Discontinued Lil' Bud by Vapwood

[Bravesst]

Break time... forging ahead with building batch 8, once I get that under control, the Elite work can begin. I had to add two walnut units to the batch because I realized 4 of my walnut bodies have beaded edging. Normally, I'd charge extra for beading, but these guys are available at the regular walnut price of $189 and I'll let them go for free shipping (US only). PM if interested. Nice thing about these guys, they get you into batch 8. No more new bodies will be formed after today for batch 8. I'm falling behind on my coils, waiting for some materials, but should be able to catch up quick once the stuff arrives. Also going to order a shit load of *the switch*. I was on my seller store this morning, and I picked up a few interesting switches for possible novelty, or collector units.

The winner has not come forward with the code word, but I'm sure they will, or else I'll have to launch an official investigation.

 

[SpudBob]

I'd like to hear your ideas on prettiest Blend, at least from that angle.

I think front row far left is my fave!!!

Also still try to perfect my drawing method. Ive gone to the wider "stock" stem that came with the LB. Its really different with the 8mm glassed lined vs the larger freer flowing stem. Both have their advantages. Versatility is nice! Less chance of charring with the larger stem. Im sure that can be sorted out in time with draw speed/ pressure.
So back to my assessment. When I first got the LB i thought it was nice, but a little dowdy. It looked a little dry! So I added a new, heavier, coat of Bee's wax. OMG what a change. Mike, I don't know if it was an accident an you didn't coat it very well, and I don't care, but man did it come to life after that. B E A- utiful dude!

 

[P.A.M.]

Congratulations to the unknown winner of the Lil' Bud Blend. I'm not sure how they blend but it sounds cool

They do look great !! Better then i had imagined an de nowhere near done ! That is awesome !

I personally like the dark/light/dark units like first one of bottom row (also 2nd of top row) . Although the 3rd unit of top row looks to have a neat grain figured back end and will probably look hot as well!

Really comes down to individual units I believe and the wood chosen for them . Best figured grains for quartered back ends and for heater sections in general .
They'll definitely be pic worthy of every angle and conversation starters. Should make for a fun vaping experience for those who enjoy wood and handcrafted functional art as much as quality vapor . Wonder if it will have a smaller look/feel to it .

 

[Bravesst]

Congrats to our winner @RushVaporTrails. I like the way Blend captures what I'm trying to say, and goes with LB Classic, Elite, Blend... Great job and thank you. Here's all my LB Blends, plus a few PH, Cherry, and of course a couple more Walnut. Batch 8 is looking sweet.

 

[Bravesst]

Just loaded a new battery and freshly loaded stem with a new screen. I pushed the screen way back, maybe 3/4 of an inch. This does make it harder to load consistently, but just playing. I also balled up a bit of hemp fiber and added a pinch to the other end.

I hold the button for a few seconds to really let the coil get to full strength, pull nice and slow. First hit is an overwhelmingly smooth, tasty rush of vapor. Next heat, bit stronger, hotter, as if the extra distance no longer matters once the load has been primed. I wait.

5 minutes pass, I'm ready for another hit, and holy shit. Brief button hold, slow, but full pull - pure vapor, and lots, lots of it. Not as cool as hit one, but still WAY cool, very tasty. That's 3 blasts.

Going in for hit four, first little cough as I get a bit greedy. Still very tasty, but I can tell, there is a stir in my future if I'm to fully extract this one. Stirring, I remember the depth of the load, makes stirring easier, at least less messy, but hard to see what's going on. ABV looks really dark brown, I bet I get a monster hit now.

A super slow full draw is back to almost full taste. Stirring brings the bowl completely back to life. I anticipate another hit or two. I get my last hit, not bad for hit 6 on a megadose of less than .1g. ABV is spent because of the stir and slow draw with 18mm. It's also surprisingly dry, but with that screen depth, it'll gum up faster - major drawback.

