomes much cheaper if you can do a lot at one time. And it would be rare to find a place that can handle steel and wood machining in the same facility (wood and metalworking machines don't mix well). So I'd have to split the job up between two different shops.

Also consider that the two materials will allow for different tolerances, different wall thicknesses, etc. So each model would be slightly different to adjust for strengths/weaknesses in the materials.

At the end of the day, you're almost dedicating yourself to crafting two completely different vaporizers. Which means two different tooling setups in the shop.

And to top it all off, I like the process of choosing the best of something. There will be a single model that is better suited to the task...for whatever reason. And I like knowing that I'm producing the best and nothing else.

But it's a nice idea in theory! haha.

@DocGonzo , Totally with you on the rail car vibe!

If you stick with wood, at least you have a common thread connecting your various vaporizers.

Of course, I actually like both versions, so I'm just trying to think of a reason for you to use one over the other.

 

[Dan Morrison]

@The Stranger , Here it is in copper. I wouldn't want to do it in copper (expensive!, don't like that old penny smell), but damn it looks cool!

Perhaps I could emulate the look with rusted steel. There is a process called "browning" that creates a very durable matte brown patina on steel. It was used for guns before the "bluing" process.

 

[The Stranger]

@The Stranger , Here it is in copper. I wouldn't want to do it in copper (expensive!, don't like that old penny smell), but damn it looks cool!

Perhaps I could emulate the look with rusted steel. There is a process called "browning" that creates a very durable matte brown patina on steel. It was used for guns before the "bluing" process.

That's beauuuuuutifuuuul! With the green stripe, ooo that's good lookin! True that copper is expensive but that browning process sounds very interesting and I bet looks sweet. I'm imagining an almost rusting look. I tried looking it up and might have found an example but am not sure.

I wish this vape was done..


EDIT: Just thought of something that maybe could make it so you can have the best of both worlds. It might not look as good and might not even be feasible but anyway. What if you did make the body out of wood and then used steel plates and sort of wrapped it around the wood and then fastened it with rivets or even screws that you sand away the grooves like on the Okin.

Then the body would be wood and you still be able to see it because the steel plates wouldn't completely cover it but be around the edges like a picture inside a mat. I'm not good at explaining things..

 

[stickstones]

The best part is every time I see one of your drawings I think of some outdoor Star Wars set, just like you are going for. I would grab it over other vapes to use just for the fun factor!

 

[Copacetic]

..........
.........the steel plates wouldn't completely cover it but be around the edges like a picture inside a mat. I'm not good at explaining things..

Nah, you did fine.
I'm pretty certain I understand, quite clear to me.
The only part I'm unsure on is the "picture in a mat".
Do you mean 'a picture in a frame'?

I too thought of riveted steel plates, but I was thinking that the outer cover that holds the batteries in could be a tube stitched from saddle leather, with steel (or other material) 'stiffening plates' riveted on in key locations.
The tube could slide over the batteries to hold them in.

 

[The Stranger]

Well what I mean is, the mat would be the wood because it "frames" the picture, which would be the metal plates. But also just a frame works too haha.

 

[Zangano Cruel]

Verte nice indeed @Dan Morrison
Definitely I'll keep an eye on this beautiful vape. Congrats.
I trust the inventive of FC members to create the best vapes always.

 

[nondarb]

If this ends up unregulated it will warrant comparisons to the Milaana. A lot of us already have one of those preordered. You may be excluding a good chunk your potential customers by presenting something similar to what we (hopefully by then) already own.

I suggest going an entirely different route. The electronic portable market is very saturated currently. Your earlier ideas bring a lot more to the table imo.

I mentioned butane not only as a personal preference but as a market observation. Nothing new has come out in the butane world save the vapcap (which is/was a runaway success) in quite some time, I feel your craftsmanship and ingenuity could really bring something to the table in this genre. The other alternative fuels and heating methods you mentioned earlier were interesting as well.

 

[°k]

I think Ill be in for that one as well Dan!

