'The Misty Log' - DIY wooden Log Vaporizer

[Megaton]

How is the fir liking the heat after sustained use? It looks great!

 

[virtualpurple]

Such a great inspiring thread.

 

[blokenoname]

@Megaton
Fir is coping fine so far
Ok, the softer woods probably tend to char easier, being not so dense and maybe also a PITA to work on for the woodworker, due to their softness, not holding threads and so on, but using pine for months now I'd think it's safe to say, that the charring problems in the old 1st generation soft wood Zaps and the like were probably more due to the fact, that they all had this weighty and massive brass or ss heat exchanger with a much wider surface area in there, that was in direct contact with the wooden sleeve at first. Now we have just this tiny ss heater cover, which has minimal contact to the wood body itself, only it's small flared out end touching the bottom of the centre bore. The teflon washer holding it in place conducts heat only badly and so even the two ss screws holding the washer do not really get hot, where they go into the wood.

@virtualpurple
Thx Coming back to you later re the Woodscents and the bushing.

 

[blokenoname]

Some updates/ideas on the portable MistyToGo (MtG) . Made a new prototype and sat in a 14/18mm inline glass adapter, so it now has a 14mm female joint, which also holds the ss heater cover now with a silicone ring. That allowed for throwing out the velocity housing, as this isn't needed any longer for holding the heater cover, leaving just the base (though I used the Kanger one here). The 9mm ss heater cover is now 'hovering' over/around the cartridge heater, with the HC itself having no contact with the base anymore. So the base itself remains cooler too, as heat can only conduct down via the leads now, and not via the whole heater cover, keeping the wooden body cooler.

Can be used with the 8mm ss tips, stems and PonGs, which slide into the ss heater cover, as usual, and also with 14mm male joint glass stems and GonGs, which slide over the HC, but at the same time seal within the 14mm female joint.

Still wondering about the size/diameter though . 40mm looks fat at first, on a box mod, but then it's not an instant vape like the Splinter or Alan's iHeat, as I cannot accomplish that without developing my own HSA heater first. And I'm not so sure, I wanne go there anyway. So my MistyToGo (MtG) is essentially a session type vape, needing about a minute of pre-heat time at ~8v and ~25w, before you can use it. That should work with most contemporary box mods, that allow for a max resistance between 3 to 3.5ohm. But even more than that, with it's base attached, it's a twiggy sized (40mm diameter/95mm hight) full blown plug-in/desktop log vape, fit for running 24/7 at ~5v and ~7w from a 5v/2A DC power supply (with or w/o a VVPS/dimmer attached), that you can unscrew it's heater section from for attaching to any given mod box, so that you can take it with you when visiting friends or whatnot. 'Stealth' is not actually a factor, I had in mind here
So i see it more like a typical desktop log, with additional functionality as a portable, in comparison to maybe the iHeat, that is mainly a portable that when attached to its base then duplicates the function of the box mod. Meaning, an iHeat isn't constantly running when attached to a PS, but still only on demand when hitting the firing button.
Prototype is a bit rough around the edges, as the base isn't an exact fit yet, only being cut as an afterthought so to say and also having to develop the new ad hoc art-form of getting the hole in the base for the 510 connector as askew and off centre, as in the heater section/portable
Base is also a cm higher than planned, as I rigged up another Kanger base to serve as a 510 female connector here. Real connector will be flatter.

The 40mm diameter would work better for that 'desktop log/twiggy with a portable option' design I have in mind, as anything smaller in diameter and thickness of the wooden sleeve will get too hot to touch when running from the PS base as a normal desktop vape for longer than maybe 1/2 hour or so. Already had that with the first 30mm MtG prototypes, I made. Also a very unstable affair, having it standing upright on the table, when it's only 30mm wide. You only need to look at the cable the wrong way, to make it topple over

 

[brainiac]

I'm visiting this thread every day. Brilliant work - and your 'open source' approach is admirable.
Can I call you matenoname?

A lovely vape for desktop use and it's portable (stealth's rarely issue for me either).
I got a UD about three years ago (40mm diameter/100 height). It's been my daily driver ever since.
Apart from its functional and aesthetic qualities it's also given me the aspiration to build my own.
I could handle the woodwork - tho the end result might not look quite as tidy as yours - but the
electrical gubbins that go into it are a complete mystery to me. So I'm here learning as best I can.

One thing's for sure - we need more logs here in Europe. Keep up the good work, mate.

 

[Ramahs]

 

[MUSA Vaporizer]

i really love watching and reading this thread!
very nice developement and im looking forward seeing more!