Conclusion
It really doesn't matter too much how deep you set the screen, maybe a hair smoother, but if things get gummed up faster, that will defeat the purpose. I'll have to take another one for the team, and test this configuration all day.

 

[Diggy Smalls]

The experimental bodies look great. I was thinking Lil Bud Strata, like the layers of Earth in different colors, but blend is a good name.

Keep up the innovations!

 

[KingSol]

The experimental bodies look great. I was thinking Lil Bud Strata, like the layers of Earth in different colors, but blend is a good name.

Keep up the innovations!

I like that one. I was going with the LBC Little Bud Collage. The winning name is dope though.

 

[Bravesst]

LB Blend, or the lamination of different wood species, has changed the game. We are really only encumbered by one rule. We need to have one solid piece of wood for the entire coil cavity, and tapered hole. In other words, the switch box side, above the switch box, must be one solid piece.

For those of you who aren't familiar with traditional wood joinery, it really is an ancient art. Joining table tops, or table legs usually requires quite a bit of edge joining. Wood can be glued, edge to edge (not end to end, glue won't well hold on end grain), if cut and clamped properly, the bond is stronger than the wood fibers themselves. I can show you complicated glue ups of oversize table tops that are 3 feet wide by 6 feet long, that had to be dead straight and flat. LB is not even 4 inches tall. So this, is literally a no brainer. I can run this stock through the planer after it's joined (much like forming table legs), making perfection much easier to achieve.

So open up your imaginations to more than just a few layers of vertical wood bonds - which by itself is off the chart awesome. While I don't want to flip everything horizontally just yet (because of possible issues with grain direction), we can probably start to work with slight angles. This is something I am going to have to play with to get right. Another possibility is layering the switch box, or even the back plate. As you can see, my head is exploding with ideas. I can also see the need to get some white maple to provide some crazy contrast to the darker woods. By itself the maple is a bit boring, but when layered into a LB Blend, it's pops. We'll see where this leads.

On a more down to earth note, I had to stock up on bits for my routers and drill press, ordered 5 yesterday, 3 today. Bits actually constitute a large percentage of my ongoing expense. While Lil' Bud is quite small, he is basically totally hollowed out and carved down to size. That's a lot of wear and tear on the router and drill bits (and me). Without sharp tools, everything gets a bit more difficult. Bits bind, cuts tear out, accuracy suffers. This is always a couple of hundred dollars well spent. All in all, LB Classic uses 3 different router bits, and 8 drill bits, not counting pilot holes for screws, the Elite will probably use even more. Drilling and routing is a big part of Lil' Bud.

 

[P.A.M.]

Give this coil a Like if you are baked off your LB, plan to be in a near future or just because it's fucking beautiful you the man , Mike !

 

[Slickwilly]

Give this coil a Like if you are baked off your LB, plan to be in a near future or just because it's fucking beautiful you the man , Mike !

Nice pic, looks just like the Vapwood logo
Full steam ahead fellow LBers

 

[Bravesst]

Give this coil a Like if you are baked off your LB, plan to be in a near future or just because it's fucking beautiful you the man , Mike !

That's a keeper, and what is in every Vapwood product.

Today is going to be a busy one. I have 4 orders I need to put finishing touches on an in-between-the-batches repair - kind of last of the old switch replacements. With all the talk about LB Blend and Elite, that pic reminds me of what this is really about - a well formed coil.

Repairs have slowed, as new units are all equipped with the latest switch, which represents minimal risk. This has given me much more control of moving units. With that said, these are my upcoming GOALS, what I'd like to be able to accomplish over the next few batches. The time line on batches is a matter of how fast I can progress, now that I'm not bogged down by repairs. I am not projecting other than batch 8 (A and B) should ship in September and Batch 9 in October.

IT'S A COUPON CODE MORNING
To fill up 8B, it is time for another coupon code. This is strictly an 8B sale that only includes the stock mentioned below (what I have formed into bodies already). When buying any of the below options, use coupon code: EIGHTB to save 10% units on these already built but not assembled, units listed below.

