Ed's TnT Wooden Vapor Tubes & Vapor Stems

[Rick]

Damn Ed, that time stuff sure is hard to find, eh? When you do find it the list of stuff to fill the time takes so long to read, we lose more time! Kinda fun though, making pretty stuff out of wood folks get to USE every day. Those tubes you make are all beautiful, some beyond words.
Alan, you sure do have great ideas and ways to put those ideas in practice that are helping the FC community and particularly those of us doing log vapes. Now Ed can do a slight taper so his stems will also fit a common glass size, how neat and easy to do.
I just ordered my new lathe, a Delta 46-460 which has some incredible on-line reviews and was personally recommended to me. I am looking forward to dialing down the speed easily and some reverse sanding besides doing all my turning held at one end only. I think we get used to our routine that we have learned very well and stick to it. Lathe work has so many doors that can be opened. It takes much time and practice and really helps to be able to watch a pro work the lathe and hear his/her tips and tricks.
I'll bet there is an old wood turner in your parts that would show you some new ways to use the lathe you never imagined.
Not sure how you could get much better on those stems though. Do you bore them on the lathe or is that even possible with such a small piece?
Keep up the great work and keep on looking for new ways to keep customers happy and feed that fine family.

 

[Ed's TnT]

Good morning, thanks for stopping by yesterday Rick, I do appreciate your kind words. Alan is a great asset to FC thats for sure. He knows his shit, just as you do, I am just trying to catch up! I am really excite for you getting the new lathe, that thing has hella reviews, everyone digs it, am sure you will also, cant wait to see how you slick out your work with it. Didnt realize sanding both directions was the best way to achieve the best finish. Am gonna go check out a wood worker forum and see if I cant find a couple turners close by. We have the PBS channel which shows alot of Mississippi type stuff, saw a guy here somewhere that turned pens as a hobby, gotten a couple of them in presidential hands, guys are out there. They even show wood turners workshop, this guy Yoder I think is his last name, have seen em turn some wild stuff.

I have a mandrel just for the tubes, I bore em before I turn em and slide em on the mandrel, that works best. The harder the wood the better it turns, the softer it is the more it slips, have to really take your time on soft stuff.

Thanks again for your kind words Rick, those mean alot to me!

 

[Vitolo]

My AromaZap SSS arrived yesterday, and I was the lucky man that got the very last brass Zap!
The brass Zap is Sycamore, and the SSS a well aged piece of Myrtle (like a rock).
I had all Zaps plugged in, and a friend brought another log vape over. I had to check out the SSS against other "logs".
Needless to say, my collection of Ed's stems came into play and each of my 6 wooden stems got up to bat at least 3 times before the game was over....
Not only fun, and "like sipping a wooden vapor coctail" as I have said in the past.. but laying out the diverse stems made keeping track of my "work" easy... as I rotated the stems in line starting with Ambonya and working through them all!
You've got things looking so good on that website of yours, that the temptation to expand grows.
It may be time to think MFLB stems again!
Later!

 

[Mechtradevil20]

Ed, a curious question perhaps; Have you ever tried making LB stems from Purpleheart wood?

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the kind words Rick. I'm happy to help the FC community especially with regards to the log vape. You will enjoy your new lathe. I have had a delta midi for about 10 years. Not as nice as your new lathe. Hope you got a nice 4 jaw chuck. They really open up the possibilities in wood turning. You will be turning bowls before long. I do all my TT turning / boring operations with the lathe. So much more precise that way. I have taught myself (learned from my mistakes) everything I know on the lathe.
I drive a lot of turners crazy because I do most of my turning with a 1/4" wood chisel rather than a gouge. I didn't know you weren't supposed to. The skew chisel gets a fair amount of turning time too.

Hope to see some taper end tubes Ed. They should look and work really nice.

 

[Ed's TnT]

Ed, a curious question perhaps; Have you ever tried making LB stems from Purpleheart wood?

Not a problem Mech, I already turn purple tubes, purpleheart is very dense and turns so easy so LB stems would be a piece of cake with purpleheart, I have a big slab I just gotta chop up and turn down. If you want email me and lets talk more about it!