 

[blokenoname]

@brainiac
Thank you for the kind words and your interest in me little project here
And you're welcome to call me that, of course
My semi portable Misty2Go will need some more refinement and polishing, but its going into the direction now, I like it to go
While I will maintain and update this open source DIY thread regularly, to show how my log vapes are build, which materials used, pondering new ideas and continue experimenting, so that everyone gets the chance to build his own log or portable log, me little loggies here reached a stage in development, where I'm also considering offering a quite limited number of units for sale
This will be no big show or regular business, churning out hundreds of logs or so, as this is not a job, but a hobby for me and I've also to comply to me countries regulations for offering them as 'works of art' as a freelance artist, keeping it within the limits of what are considered 'private sales', or at least what's sales tax free. Have still to figure out all the angles on that one first.
So I will probably open a new thread soon in the 'upcoming & unreleased' section of the 'Plug-in' forum here, where I give an overview, present models available, provide contact info and so on. And there is still some beta testing to be done

@MUSA Vaporizer
Hi Tobias. Always welcome to me little thread here Guess me loggies have come quite some way, since stuffing a Herborizer heater into two maple goblets and calling it a 'log' And all of this would probably never have been possible, without your glorious MUSA Wooden Vape

'More' I've indeed to offer today, as I've decided to try myself (and the friggin' old Black&Decker) on some nicer looking hardwoods, instead of confining myself to pine and fir

So, may I present... The MistySapele

 

[blokenoname]

Another one in broad daylight

 

[Megaton]

That sepele is gorgeous!

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

@blokenoname <3 Nice look on that last one. It reminds me very much of my Wychwood .

 

[blokenoname]

@blokenoname <3 Nice look on that last one. It reminds me very much of my Wychwood .

Guess with seeing how the same log turns out being made from some nicer hardwood, I’ve to admit, the good old pine and fir look like some chopped up firewood in comparison. Rough and rustic . Performing very well since yesterday night already, Still a bit of its unique scent lingering. Reminds me a bit of cedar

 

[blokenoname]

Looks also stunning with a high mass core

 

[brainiac]

I'm also considering offering a quite limited number of units for sale

I'll be keeping a keen eye out for any more news on this
ATB

 

[blokenoname]

Evening!

Busy night and day so far. Robbed the lean fir loggie (last page) of his ss heater cover to lazily avoid having to cut a new one for the second mahogany-sapele unit, I did a high mass core (HMC) for some days ago
Looking down on the naked resistor in the sad fir twiggy now, I realized that I hadn't experimented with a proper glass core since I gave up on bamboo a few month ago. So I made it a neat glass core set into a cork base
With the high glass tolerances though (core is somewhat between 10 mm and 10,5 mm, I'd guess), I still haven't found any suitable glass stems or tips for it, to slide over and provide a good enough seal. Arizer glass being about 1/2 mm too wide, my DIY glass stems being to narrow. O-ring for sealing on the cover itself won't work, as the heater sits too high up for even a high temp o-ring. Reeks!
So I made a simple all wooden stem for it (wooden bowl and all), from a 14mm beech round rod. Works quite well so far and we'll see, what we can find in the future re fitting glass tips/stems

For the new lean mahogany bodies (4 cm x 9,5 cm), I redesigned the High Mass Core (HMC), I experimented with in the last weeks, realizing that I fell into the same trap of mistaking it's size by working from pics again! Filling a 30 mm or even 40 mm bore with 30 mm OD flat ss washers, each 3 mm thick! WTF was I thinking!?
The whole HeavyMetalMonster maple prototype weight nearly half a pound then and no wonder I needed the more powerful 10w cartridge heater in there then.
Hell, it all looks so big on the pics, when there's no real point of comparison in the background somewhere
Then, after seeing that even a 30 mm bore in the lean mahogany bodies would leave only a 5 mm wooden shell, which might be a bit on the thin side for a massive and super hot ss cylinder in there, I went with the 25 mm bore I had used for most of my MistyPine prototypes up until now... and lo and behold, all of a sudden my problems finding extra wide 30+ mm washers with a fitting inner diameter around 9-12 mm vanished into thin air and I had a shitload of perfectly fitting 15-25 mm flat-, star- and lock-washers already at hand in the multi part washer sets, I had bought before
Also: Jumping back to @Alan 's The HI Thread with the pic of his collection of different log heater/cores, I finally noticed the resistor placed in front of all the cores as a size reference, being itself only about 20 mm long. Though he clearly states most of the cores having a 3/4" (about 2 cm) outer ss tube, the use of inches instead of centimetres still fails to instantly provide me with a sense for size when I read infos like that

