Bent Carto
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Yep this works pretty good. I can never get it back to perfectly round but its good enough to get in and out of tank with a little wiggling
Buy a Dremel!! You don't HAVE to buy the Dremel brand but could buy the Mastercraft ones carried at Canadian Tire. I got a 250 pc kit for a 35000RPM unit for $59 from them.
It has been the main reason why I am finally enjoying tank vaping. The punching business was driving me up the wall.
I find the saddle valve technique is only good for a few cartos then the needle valve tends to dull and rather than punching a nice hole in the carto it tends to use brute force which causes the carto to go out of round. Dremel is the most accurate way imo. Best thing is buy a schwack of cartos and dremel 'em all at once. That way you don't have to get the Dremel out every time you need a new carto.
A simple Hack saw blade works for me, I mention this so that newbies realize they don't have to go mental buying more stuff. Just check out your rusty garage tool box first.
I haven't seen a canuck vender who sells a real carto punch,or a slap your mamma type thingy, which puzzles me. I'd get one of those before buggering with tapping valves.
I haven't seen a canuck vender who sells a real carto punch,or a slap your mamma type thingy, which puzzles me. I'd get one of those before buggering with tapping valves.
I haven't heard of that, but I'm not sure I'd want to use a carto that was cut with a rusty hacksaw.
Jugheads has a very cheap tool, though it requires a screw driver; Jugheads I saw someone else's Siam Mods' version and I'm pretty sold on it, though it's $15 from the US; Stainless Steel Carto Punch v2 and they also have a nice fill tool.
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I haven't heard of that, but I'm not sure I'd want to use a carto that was cut with a rusty hacksaw.
Jugheads has a very cheap tool, though it requires a screw driver; Jugheads I saw someone else's Siam Mods' version and I'm pretty sold on it, though it's $15 from the US; Stainless Steel Carto Punch v2 and they also have a nice fill tool.
My tool box is rusty, my garage is mouldy, but my blades are new
Thanks for reminding me about juggies punch, I'd forgotten.
haha rusty, but ya i never did think of a hacksaw but then again i'm kinda lazy and would rather buy a rotary tool lol
At first glance that just makes me think of 50 caliber rounds ready to go.
That almost looks like slotting your cartos is a hobby of yours! Nice job!
Ya I'll prolly wait awhile now before attempting another dct , not that it was a bad experience but hate the paper type centre tubes, as even priming seems to flood em.
I've ripped to many o-rings using a dremel. Waiting for vape mail to replace the o-ring sucks!
That's your problem right there. You're supposed to cut the carto tube, not the o-ring!!
I do find that the slits from the dremel "shave" bits of the o-rings occasionally but I've not had one leak on me yet. I've been using the same DCT's since I got em couple or more months ago. *shrug*
Heres a deal on a cheap dremmel type tool I have had one for a few years cant beat the price.Jobmate 36-piece Rotary Tool Kit | Canadian Tire
I have been using the same saddle valve tap for a long time and don't seem to have any problems with needing to use brute force to punch a hole. There is differences in quality that can explain issues. I did purchase a cheap one from Lowe's and it did seem to dull fast and the pin bent fairly easily. The one I picked up from HD has been going fine since I first started using it. I can pretty much guarantee I have been using that one longer then anyone else.
Make sure you tighten the screws and evenly so the carto does not move. If the pin slides to the side it can bend and will start creating larger dents in the carto. Originally I used a screw driver but find I can do it well enough by hand. If your juice is thick the saddle value technique will not work well for you. Most of my juice is 20% or less VG. Some saddle values have more of a rounded point then others. A sharper point creates less of a dent. I have never done it but have thought of using a file to sharpen the point.
I do have a dremel but I am reluctant to use it due to concerns about the metal dust. Last thing I need is to suck any metal dust into my lungs. I can see how people with high VG% juice would not have much of a choice. With my higher vg juice I tend to use a ghetto or k tank where I can squeeze it to prime the carto.
I'm a 100% vg vaper and the saddle valve works fine. You are right that we are limited with our hardware options, but all I have to is punch larger holes in the carto (2 big ones at the bottom and a small one at the top) and that has worked fine for me.
Is there an advantage to slitting the carto over drilling?
I was thinking that with a dremel, it is hard to repeat slits of exactly the same depth and width. This lack of repeat-ability would result in inconsistency.
It would seem far easier to use a small drill press and a simple jig to drill a number of holes.
For instance, use such a setup to drill two 1/16 holes on opposite sides of a carto. If you get dry hits, try three holes.
Once you get the number and size of holes that work for you, it would be easy to drill all your cartos in exactly the same way.
BTW, if the slit or hole produced by a dremel is in any way sharp, try using a emery board (nail file) on it. I would also try rinsing out the carto before using if you use a dremel to slit it. Those cutting disks (except the metal saw ones typically used for non-metallic materials) produce a lot of abrasive dust.
I was thinking that with a dremel, it is hard to repeat slits of exactly the same depth and width. This lack of repeat-ability would result in inconsistency.
It would seem far easier to use a small drill press and a simple jig to drill a number of holes.
For instance, use such a setup to drill two 1/16 holes on opposite sides of a carto. If you get dry hits, try three holes.
Once you get the number and size of holes that work for you, it would be easy to drill all your cartos in exactly the same way.
BTW, if the slit or hole produced by a dremel is in any way sharp, try using a emery board (nail file) on it. I would also try rinsing out the carto before using if you use a dremel to slit it. Those cutting disks (except the metal saw ones typically used for non-metallic materials) produce a lot of abrasive dust.
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