Thats just it Alan what little I have learned it has been by my own trial and error, I only use a 3/4" bowl gouge and a 1/2" skew, I shape it with the gouge and finish it with the skew, it get a lot of work, I can control it and really have a feel what I want to do and am able to do it. I am gonna look into the AAW to find some one close by. I really need to get into boring my pieces on the lathe also, I have something cooking that would make it easier to bore than in a drill press. You recommend the 4 jaw chuck over the 3? Whats your advice for boring a 2 1/2" hole fairly deep?

Do you think the taper end on the tubes for glass is a big deal? Is there really a great need for it?

 

[Alan]

You recommend the 4 jaw chuck over the 3? Whats your advice for boring a 2 1/2" hole fairly deep?

Do you think the taper end on the tubes for glass is a big deal? Is there really a great need for it?

The 4 jaw chuck feels more secure to me than a 3 jaw chuck. I have a 4 jaw chuck for my wood lathe and my metal turning lathe has a 3 jaw chuck.

If your 2-1/2" hole needs to be very precise with a flat bottom, I would recommend a forstner bit. Do most of your boring with some type of boring tool. There are some wonderful ceramic bit tools that don't require much sharpening. They are a bit pricey, but worth the sharpening time you save. Use the forstner bit to achieve the final diameter. You can do it all with the forstner bit, but it will take a lot more force and dull the bit quicker. Turn very slowly with the forstner bit. You can even get a hollowing rig if you want to hollow very deep. I have one with a laser pointer that tells you how thick the wall is as you are turning. Great for thin wall vessels. Scary how much you can spend on lathe tools and equipment.

You may find some people that will request wooden tubes with a taper on the end if they wish to use it with their glassware. You just never know. You will enjoy joining a wood turning club. They are generally very helpful people. Really opens your eyes to new ways of turning.

 

[BirchMFLB]

Hey Ed. I have had my Birch MFLB for almost a year now and have tried the acrylic stem, glass stem, and the whip tube, as well as native mode. I recently bought a power adapter too and have considered ordering some wooden stems. I am very keen when it comes to how the flavor is affected by whatever stem is being used. The draw tube is the coolest but worst flavor. Glass is better than acrylic but still tastes a bit off. I like the native flavor of the birch but it is too hot to vape native with the PA. So my interest is in how the different types of wood stems are going to affect the flavor of the vapor.

Having read really good reviews about your stems I looked up information about all the types of wood you sell on your site. I just now placed an order for a Cocobolo stem and an Amboyna Burl stem. Impressive website Ed, and thanks for offering so many types of exotic wood strains to choose from. I really look forward to reviewing how these stems look and taste when they arrive.


BTW, do you sell birch stems? Would be perfect for my birch vape.

 

[Ed's TnT]

Hello, thanks for the tips Alan, I did join the AAW the other day, just completed my registration, am looking forward to seeing who's out there.

BirchMFLB, I would say you have made a couple really good choices, both species are very dense, I think the denser the wood is the more it crisps the vapor, I do feel as though they cool the vapor slightly also. The feel of both is very sleek and natural in your hand, to me the wooden stems just make sense with the LB, wood on wood, I am sure you have read it back, do not submerge these or soak em, they are wood and will soak up any liquid. I just use a bristled pipe cleaner to push em through. I do appreciate the kind words and look forward to hearing your feelings in the future.

I have had a whole lot happening round here, just finished some Buckeye Burl dugouts, they are some of the most figured I have ever seen, cant wait to post some pics of those. I am gonna be getting some blackwood this week, will try to turn some shorties with the taper later this next week hopefully. I wish you all well!

 

[BirchMFLB]

For cleaning acrylic and glass stems I follow JDSupreme's twisted napkin trick. Do you think this will work with the wooden stems too?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmOsMoCYnMI

Rhodesian teak is a very nice wood too but I'm not sure if it would be stable enough. I know that if a stem was made from this wood I would be one of the first to buy it.

 

[Ed's TnT]

For cleaning acrylic and glass stems I follow JDSupreme's twisted napkin trick. Do you think this will work with the wooden stems too?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmOsMoCYnMI

Yes sir this method will work for cleaning the wooden stems, simply and easy!

 

[Ed's TnT]

Have the Blackwood on the way! Am gonna spin a few for restock and also a couplea shorties for bongs also, will let you all know how they turn out!