The new High Mass Core is only of about 20 mm width and 40 mm hight now, with the 9 mm OD heater tube and port extending up to 60 mm in hight. Approximate weight is about the same, as a 18650 li-ion cell (no scales! Ruler and an 18650 as counterweight had to do), i.e. ~45g (the standard 60 mm x 9 mm x 0,3 mm heater tube/cover is about 5g only). It's powered by the 7w heater cartridge now (24v/30w Reprap cartridge. Applying 1/2 the voltage = 1/4 of the wattage output), like I initially intended.
There are fourteen flat 15 mm (OD) M10 ss washers interspaced with four ss 18 mm star lock washers, which increase surface area due to their fins/claws and also provide air intake around the sides of the core, so that air can enter into the slits at the bottom of the center tube. At its top is a single regular external star washer of about the same size, providing air intake from the top. On top of that, goes a single 25 mm (OD) flat washer with a wider inner diameter, to close up the core* - held in place with a fitting No. 25 internal clip ring. Center heater tube is flared out at the bottom, with one of the 15 mm M10 flat ss washers held by the flare and another big 25 mm flat washer sits on top of that, to provide the bottom part of the core/heat exchanger (for now it’s still held by an additional teflon washer, but that will get replaced by an M10 or M12 internal ss star spring lock washer, through the gaps of which the screws for holding the cover should fit).
Whole core is surrounded not by another massive and solid outer ss tube like in the classic first generation logs (PD, AZ/MZ/CRZ etc.), but just a sheet of rolled up 0,3 mm thick ss foil/sheet, with its ends overlapping (cut up on the pics to show the interior). The idea behind that is to avoid possible wood charring by the more massive core by reducing material thickness of the outer ss tube in direct contact with the wood and thereby actually lowering thermal resistance and increasing heat transfer/conduction to the wooden body and from there finally dissipating it to the surroundings by convection, as... "The lower the thermal resistance, the better the heat sink, because it can dissipate the same heat output with a smaller temperature difference. As a result, the component remains cooler, which benefits the life and reliability.” Remains to be seen though, if I got that right… not exactly being Mr. Physics myself here, but just hopping from source to source absorbing that fraction of information, that I’m able to grasp as a layman there
I.e., if I got that right, a thicker, more massive outer ss tube in direct contact with the wood has higher thermal resistance and lower conductance but also is less ideal or counter productive, when you want to get rid of excess heat and so working as an actual heat sink, instead of just maintaining the state of a system, where you want more thermal resistance and less conduction.

Anyway, the new High Mass Core will be an optional core, that’ll come with the units I plan to offer besides the Standard lightweight ss heater cover.

Last but not least I improved the multi tip size bushing of the heater port by adding a clip ring and an optional high temp silicone O-Ring (sits far enough away from the heater itself now near the top of the bushing), supported by a the dimple, serving as a stop, hinderiung the bushing to slide down the cover, which now allows for even better sealing of the Arizer Air/Solo glass stems and GonGs. Seals also with bigger sized glass, like an 18 mm male tapered ground glass joint

Cheers



* (and to get that out of the way beforehand... this is definitively not a 'closed core' in the sense, that the UD's maker, Dave, uses the term, i.e. sealed and airtight in all parts, apart from the top intake... but merely in the sense that a stack of washers fills up the center bore of the wooden body for increased thermal mass and heat capacity, together with an additional outer ss sleeve around the whole contraption to form a more complex heat exchanger, and thereby 'closing' it up and insulating the center tube, in comparison to an 'open core', where you just have the central heater tube left (or cover), which is then insulated only by the narrow air gap, between itself and the surrounding wooden sleeve. This is how I found those terms used by folks in several online discussions and reviews, before I read Dave's interpretation. To spare us all confusion, I'll refer here to the 'Standard Core/SC' (i.e. just the ss heater cover + air gap for insulation, like in Alan's HI/TT) and to the 'High Mass Core/HMC' (i.e. stack of ss washers added around the center heater tube/cover, to increase thermal mass, much like in the old PD, AZ/MZ and so on)

 

[Megaton]

Man, i always end up learning things in this thread!

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

@blokenoname The solid core reminds me of certain generation of the UD cores, I have one of these still running good ,but sadly the wood cracked a bit at the top.Having thinner outer shield might remedy such occurancies,but maybe also remove the solid top washer if there is too much heat to the wood.
Your creations starting to look really good,i told you could be a log vape maker a while ago and now it pleases me to see how fast you catch up with all the logvape technology and trying to use the best of it in your concept ).

