Aluminum mech box mod

[JohnnyDill]

Hi all! I wanted to build a better mech box than my Altoids creation, so here it is! It is 2.9375" tall, 1.9375" wide and .9375" thick. {final dimensions}

This is a true mech mod with no wires whatsoever. {other than for the charging chip, of course}

Extruded aluminum body with plate aluminum sides. Heavily modified stainless Chi You top cap. Brass feeler guage for mech switch. Stainless button.

Micro USB charger. .125" x .0625" neodymium magnet closure. 8 ml juice bottle. Wood-plastic composite button insulator/switch guide/battery locator.

-I always wanted a Reos mod, but did not want to pay $150 for one. So I made this on a manual mill and lathe in my spare time. Happy with how it turned out!

Many thanks to BaDaBoom for the inspiration.

 

[bamani71]

That's pretty sweet looking. Did you grind down the Chi You top cap? It looks really thin!

 

[JohnnyDill]

That's pretty sweet looking. Did you grind down the Chi You top cap? It looks really thin!

Yes! I turned down the top to about .040" and also turned/threaded the bottom to accept a M16 x1 nut from a button switch. I really love this little mod. It doesn't seem that mechs get much love around here anymore, but that's okay!

 

[asdaq]

Nicely done and keeping it simple. The glowing bottle when charging is an added plus, me likey.

 

[bsidb]

Looks good JohnnyDill !!

 

[ch1mney]

Very interested in building a fully mechanical mod. Kinda at a loss on how to build one without wires though.

Does the box itself provide the ground and the brass plate in the first picture move down to the + on the battery when the switch is pressed to complete the circuit?

 

[rhelton]

That is really nice. I just finished my first mod with a 10amp Raptor board. I seen some pics of mastblast's dna sqonker and was mulling around the idea of a doing one. This gives me some inspiration.

 

[JohnnyDill]

Yes, exactly. This one has a high spot machined directly into the case for the battery negative to sit on. No spring there, as the plastic assembly above the battery is just the right thickness to wedge the battery in place securely. And the springy brass strip completes the circuit directly on the battery positive when the button is pressed. If the button is metal, it must be insulated from a metal case as it is here. I wanted this box as short as possible. It came out shorter than a Reo Mini.

Aluminum is an excellent electrical conductor, so this simple design works incredibly well, just like the Reo Mods that inspired me to make this.

 

[BaDaBooM]

Impressed mate Looks like you made a winner !

 

[disturbed1]

Looks fantastic. How did you make the switch?

 

[JohnnyDill]

Looks fantastic. How did you make the switch?

Thanks! -The mech switch is a .016" brass feeler gauge. It was improved recently by soldering a very thin disc of copper to where the switch contacts the battery positive. Now the "hits" are consistent, every time.

 

[disturbed1]

Thanks! -The mech switch is a .016" brass feeler gauge. It was improved recently by soldering a very thin disc of copper to where the switch contacts the battery positive. Now the "hits" are consistent, every time.
View attachment 374658

that part I get. I meant the switch its self.

 

[JohnnyDill]

....Oh, the button itself! That was made with a piece of 3/8" round 304 stainless steel. It was smoothed out in a lathe with a small, thin stainless washer tacked on the bottom to trap the button in the plastic housing.

Here is the top side of the button housing that presses into the 1/2" hole in the aluminum case:



Here is the bottom side of that same housing where the button goes in:



Here is the button itself:

 

[muzichead]

Yes, exactly. This one has a high spot machined directly into the case for the battery negative to sit on. No spring there, as the plastic assembly above the battery is just the right thickness to wedge the battery in place securely. And the springy brass strip completes the circuit directly on the battery positive when the button is pressed. If the button is metal, it must be insulated from a metal case as it is here. I wanted this box as short as possible. It came out shorter than a Reo Mini.

Aluminum is an excellent electrical conductor, so this simple design works incredibly well, just like the Reo Mods that inspired me to make this.

So if I am reading this correctly, you are running your device with no spring? Where then is your protection if the device shorts? Do you feel safe vaping it and knowing if it shorts the battery will vent on you? Why would you choose 3/8-1/2" length over safety? Curious....

 

[Cyrus Vap]

Great work man! Where did you get the aluminum box?

 

[JohnnyDill]

Great work man! Where did you get the aluminum box?

The box is made from common aluminum stock from a local metal supplier. So the box used to be a rectangular tube. Feels good to get kudos from a HIGHLY respected member of the ECF community. Thanks!

 

[JohnnyDill]

So if I am reading this correctly, you are running your device with no spring? Where then is your protection if the device shorts? Do you feel safe vaping it and knowing if it shorts the battery will vent on you? Why would you choose 3/8-1/2" length over safety? Curious....

Battery springs offer no circuit protection. This mod is no more safe or unsafe than any other mechanical mod. As with my other mech mods, the very moment I vape, if I don't get vapor, I know something is wrong. Besides, I don't go very "sub-ohm" with my builds, so there will never be any crazy amperage draw. The build I am using now in that Magma, for instance, is dual 30AWG with matching 8 turn coils wrapped with a .097" drill bit. It is a 1.1 ohm build that is perfect, for me.

 

[muzichead]

Battery springs offer no circuit protection. This mod is no more safe or unsafe than any other mechanical mod. As with my other mech mods, the very moment I vape, if I don't get vapor, I know something is wrong. Besides, I don't go very "sub-ohm" with my builds, so there will never be any crazy amperage draw. The build I am using now in that Magma, for instance, is dual 30AWG with matching 8 turn coils wrapped with a .097" drill bit. It is a 1.1 ohm build that is perfect, for me.

It's all good. My opinion is I wouldn't want to vape a mod that could just go thermal instead of being able to collapsing a spring or a fuse... Everyone has their preferences. Vape strong JD....

 

[Varelse]

That's awsome Johnny..You just messed me up though-I was planning on converting a CANA 30w box with a fried chip into a dual battery mod. But a squonker is drip bliss...decisions decisions...

 

[17AKing]

any chance youd post a tutorial any time soon? im a mechanical engineering student and i have access to a machine shop and i would love to know how to make this. this is exactly what i'm looking for for my first build