@Xelatsok , Whoa! That acrylic stem is awesome! I wonder... with the Stainless steel chamber, do you experience any added conduction heating vs. the glass chamber?
For bending, well... I can't really be of much help there. I have never bent any plastic stems... only bamboo.
It seems like there are a couple good acrylic stem bending tutorial videos on Youtube, I would check there first.
I wouldn't use a solid wire in the stem to keep the airway from collapsing. Any solid wire might get pinched and become very difficult to remove after the bending. I have read about some people using soft pipe-cleaners stuffed into the stem to help keep the airway open, but for the most part professional pipe-makers don't use anything in the airway when bending... so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
For heating, I think that a heat gun will be required, hair dryer or boiling water is most likely too low-heat. For a cheaper alternative, a soft alcohol lamp, or other large clean burning soft flame would probably nicely as well.
A blowtorch would most likely be too harsh, and the line between just the right amount of heat, and blistering the surface of the acrylic would be very fine. I wouldn't attempt it without practice first.
For shape, I think antique "Chinese water pipes" offer a good starting plae for inspiration. The general shape is very similar to the Nomad... very boxy... but they all have those long stems... google images should give ya a good idea of the sort of style I am imagining.
@HerbieVonVapster So awesome dude! I love seeing what everyone is doing with their Nomads.
It is my draft.