 

[blokenoname]

@Abysmal Vapor
Thank you

It's an ongoing process of learning and refinement, putting the astounding knowledge base, FC and its members and manufacturers have become over the course of its existence, to good use
Like with writing data base solutions, which I did for some time, I'll often reach a point where I think all is working fine now and further improvement hardly necessary... and around comes the next thing I never thought about and solving that, results in an even better log until the cycle repeats itself

Take the thing with the thinner ss sheet for instance. Wanted to look up one or two seemingly simple questions re thermal conduction and material thickness, and eventually ended up with twenty open tabs on info regarding thermal management, part of which covering methods of not avoiding, but rather increasing and utilizing thermal conduction through passive heat-sinks and/or heat-spreaders to get rid of the excess heat, when you've a system that requires cooling as opposed to a stable system, where you want to keep the heat in place and therefor would rather try to minimize heat loss through conduction (very much like in the HI and my loggies with the standard lightweight heater cover insulated by the air gap and wood only, as opposed to a log with a more massive core, where on the one hand you want to increase the core's heat capacity by adding mass, but on the other hand need to find ways of cooling, to get rid of the excess heat buildup caused thereby). All a question of balance.

If this eventually works out with the thinner outer ss sleeve functioning as a passive heat-sink/spreader remains to be seen though, as the charring in the earlier log vapes was a rather slow and ongoing process, only manifesting itself over the course of month and years, till you finally had a real cavity burned out of the wood around the core, so that it became loose. Another problem being the wood shrinking against an unmovable solid outer ss sleeve, due to the excess heat, eventually causing the wood itself to give way and cracking. The thinner, flexible outer ss sheet might alleviate this problem, as it can make way for the wood, but the bigger flat top and bottom washers still can't.

From what I've read about the UD so far, Dave coped with the excess heat by means of ceramic insulation at first, just like the CeramicRockZap, but later on got rid of the ceramic 'rock' in favor of... simply leaving an air gap between the outer ss sleeve of the core and the wooden shell, utilizing the air itself as an insulator again. As simple, as it is effective, as Alan already showed with his HI
So if the thinner ss sheeting doesn't prove itself, that would be the next most obvious thing to try by making the bore a bit wider, while retaining the diameter of the core

Another problem for me was wood choices. From all I've read and heard so far from folks more knowledgable about wood than this poor dabbler here, the general consensus seemed to be, that you simply cannot work hard woods efficiently with a power drill/drill press and Forstner Bits only, but that a lathe is more or less mandatory there. So I accepted this and confined myself to easily workable soft woods like pine or fir... until I decided to give a shit about what others said and simply got me that gorgeous mahogany handrail and proofed them wrong
There'll be certainly limits to what woods a good power drill/drill press can bore out, but up to the hardness of the mahogany sapele here, it'll probably cope fine, which leaves me with quite a variety of wood choices for my Mistys here
Also found a nice outlet for readily turned handrails, which does offer about a good dozen different woods to choose from in a variety of diameters and conditions, from treated and with a finish to completely untreated (as you choose), with civil pricing and all delivered within a fortnight. Will also still need to invest into a quality drill press, as that chepo drill press stand there makes working the wood much easier, but still doesn't exactly shine in the precision department
A lathe gives also more freedom in shaping your logs, but a quality one easily costs thrice as much as a reasonable quality drill press, which you can get for about € 250,- and would also require a completely new skill set... apart from the question where to put it to begin with, the living room table being me workbench and the drill press stand residing right next to the kitchen sink

So... have a nice relaxed Sunday all of you I'll confine myself to doing a new wooden stem with a slide over ss tip for the for glass core Misty today and maybe a quickly done stem caddy from a leftover piece of the mahogany blank to not stretch me neighbors patience with another biiiiiiig drilling session today

 

[KeroZen]

Instead of buying a lathe, you could locate a fablab near where you live. Some are anarchic/community driven, in the true DIY mindset. But others, say from a second wave, are more commercial. I know one for instance where you basically can rent machine time for cheap. You just reserve your schedule and you can use the CNC, the laser cutter etc. So maybe you'll find one with a proper lathe?

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

@KeroZen Proper lathes are not that expensive(300 euro) ,but doing the magic on them is really dangerous and not easy task for a newbie.
I have turned myself a couple of woodblocks and there is a lot to fuck up,which might end up costly if you handle exotic woods. 3d CNC carving from wood isnt really low cost thing at least around here,also you will have to make sure they use proper wood or at best provide it yourself + you will have to master some CAD skills to create proper models .
I also think that the easiest way is to find someone who already digs the lathes and pay him to make you a dozen ).