BATCH 8A - 10 Classics sold (closed)
BATCH 8B - 2 Blends sold (8 spots open*)
*Stock available for 8B - 6 Blends (see pic) / 3 Classic Cherry / 2 Quilted Maple / 4 Beaded Walnut

BATCH 9A - 9 Elites sold / (room for 1 more unit)
BATCH 9B - no units sold (10 spots open)

BATCH 10A - Elite (5)
BATCH 10 B - Classic / Blend (10)

 

[Diggy Smalls]

The 3rd and 5th down on the left are awesome, and I would pick one of them if I had the money. Those are going to look so good! I can't wait to see a finished pic!

Edit: I think you and @Alan make a good fit because you're both always moving your ideas so quickly hahaha it's so wicked to get to follow this creative journey. I'm saving for one. I've got a couple things I might sell to help me finance this, too.

 

[Bravesst]

The 3rd and 5th down on the left are awesome, and I would pick one of them if I had the money. Those are going to look so good! I can't wait to see a finished pic!

I have them all laid out on my work bench. Switch boxes have been cut and paired. I actually joined some stock for a few blended switch boxes I'll work into the mix somehow. The switch box blend is purple heart / maple as well as purple heart / cherry. Makes a nice addition to a solid unit. The batch looks amazing.

This is an important point, and I'm going to highlight it in the thread so everybody understands the ordering process.

LB BLEND CUSTOM ORDERS
At this point I'm going to have to mix and match myself and offer for sale at the base price, unless you have specific ideas based on what you see, and can describe or draw it in a bit of detail, and send it to me. I will do my best to wrap my head around your idea, and give you a price quote. These will be handled on a case by case basis, if it can be done at all. Otherwise, I'll try and post pics, or structure the website to showcase the LB Blends properly. The have potential to be very unique.

I have to say, once these get into circulation, the popularity will increase. In the future, I'll be working off 30 inch blanks, and each blank pattern can make up to 6 units. You can see why one-0f-a-kind orders have to be handled separately.

 

[HerbieVonVapster]

Really like how the blend ideal is moving forward. Tempting but being still in honeymoon phase with my batch 7 lil bud.

Plus my unregulated collection is getting less use as my taste is moving towards convection regulated vaporizing.

Don't get me wrong the lil bud does great in its current position. Preformed perfect this whole recent camping trip. Heck it even survived it's first drop with no ill effect.

Home use it's a slightly different story. Most of the time I enjoy a regulated experience over unregulated when medicating at home.

When I am in the mood for unregulated there's a bit of choice so it's tossup on what one I will grab.
Really just the fact that it's getting home use says a lot on the quality of the vapor it produces.

Thinking the lil bud elite will be more home use but time will tell. With DNA chip it be safe to charge battery in the lil bud. For travel that's a nice feature. Much easier to charge battery in device than use battery charger well driving in camper.

I really have high hopes on the elite. After experiencing the iheat with a DNA device I already have a taste of how the elite will perform.

I'm really supriced to see there is still an open spot for a elite. Once people see a prototype start hearing about the performance sure that will change

Guess it's too early tell but do let me know if a blended elite is possibility in the future.

 

[P.A.M.]

Try roasting that in another vape to see if there's anything left .. done like dinner! #likeapro

Disclaimer : the herb below was not harmed or
abused for the purpose of this photograph. it was savoured and enjoyed prior to being voluntarily brought to that level of roast at the end of the session . It is not burnt , just very well roasted .

 

[Bravesst]

Really like how the blend ideal is moving forward. Tempting but being still in honeymoon phase with my batch 7 lil bud.

Plus my unregulated collection is getting less use as my taste is moving towards convection regulated vaporizing.

Don't get me wrong the lil bud does great in its current position. Preformed perfect this whole recent camping trip. Heck it even survived it's first drop with no ill effect.

Home use it's a slightly different story. Most of the time I enjoy a regulated experience over unregulated when medicating at home.

