Got a replacement copper bowl with tubes attached from
@Mojo for a worn walnut basic. Tried fitting it to Vapman body, but last of 3 tubes to attach was always too short for my scorched & cracked Vapman body. Then it dawned upon me,
Theory is that the walnut body had slightly stretched with use. To get the new bowl to fit & perfectly match middle section, it'd have to ride a touch higher at the aluminum clamps.
Anyways, shaved 0.25mm off the bottom side(not bowl side) of each 3mm aluminum clamp. Fits perfectly with no stress on tube joints.
If the Vapman does stretch a tiny bit as the wood chars & cracks, could that contribute to stress @ flare joints at bowl that tears the tubes off in the first place? Sure, Mica solves that problem, but a Classic body can't be fitted with
@Mojo replacement bowl without removing & making a mess of the mica.