 

[BirchMFLB]

Just got my stems today and here is my review based on the first trench.

The amboyna burl stem has an excellent spice smell to it. Adds a subtle mellow flavor to the vapor and cools it off better than either the glass or acrylic stem. It does kind of "crisp" the vapor more so than the non-wood stems. The sharp rich smell of this wood alone reminds me of really dank buds.

The flavor and smell of the cocobolo stem is not as strong as the amboyna burl but it still noticeable and much preferred to the glass or acrylic. It has a more oily feel to the texture of the wood, noticeable on the lips, which makes the inhale so much more natural tasting and smoother.

The feel on the lips is different for each. The burl is kind of a suede or powdery feel, I can't really describe it. Cocobolo is like licorice or something slick.

These wood stems also fit in my box better than the glass stem which is always falling out. I must say I am very impressed with them and feel they were worth the money. If I had to pick a favorite between the two it would be the amboyna burl because the flavor is stronger and somewhat spicier but I am pleased with both and hope they will last many years.

Thanks Ed for making and selling these awesome accessories. I will probably not use the glass or acrylic stems anymore because these are so much more flavorful!

These are weight measurements for all my stems

Stem Weights In Grams:
Amboyna Burl Stem 0.8G
Cocobolo Stem 1.3G
Glass Stem 2.3G
New Acrylic Stem 1.6G
Old Acrylic Stem 1.8G

 

[Ed's TnT]

Hello and good morning, Birch I am so thankful for all the kind words, and for posting your feelings/findings. I dig the wood stem way more than either of the others. The feel of them from in your hand, on your lips, the crispness of the vapor is a big plus!

I did not get the Blackwood just yet, guess its hung up in shipping. Did get a bunch of pipes made, even made some purpleheart pipes, those have been out for a while, just haven't had time to get to everything I have to do. Even blanked out some PH for LB stems I will spin in the next few weeks. Did get another big slab of 2 century old Sinker Cypress, it split in down the middle in shipping I guess, fortunately its wide enough I can work around it, but sure does suck I cant utilize the whole board.

We finally have a shot a good rain down here some places may get 20", hell I hope we see at least a few! Been so dry and humid here, even heard next week we could see a day time high of 79!!! OHHHHH say what, is fall on its way!!! Starting to feel alot like killing round here!!!!

 

[Rick]

Damn Ed, isn't that a pisser when wood cracks like that? Getting the right moisture content is a big part of the challenge. I was told yesterday of using an old fridge with a light bulb and a small fan. Keep it at about 110-120 or so. Supposed to dry wood nicely and will work great for small blocks. With all that humidity down there I imagine it is tough to keep the moisture content down in the wood...or is it? I sure am glad we do not have the humidity problem in the northwest. We do have other problems though.
Daytime high of 79? How about 34 right now at 6 AM? That's what we have. Got our first decent picking of cherry tomatoes last week, a month and a half late from normal. Whatever was left will be close to gone if it is 34 at the house, maybe not, but they will never be the same as a good summer tomato.

 

[Ed's TnT]

Damn Ed, isn't that a pisser when wood cracks like that? Getting the right moisture content is a big part of the challenge.

Hell yeah, it SUCKS!!!!

I am sure if I was in your neck of the woods, I'd be in a tree stand right now, putting some meet on the ground! I am jealous!!!

 

[Beezleb]

Hey Ed, I do not recall who brought you to this forum, but they have some positive Karma coming his/her way.

Question for you. Is their a wood you want to work with but have not been able to? If so what is it?

 

[Ed's TnT]

Hey Ed, I do not recall who brought you to this forum, but they have some positive Karma coming his/her way.

Question for you. Is their a wood you want to work with but have not been able to? If so what is it?

How bout it my man, its been a while! JeffP got me started here, he is a good guy, has great ideas and help to make all this happen.

Thats a good question B, I have worked many different kinds, really haven't seen anything that I have not worked or am anxious to try, I have had my hands on many. I am sure there are some burls out there I dont know about. I am a burl kinda guy, like the abnormalities of it, the unique figure and eyes that cant be seen in ordinary boards. Burl is like a treasure chest, you really dont know what you have until its opened up and worked. Thats an awful good question!

Thanks for stopping by B, I wish you a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!

