'The Misty Log' - DIY wooden Log Vaporizer

[darkstar72]

If interested in the hand railing idea, consider the 1 and 3/4 inch diameter wood dowel from Bell Forest, linked here.

 

[jackrod]

And please don't ask me, how I managed to solder the connector pole to the nichrome... had s/thing to do with me getting pissed with the soldering iron & taking the jet flame to it

Shouldn't be afraid of a little torch action when soldering I use it to get the solder off of the barrel jacks for reuse, or preheat big stuff. All about getting the heat where it needs to be.

@Flotsam Good luck with the build. This project has really showed me how simple a vaporizer can be. And thanks for the link to the dowels @darkstar72.

I've been working on a new halogen design, incorporating the larger 2mm tubes for heater sockets. I think that forming these into sockets can actually work quite well. Been using a pair of round nose pliers, like this: https://www.michaels.com/product/bead-landing-round-nose-pliers-10035773 to form the contacts. I use the small flat part to crush the tube flat while the bulb pin is inside it, then take out the bulb and gently compress using the round part until the pin fits tight. If you go too far you can squeeze it back. Once the tubes are mounted in a base its pretty easy to take the bulb in or out.

The complication has been in design of the body. Something has to come apart for access to the bulb. I think my 1" heater well is a bit too narrow to be reaching into for that. So I have been looking at a 2-piece design sort of like some of the HIs. I also don't really like the idea of reusing wood screws/threads many times, so I want it to go together with threaded inserts or captive nuts. My first attempt worked but is a bit wonky. Was hard to drill straight by hand, but I will be able to use a drill press for the next design.

I think maybe the next one should have the heater cover screws coming in from the top hold it all together. But the space for screw heads gets pretty cramped with the 11mm OD heater cover, and 1" drilled heater well. I also found some nice hardwood plugs that can replace the cork, or maybe be used in a bottom-loading design, similar to the screw-in core from above.