I don't think I've seen it mentioned so I'll allow myself to suggest making a lid to protect the stem (and possibly a mini-loader or stash compartment?); it would be great if you could flip it upside down and clip it to the bottom of the vape (just like a pen cap basically).

As for the stem I liked the bended one (would require a hollow lid then), I think I'd prefer the way you'd hold the vape with a bended one rather than a straight one. But in any case I'm concerned that it looks short and would give a very short vapor path, or is telescopic?

 

[Dan Morrison]

@The Stranger and @Copacetic , I did consider the use of panels, either half panels, framed by the wood, or full stamped sheet metal body with wood core..rivets..screws..etc.. But I think it'll start moving into a more steampunk retro vibe..and to make it sleek and minimal just sounds like a lot of work to me.

I've made a choice, wood body. Brass or bronze mouthpiece sleeve.

Here is a process I'm going to call poor mans prototyping. You just take whatever you can find, and stack them together to resemble the thing you want to make, hahaha. If you squint your eyes you can just about make it look decent!

I've got a polished up concept drawing I'll post in a bit.

@nondarb , You bring up some good points. I'm not yet off the butane... I could see a torch/butane tank/heat exchanger, being packed into that battery space.

It would give instant convection just like a battery would.... so it's not off the table!

@°k , I was thinking that a case could be made, sort of like the Okin box, but more like a leather gun holster, form fit. I always like the thought of an all-in-one package.

EDIT:

Here's what I think I've landed on. Its a dark wood (probably walnut) body. With patina'd brass mouthpiece sleeve. I like the idea of having coloured glass stems... but we'll see.

Here are some different patina colours on brass for the mouthpiece sleeve, the colours were taken right from photos of brass stock in my shop. I like the green one the best.

One last one for tonight. Getting more minimal now. This design is also much easier to make, stronger, more compact... There is a cut-out in the kraft paper so that you can see the battery inside.

 

[Shockwave]

@The Stranger and @Copacetic , I did consider the use of panels, either half panels, framed by the wood, or full stamped sheet metal body with wood core..rivets..screws..etc.. But I think it'll start moving into a more steampunk retro vibe..and to make it sleek and minimal just sounds like a lot of work to me.

I've made a choice, wood body. Brass or bronze mouthpiece sleeve.

Here is a process I'm going to call poor mans prototyping. You just take whatever you can find, and stack them together to resemble the thing you want to make, hahaha. If you squint your eyes you can just about make it look decent!

I've got a polished up concept drawing I'll post in a bit.

@nondarb , You bring up some good points. I'm not yet off the butane... I could see a torch/butane tank/heat exchanger, being packed into that battery space.

It would give instant convection just like a battery would.... so it's not off the table!

@°k , I was thinking that a case could be made, sort of like the Okin box, but more like a leather gun holster, form fit. I always like the thought of an all-in-one package.

EDIT:

Here's what I think I've landed on. Its a dark wood (probably walnut) body. With patina'd brass mouthpiece sleeve. I like the idea of having coloured glass stems... but we'll see.

Here are some different patina colours on brass for the mouthpiece sleeve, the colours were taken right from photos of brass stock in my shop. I like the green one the best.

One last one for tonight. Getting more minimal now. This design is also much easier to make, stronger, more compact... There is a cut-out in the kraft paper so that you can see the battery inside.

i'm also on the side with @nondarb about make it butane fueled rather than battery, as butane is easier to fill and not having million batteries to carry when i go somwhere outside with no power outlet, oh and i would like that Sith one thank you very much

 

[delloy]

Mmmmm gonna be hard to please everyone. If butane is gonna be an option, do you mean in the same config as an iolite or similiar? I'm hoping this isn't the case as I have never got on with butane vapes and when I tried a mates Iolite I wasn't impressed at all. I found the vapour production very wispy. Would much rather prefer battery.

I can see the comparison mentioned above with the Milaana but I think I would definately prefer this over the milaana....just look at it! And from @Dan Morrison last efforts with the Okin the craftmanship will be second to none.