When I am in the mood for unregulated there's a bit of choice so it's tossup on what one I will grab.
Really just the fact that it's getting home use says a lot on the quality of the vapor it produces.

Thinking the lil bud elite will be more home use but time will tell. With DNA chip it be safe to charge battery in the lil bud. For travel that's a nice feature. Much easier to charge battery in device than use battery charger well driving in camper.

I really have high hopes on the elite. After experiencing the iheat with a DNA device I already have a taste of how the elite will perform.

I'm really supriced to see there is still an open spot for a elite. Once people see a prototype start hearing about the performance sure that will change

Guess it's too early tell but do let me know if a blended elite is possibility in the future.

I know many are looking forward to the Elite. The Blend was a simple change in the initial blank, a relatively easy transition in woodworking, while the Elite multiple adjustments, new parts, processes.

Worked hard today on batch 8. We're in the middle of a pretty sick heat wave, and even though I had my AC on in the wood shop, the sun was streaming in, and I was really freaking hot.

Little, simple things started going a wrong, I was getting frustrated, and my shop looked like a bomb hit it. I knew it was time to stop, and I cut things a little short. Happy to report that all batch 8 orders are well on their way and them some. Even though I only have 12 LB's accounted for, and I'm working on about 20 plus Classics and Blends, trying to stay ahead of sales, and carve out some time to devote to launching the Elite.

In the wood shop, my biggest advancement has been the use of the planer. I've achieved a level of consistency that heretofore was not possible. Now everything get ripped slightly large on the tablesaw, then planed down to exact thickness and width, just like furniture making. I have to say that more consistent I get, the more I enjoy the process, and look for more ways to do things differently.

 

[P.A.M.]

Which way to insert battery . We say it doesn't make a difference.. does it ? I wonder because on a few occasions I accidentally inserted the battery positive facing up only noticing it when taking the battery out . Oddly enough , every time I tell myself "it was working well that way" . I tried it on purpose earlier tonight and it worked great (like when battery + faces down) with possibly an added "not sure what" but enough to make me wonder lol That's my question , is it just me being too high and overthinking / mind playing tricks or is there actually something to it ? Lol

My wonder/reasoning is ; does the energy flow change direction when inserting the battery one way or another ?

If so, does this mean the coil will begin heating from centre post to outer post when battery inserted one way and from outer post to centre post when battery inserted the other way ?

It's not a coil that heats from left to right but a spiral that can either start heating from centre to outside or outside to centre .

the LB heats up Fast!, if there is a difference it is very minimal . Could the slight difference influence roasting eveness? Is it best the outer circle heats first so it can bounce back on the ss foil ? Which end of coil heats up first ? Maybe I'm just a LB nerd lol

I'll keep experimenting / taking one for the team (an excuse to vape more !!) if others want to join.

Anyone try it the other way ?

 

[RushVaporTrails]

Let's not fool ourselves , the LB heats up Fast!, if there is a difference it is very minimal . Still be worth examining closer if the case to get the absolute most out of LB.

I'll keep experimenting / taking one for the team if others want to join.

Isn't it great doing all this important research, lol.

Had to mention that my battery results lately have been great. Put one on the charger it said 3.35.

Then today, was still getting some vapor out of a battery, noticed it was taking a much longer button push to generate heat. put that battery on the charger, 2.92, so the LB can really work on a weak battery.

 

[P.A.M.]

Isn't it great doing all this important research, lol.

Had to mention that my battery results lately have been great. Put one on the charger it said 3.35.

Then today, was still getting some vapor out of a battery, noticed it was taking a much longer button push to generate heat. put that battery on the charger, 2.92, so the LB can really work on a weak battery.

Haha yeah, I was updating my post adding the nerd bit, lol..

Sounds like you are now getting your LB to kick ass like it's intended to , awesome !

Easy on the battery drainage, I'm quite sure it's recommended to stay over 3.50 with these batteries , or due to the way we use them . Or they won't last as long if you bring them below a certain voltage .. anyone know more or care to add on this ?

