mom is correct on the heatports. The 'old' solid SS heatport is the same as the new one internally. The newest version, designed to insulate the SS from the wood above, below and in the middle(and used in all CRZs) simply has a top and bottom washer added for centering the heatport in the wood and securing the insulation. The top and bottom rings(wings) are actually custom made, as are all parts in our SS heatport assembly. Every piece is also machined to fit each other piece precisely. Then it is all welded together, held with precise jigs built for that purpose only. This is real TIG welding with no added SS material. All parts are then electro polished, a process that makes the SS surface shiny and bright by removing ferrous metal molecules from the surface of the SS. They are then professionally cleaned, rinsed and dried. The center core is turned on a computer controlled lathe from solid SS. The vaping air goes down around the outside of that core(and inside the SS sleeve) and back up through the middle, around the ceramic heater and up through the stem tip contents to the user.
No SS lined stems is not cast in stone here at Zapville. The initial response was not what we expected. Much of that was my fault for the way I put them up on the website, very amateurish. The cost of producing these stems in quantity is much higher than a wood only stem. Very tricky to get the mouth side end just right, all the time. We will take another look at that project if we hear some significant interest develop.
THCMuscle, feel free to peel off the bottom leather and cardboard bottom cover to tighten the two screws that hold the heatport assembly in place. Be advised of the following before you start:
You may have to use other material to re-cover the bottom and re-trim. We use Elmers wood glue to hold the leather to the bottom and sometimes the leather will not come off in one piece. Same with the cardboard plug, no biggee. Use whatever you want to re-cover the bottom.
With the unit upside down on a firm but protected surface, tap on the SS washer(see bottom pic on page 288) all around lightly using a screwdriver and small hammer. That SS washer is too close on spec for the wood hole diameter so it does not 'float' in the wood as it should. Once the unit heats, the SS washer tends to stick in the wood because it is such a close fit.
THEN GENTLY tighten the two screws. There is a fine line of putting too much torque on the screwdriver(small phillips) which can tear the screw out of the wood. There is also the wood shell to consider as if you screw that screw in too far, it will pop out the outside of the wood, a big No NO.
We are finding the softer Redwood units can get a slight rattle which is easily fixed by tightening the two bottom screws. The softer wood will expand/contract more than the hard woods. Sometimes a little tighter with the screw on one side works better than even pressure all around.
When I re-stock those bottom washers, I will get the outer dimension down just a little which will let it 'float' in the wood as it should.
WE WILL DO THIS PROFESSIONALLY AT ZAPVILLE for any customer at no charge but you have to pay shipping to us.
The heatport pic on page 288 shows the pieces on the left and those pieces welded together on the right(purple background pic)