Wood Tuna Mod V2

[greymetallicteg]

Hey everyone,

This was a project that was tackled over the last few weeks, with design help of two buddys. I have access to solidworks, CNC, and a bridgeport at work, so I drew 15 or so designs before it went to our CNC table. Then I had to revise the design once more prior to making our good cases.

All in All, it went okay. I am not completely happy with them, so I'm currently working on V3, so keep your eyes peeled for those. I should be making 10 (v3's) of them within the next two months.

Wenge Wood and Aluminum.

I made matching Wenge wood drip tips on the lathe, for the three V2's as well.

Here's #001 (mine) as of last night, Tuna mod V2, Lemo Drop, and 2Puffs half tips.

Annnnd #001 (left) and #003 (right)

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Quick specs:
Fully CNC'd Billet 6061 chassis
CNC Wenge wood shell (billet too I guess, as they were cut from a solid block)
DNA40
On board USB charging
VTC5 Battery
196 Grams (Mind you an Aspire CF mod weighs 186 grams with VTC5)
Fat Daddy Slim 510

 

[Jimi D.]

Looks great. Needs a bf tho.

 

[greymetallicteg]

Looks great. Needs a bf tho.

Thanks.

Whats a bf?

 

[BlueridgeDog]

Excellent. I have done similar, but not with CNC, just machining and brazing the outer shell.

BF stands for bottom feeder.

 

[greymetallicteg]

Excellent. I have done similar, but not with CNC, just machining and brazing the outer shell.

BF stands for bottom feeder.

ah got ya, that makes sense now.
I was going to do them on the bridgeport, but we don't have a rotary table...I can't wait for that day to come. I have needed one for side projects for a long time. It's hard to convince work to buy a rotary table for my side work. lol
So CNC was the next option, I have tons of 2.5" slab aluminum and wanted something more than a bent frame.

I saw your purple heart mod and I absolutely love it! So classy and BAMF.

I'm always making something though, a brazed chassis would be badass.

I have never tried or used one, but I'm interested in them.

 

[asdaq]

Turned out quite nice, the whole row of them. I was surprised the onboard buttons were not used judging from the external configuration. How thick are the walls in the Wenge?

 

[greymetallicteg]

Turned out quite nice, the whole row of them. I was surprised the onboard buttons were not used judging from the external configuration. How thick are the walls in the Wenge?

Thanks. I agree with you, thats why I am not completely happy with them. V2 wasn't completely my design, so I wasn't too fond of how everything came out, it could be a lot cleaner.
The Wenge shell is approximately an 1/8" thick, and has cracked twice before I got fitment perfect. Which is another thing that bothers me, even after perfecting the shell, it's still a hair off. At this point, I am done with it, on to V3.

 

[BlueridgeDog]

I have tons of 2.5" slab aluminum.

I assumed as much as the design would leave a lot of cuttings on the floor. I really like it and bet it feels great in your hand. Since you are dealing with billet stock, have you considered leaving mounting rails for the chip and even threading the holes for the DNA40 mount screws?

 

[greymetallicteg]

I assumed as much as the design would leave a lot of cuttings on the floor. I really like it and bet it feels great in your hand. Since you are dealing with billet stock, have you considered leaving mounting rails for the chip and even threading the holes for the DNA40 mount screws?

Yeah it does. Once the billets are to size, the CNC rips thru them pretty quick. At least the aluminum is containable, the wood went every which way in the mill. haha

Great minds think alike, thats exactly what I'm planning on doing on the next one. I need to pick up a tap for that though, the smallest one I go down to in my set is like a #8 or #10, and the evolve boards use 0.063" thru holes. So I need a #1-64, or and #0-80 tap + screws. Then I need to pick up a few special endmills as well.

 

[BlueridgeDog]

Yeah it does. Once the billets are to size, the CNC rips thru them pretty quick.

if you get that far I would love to build one, especially if you go to an opening for the large screen (which I have a stack on order). I have a handful of the small screen chips, but don't expect to use them in mods. I am surprised that your shop will let you mill wood on the cnc due to resin build up and cleanup issues.

 

[greymetallicteg]

if you get that far I would love to build one, especially if you go to an opening for the large screen (which I have a stack on order). I have a handful of the small screen chips, but don't expect to use them in mods. I am surprised that your shop will let you mill wood on the cnc due to resin build up and cleanup issues.

I was waiting for the SX350J to be released. Then again, the more I use V2, the more I use it for my RTA's and clearomizers. I haven't really used it for sub ohming my RDA's as the battery life isn't that great. It does have a user removable battery so it's not the end of the world when the battery dies, but I just use my OKR-T10 box for sub ohming...Temp control would be nice though.

Yeah I had a fun time cleaning the Mill/Bed... I did setup cardboard and what not to catch most of the chips, so that really helped.

 

[thetrucker]

Great job these things look like something you could buy from a manufacturer----you should be marketing these they look so professional and well done.

NICE JOB

 

[greymetallicteg]

Great job these things look like something you could buy from a manufacturer----you should be marketing these they look so professional and well done.

NICE JOB

Thanks for the love.

Thats the plan, I'm making revisions at the moment. As soon as the semester and the spring Walleye bite ends, I'll have my attention on the mods.
I'm planning on building two prototypes of V3 to show to everyone (one for me and the other for my business partner), and once I can gauge interest and work out any bugs, I'll make at least 10 for the first batch.

 

[BlueridgeDog]

Some advice: There will be no profit in selling these. No offense, they are amazing, but the profit would be in sending your design over seas to a manufacturing facility. Trust me - been there. You can make art and sell art, or you can design products that are made in a very efficient factory. Apple makes nothing, but designs everything. Seriously, been there.

 

[coffeebum]

Really nice work! Have you thought about other materials besides wood in the mod? I work with kydex, and can see a thermoformed shell wrapped around that. Yeah it's plastic, but the stuff is pretty tough and can be infused with custom prints and such.

 

[jmitch86]

Some advice: There will be no profit in selling these. No offense, they are amazing, but the profit would be in sending your design over seas to a manufacturing facility. Trust me - been there. You can make art and sell art, or you can design products that are made in a very efficient factory. Apple makes nothing, but designs everything. Seriously, been there.

I have little to no experience really but just curious to know why a person cant make money on something like this. There are modders who design and make their own mods similar to this and seem to support themselves. I guess theres something Im not seeing or misunderstanding.

 

[BlueridgeDog]

I have little to no experience really but just curious to know why a person cant make money on something like this. There are modders who design and make their own mods similar to this and seem to support themselves. I guess theres something Im not seeing or misunderstanding.

You could make a profit on each one. If you made one a week, that would be a good, to give up the day job with medical coverage and retirement to make an artisan mod would be risky. After all, do you want:

This for $299
Vaperev Shop - Black Anodized Vapor Flask V2 DNA 40 - Vapor Flask - Variable Voltage/Wattage - Devices

Or this for $76
Vapor Flask DNA 40 Style VW Variable Wattage Mod Version 3 - Black, 1~40W, 2 x 18650, Micro USB Charger, Temperature Control - 3FVape

The key point is that an artisan can make a few and needs a large margin on each, a factory can make thousands and needs a small margin on each. If you have a great design, work to have it manufactured in reasonable volume and function as the business owner and distributor. Otherwise, make small enough quantities that you can balance your other work obligations.