 

[Alan]

Have you tried turning Lilac wood Ed? The heart wood is actually purplish and very hard. The wood smells of Lilac flowers when you turn / cut it. Kind of an under-appreciated wood. My very first wood roasting tube stem was made from Lilac wood.

Here is an example of some Lilac wood I got from some old bushes / trees in my back alley. It is a boomerang I made using a lap joint with Tulip and Lilac wood. It flies really well and hovers like a dream.

Edit: Thanks. You are correct mom. The Lilac is on the right.
Wish I could find a piece large enough for a TT. I had a piece 6" in diameter once, but the garbage man took it. Dang. I do have a very nice piece of 2" diameter Lilac on my heavy hitter heater.

 

[momofthegoons]

What a nice boomerang Alan! Is that the lilac on the right?

Would love to see what that Sinker Cypress looks like Ed.

 

[Ed's TnT]

Wow Alan you do amazing work!!! Very neat to see that you used two species like that. Tulip was what I thought of as soon as I saw it. I had never heard of Lilac, I am sure the world has many I haven't. Its a trip I saw where a hundred years ago there were over 6000 species of apples, now you ask most people and they say you have red, yellow, or green! I haven't worked it yet but its said that Brazilian walnut its super hard and dense where most of our black walnut is not so much. I think about how Mother Nature puts a twist on everything like making wine from one geographic area to another an ocean away, make it exactly the same using similar locally grown ingredients and its completely different.

I do have a very nice piece of 2" diameter Lilac on my heavy hitter heater.

Thats what I am talking about, a heavy hitter!!! Those words are all me!!!

Mom, those slabs of cypress seem to have a rich golden tone, some slight mineral staining, very nice. I have been hanging onto a piece for a while now and found this other, have plenty to work now. Oh you will like what I have coming back from the photographer tomorrow, finally got the beautiful BuckEye Burl Dugouts to him, as I said before its notorious for voids and inclusions, rotten pockets, most f these will have accents of turquoise filling those voids. They are by far some of the best I have ever made! Really like the way he is shooting it now, the pics are so bold and in your face, I think they are as accurate as you can depict my work. have quite a bit of different stuff hes doin, will have it up here and the vapor lounge this next week. I really dig picture day!!!

I hope all is well out there and I wish you all a safe and happy Labor Day!!!

 

[Rick]

Damn Ed, you are doing it right with a pro picture taker. It makes so much difference, especially with all the colors and figuring in wood that is hard to get in a picture.
BTW, very important to keep backing out that tool out when you start using it. An airhose handy is good to keep any bored hole clean. I went out yesterday before company came to just look at my new toy and fiddle a bit. I had a fostner mounted in the tailstock, not using it. Before I knew it there was blood dripping from three nice cuts on my right hand from glazing across that fostner bit. I was so fucking excited I did not know I had done it. Just surface cracks.......er...cuts.
Alan, what can I say? Infuckingcredible. You are quite the balance guy too. Whooda thunk? And from a flower bush.
And Ed, we get to chase them away from the house. All I gotta do is take a breath out the front door and I know they are there. Just like bovines and horses and pigs.................they have their smell. Someday maybe when you get to go to a woodworking convention up north you will get to see the place.

 

[Ed's TnT]

I am anxious to get that tolling Rick, thank you so much. The pro pics make the difference, you have to accurately depict your products as best you can, pics sell all my shit! Watch those hands and fingers, like you told me long time ago, we gotta have those to do what we do!

Heres some pics of some old stuff, in a better light and even a new species!

Japanese Sugi

Figured Walnut

Cocobolo

Zebra LB Stems

Redwood Burl Tubes

Also have those BuckEye Burl Dugouts with the turquoise inlay am gonna post over my dugouts thread in the Vapor Lounge, pls have a look and let me know what you think! All these are available at my shopping cart and will be posted at my website in the next day or so.

edited to add mo info!

 

[Vitolo]

Darn you Ed's!
I had myself all narrowed down to the ebony varieties for my next Zap Vapor Stem acquisition.
There is something very eye catching though.. about that Japanese Sugi

Once again, Ed's comes though,
Clear new images bright and true,
Mutha Nature guides his hand...
so we can vape with wood- Life is grand!

 

[Ed's TnT]

Thanks for the kind words V, you know I appreciate em!