 

[blokenoname]

@KeroZen & @Abysmal Vapor

Thanks. Good idea in principle, but as Abysmal Vapor already stated (and I also mentioned above somewhere), getting a lathe or having access to one does not make the woodturner
Meaning, I would have to learn how to turn wood to begin with and apart from wannabe logs turning into free flying projectiles, I can see some pretty askew and bizarre body shapes rising before my mind's eye

Nah, to be serious: another mate, a musician and retired carpenter, I had asked about knowing someone owning a lathe or finding a small shop, that would turn wood in small quantities, mentioned fablabs in passing, but then said there really aren't any locally, the next one being in one of the bigger cities, a 100 km away or so. The ones he knew had CNC machines and lathes that were exclusively used for turning/working metal though, with the fablabs generally unwilling to have them used for wood, as it must be a real PITA to clean them up again afterwards to make fit for use with metal again. Same is true for friends he knew owning a lathe.

I also think that the easiest way is to find someone who already digs the lathes and pay him to make you a dozen ).

Only shop locally, said mate could point me to for accepting a low quantities order/commission, was a local sheltered workshop so far, which still ran a woodturning lathe. Knowing some folks there, he got me an offer for a minimum of 100 pieces at about € 5-8/piece plus tax. Nothing fancy, shape- and wood-wise though, just a single choice of wood and diameter and just the basic cylinder shape with a two step, smaller top and wider bottom bore, just as I make mine now. While the price itself is quite reasonable for such low quantities, I simply cannot afford churning out that kind of money not even having an inkling, how this whole log endeavor of mine here will turn out eventually and also, even a commission for a hundred custom pieces made by a 3rd party, could probably already be interpreted by the taxman as an intention to turn a profit and thereby being a commercial endeavor, rather than being a freelance artist, selling his artwork privately in commercially non relevant quantities to make some folks happy with his little woodworks, which would mean income tax (that I could live with), but which would further mean my loggies not being accepted as 'functional works of art' with the functional component merely seen as ornament, but rather as a common commercially sold electrical device, the sale of which would then make CE certification mandatory
Though I already worked some great voodoo, hopping around an ash tree on one leg at midnight while howling at the full moon at a moonless night (... what? wait! )... the needed 8 to 10k for that still failed to materialize in the petty cash box yet
And even if I could find someone, who'd turn me just a dozen or so... doing the woodwork yourself, and be it only with the cheap drill press stand, I've got right now, is already half the fun

So... for the time being and given the fact, that I now have a much wider choice of nicer, manufacturer turned woods for use as bodies (which I also personally prefer to follow the more classic shape of a simple cylinder or 'soda can', though in a variety of different sizes and diameters and with the slightly rounded or tapered off top), than the good old pine and fir I used so far, I think a drill-press of reasonable quality and price, where I can adjust rpms and also fixate blanks more precisely as this is possible with the half assed little vice, that came with the drill stand, will do for the time being and when it warrants one day, I might even get myself a real lathe and starting to learn how to turn the wood properly myself

 

[blokenoname]

Ok... NOW we're talking!
Used, but in perfect working order. Build in 1998.
And set me back... € 30

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

@blokenoname Cant go wrong with the oldies ). Just out of curiousity wondering what is the brand of that thing ) . How many speeds does it have and also how deep can you bore ? (cm)

 

[blokenoname]

@blokenoname Cant go wrong with the oldies ). Just out of curiousity wondering what is the brand of that thing ) . How many speeds does it have and also how deep can you bore ? (cm)

Though I've still to find the wheel or knob for speed adjustment Can't find any manual online so far. No biggie, as it's doing its job fine at the speed it's now set at. Have to ask the seller, when he's home again

How deep you can bore is more or less determined by how long the shaft of your drill bit is and the hight of the machine. With a standard bit you'll get about 5-7 cm, which is already good enough for my logs, as they're between 8 cm and 9,5 cm total in hight and I've to go only half way through. Then with a bigger drill bit from the other side.

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

Though I've still to find the wheel or knob for speed adjustment Can't find any manual online so far. No biggie, as it's doing its job fine at the speed it's now set at. Have to ask the seller, when he's home again

How deep you can bore is more or less determined by how long the shaft of your drill bit is and the hight of the machine. With a standard bit you'll get about 5-7 cm.

I just found one for about 40 euro locally.. lol looks the same as yours Model is RDP-BD04 and is 350w .