Great results none the less ! Yeah!! Congratulations on winning the LB Blend contest , it will be a sweet vape to add to the mix! Did anyone submit the LB Joint ?

 

[RushVaporTrails]

Sounds like you are now getting your LB to kick ass like it's intended to , awesome !

Absolutely, its taken over as my go to daily driver. I still love @DDave glass wand for vapcap, and even with using @Pipes awesome skeletor, the LB is still a faster, easier method for extraction. I'm finding the vapcap a good way to "finish" off a stem from the LB. I can take some medium brown AVB from the LB and stick it into the vapcap and extract it to almost black without combusting. I know a lot of people don't take their herb that far, but I generally do.

Easy on the battery drainage, I'm quite sure it's recommended to stay over 3.50 with these batteries , or due to the way we use them . Or they won't last as long if you bring them below a certain voltage .. anyone know more or care to add on this ?

Oh geez, I had no idea about drainage, glad I mentioned it. I actually had no idea it had gone down so far, lately I have been putting on the charger and they have been around 3.7.

Great results none the less ! Yeah!! Congratulations on winning the LB Blend contest , it will be a sweet vape to add to the mix! Did anyone submit the LB Joint ?

Thanks on the Blend, I got lucky that I saw @Bravesst post early and knew I had to get that choice submitted early cause it seemed like a no brainer. Btw, I know you didn't think of the word blend that way, but think blended family, different people joined together,

LB Blend, different woods joined together.

My wife and I had a whole discussion about the word blend, cause generally you think of a blender, which takes ingredients and crushes them into microscopic pieces and "blends" them together, i.e. protein shake.

I hadn't thought of LB joint. I actually really like that name too but could get confusing to the uniformed that its some form of an actual weed joint.

I know this has been mentioned by just about everyone who owns an LB, but the more I use it, the more I really love how it feels in my hand while sitting back on the couch and taking some hits, I really like spinning it around in my palm, its almost addicting. It just has that feel and size that makes it so different from a factory made piece of plastic or metal.

 

[Bravesst]

On the computer all morning trying to figure out how best to allow you to put together the layers of your very unique LB Blend. I broke it down to six items.

1. Layer One (switch side)
2. Layer Two (middle)
3. Layer Three (battery side)
4. Switch Box
5. Back Plate
6. Mouthpiece

For now that's how the first batch of blanks will pan out. I just edited the website to allow you to pick from the five woods for all of the above options (no zebrawood stems).

1. Maple
2. Cherry
3. Walnut
4. Purple Heart
5. Zebrawood

That's a lot of choices, but if I standardize to a certain extent, I can mix and match without issue. Check it out and let me know what you think. It will improve. https://vapwood.com/shop-lil-bud

The current units I'm in the process of building, will sell as is. Once built, I'll parade them around, as they are some sweet looking LB's. They will wind up being very unique units that will probably never be duplicated exactly like that.

I'm very happy to have allowed this creativity to happen without so much as a blip in production. As a matter of fact, this opens up lots of opportunities to ensure unique stock for the Elite and Timber for a long time to come. With all the ideas coming down the pike simultaneously, the early road can be a bit rough, a test of patience, but things are happening rapidly - I know you all can see that. We deliver, maybe not as fast as Amazon, but delivered all the same. For those holding out for the Elite, Timber, and Timber Elite, it'll be worth the wait when it all comes together.

 

[Bravesst]

I spent all day in Washington Heights, in Manhattan, at an end of Summer health fair. Glad it had an early quitting time, because it was hot. By the time I got home, after spending 2 hours in two different vehicles trecking back from the city, I just wanted to shower and veg out with LB - except that I had texted my wife to put the AC in the shop about 2 hours before, and I knew the shop would be bearable.

All my new bits arrived, and I've got home made bit stands that are all disorganized. I built a new bit stand for the bits I use on LB, and separated all the extras out. Searching for small tools is a pure waste of time, but the now matter how neat I get my shop, at a certain point, it's a complete mess - every time.

