Sorry it took so long but its been a busy week ... here are some snaps of the
The 12 Milli Ti stem I was lucky enough to win a couple of weeks ago courtesy of Andy Capp. As I mentioned in an earlier post I completed the piece with a purchase of a DV 419 cap and titanium tip. Andy provided the beautiful stem with its dimple carb as shown. Feels great to the touch and allows you to really play that carb.
Also provided was a DV titanium Condenser. It was necessary to remove the tip side O-ring in order to get the carb functional as the hole sits below that top most O-ring. Not so bad as i guess I can put it back on for water pipe use. Also i think if I invest in a DV Omni XL Condenser I can use the piece along with the Omni MP and have full Omni fuctionality.
Wanted to include these next two snaps to show off the workmanship of the piece. The first is the tip side "babyfaced" concave finish and the second is the 9mm mouthpiece with the inserted condenser
I can't say enough about the piece and the quality and perfection that went into its creation. As I said in an earlier post its heavier than the Omni stem and that is a very good thing ... just the right balance and feel all around and it hits great with strong airflow.
So one last comment on this rainy Sunday afternoon as to the DV 419 cap and its importance to me in completing the piece. I've been a NY Yankee fan since 1960 when my Grandfather would take me aside to watch Mickey Mantle and all my other heroes on a grainy black and white TV. Nobody else in Brooklyn was a Yankee fan at the time as they were long time Bklyn Dodger fans and hated the Yankees as they'd lost to them so many times in the World Series. But my grandfather was a native Napolitano Italian and saw Joe DiMaggio as God ... so he'd take me for walks to Coney Island and around the neighborhood and we'd talk yankee stuff ... i was forever hooked ... In 1975 the Yankees brought up a young left handed starter named Ron Guidry who played a huge part in returning the team to its championship winning ways. In 1978 he won 25 games and only lost 3 and also won the Cy Young award. He always was an will be one of my favorite all time players not only for his heroics on the field but also for his soft spoken Lafayette Louisiana ways. He was nicknamed by his teammates "Gator", and by New York City "Louisiana Lightning" and his number was #49.
Sorry for the long aside but when I saw the new DV 419 cap, I like so many others must have, I saw 49. Dont get me wrong as I'm totally behind DV and the good thoughts that went into the design of the 419 cap, but I immediately thought of Ron Guidry and how I'd like to get it to remember him. Within a day or two the contest happened and I won the 12 Milli Ti and set about building my dream piece. I've appropriately imho renamed it "Louisiana Lightning" ...
Only problem is that its too beautiful to take a torch to just yet so I've been using it with my old Omni tip and cap ... my plan is to christen the complete piece on the night of June 17th which will mark the 41st anniversary of Guidry's 18 strikeout performance which is still a Yankee record ...
Thanks again Andy for your beautiful piece of art ...