That was a good 30 minutes, already sweating, but I had to move forward on something, and I was having some issues with using my planer to thickness down to below 1/4 inch (back plates). I had it worked out in my head what I needed to do, but *sled* that shims up the stock being planed, while proving a stop that is just below the surface of the blade. Simple process, sled built, ready to size some maple, cherry, walnut, and purple heart back plates. Thanks to the planer, all the exact same size - thickness, width, and cut to perfect length on the chop saw. That is a perfect example of a huge time saver, the process of fitting the door to unit is now pretty simple. Except for magnets, softening the corners, and some 400 and 600 sand paper, it is done. I actually formed a boat load of them, now that I've nailed down the process, all ready to mix and match to batch 8, 9, and 10 - which should all maintain this exact dimensional consistency. It's a good feeling using tools as they should be used, and getting the exact results you're supposed to get. I guess that doesn't happen overnight, but with enough passion and practice, it is inevitable.

Tomorrow I'm in the shop most of the day. The heat is supposed to break, and I'm hoping things will be a bit more comfortable in the shop. Pretty soon I'll be back inside anyway, and the basement shop is always easy to keep cool. I've got another bunch of coils to form and units to assemble. Lots going on, but everything moving along nicely.

I always mention what a huge time saver, work saver GoDaddy is. I was able to list the Blend Your Bud option pretty easily. I just put it through a mock run and I'm really pleasantly surprised how well it works. I need better images of fully assembled units, but that'll come soon.

 

[nonbeliever]

Is the coil something that at some point can be “mass produced” - eg - stamped out of mesh instead of hand formed?

 

[Bravesst]

@nonbeliever I've no doubt that the coil will one day be mass produced, but I don't have the capability to make that happen. Right now I'm focused on speeding up my coil building, as this is an area that eats up lots of time.

LB Break Down

Coil
This used to take an inordinate amount of time. With over 200 coils under my belt, I got pretty good at it. Rounder, tighter, smoother, equidistant. I still feel I can shave 25 percent off the time, while keeping quality high.

Main Body
The introduction of the planer into my sizing process has changed everything. Because of the consistency I can achieve, my speed and accuracy have increased exponentially. When a piece of stock is perfectly sized, square, flat, mistakes don't multiply, holes line up, edges are square, shit just fits. Makes for a smooth process without *rescue operations* to bring things back to near perfect, which eats up lots of time. I've cut the time it takes to build the main body, with its almost full length mortise, and 7 bored holes by over 100 percent.

Switch Box
The planer and tablesaw play a critical role in cutting out for the switch box, as well as cutting the switch box. Building a jig to cut switch boxes has turned my tablesaw into a machine for joinery. The fit *right off the saw* is almost perfect, with very little pairing of the joint. This used to take hours and now it's down to minutes. There is a slight bump up in time over earlier units because of the internal modifications necessary to fit the larger switch.

Back Plate
Tablesaw to planer to perfect fit. This is a significant timer saver that makes for a really well fitting back plate.

Pre-Assembly
The better the initial sizing and joinery, the easier the pre assembly process. It should all just fall together perfectly.

Finish
Oscillating drum sander has made things significantly easier to get the edges I need, but I still hand sand from 220 to 600 grit on every unit, a time consuming operation.

Final Assembly
I used to fumble through, now it's a pretty smooth, consistent process. I don't see much change here.
-

 

[Bravesst]

Let's not forget the little things that make Lil' Bud so cool. I have to thank @P.A.M. for the great idea. I got some acrylic sheets, easy to cut up, bends at a nice 90 degree angle. Fits in the battery compartment when you're using the unit. I'll include a few with each unit.

The other thing I'm flirting with is angling the vent holes. Too much was going on early on, but I've had this idea in the back of my head since the beginning. Not sold on it yet. I have to build a unit and test it out, before I commit to it. Performance is too good right now to make ANY changes without testing first.