BOTTOM FEEDERS= a place for everything modified and/or custom made

[CaptSteve]

My latest mod which I finished today. It's brown Mallee burl wood finished with Danish oil and then polished with wood wax.

I have an obsession with the dibie shape (Peter nailed this design) and I'm trying to make the perfect dibie for myself and this I think is my final attempt. I'm very happy that this is my best ever dibie attempt so far so I retired the other 3 I made. Please forgive me for not posting pictures here as I really don't want to show how this is made because it's a true 1 to 1 copy of a dibie so out of respect for the maker (pdib) I'll refrain. Despite feeling confident now that I can make a perfect dibie (for my standard) I still intend to honor my 2 original dibie spots on Peter's list because I really want to own at least 2 of his amazing creations.

I'll be starting a new Swonker today which will be a dna-40 so I'll post progress photos on that for you.

 

[Ian444]

I'm speechless, that is a treasure Steve. Unbelievably nice. BTW I really dig the oil and wax finish too.

 

[CaptSteve]

Thanks Ian, don't get me wrong I too love the feel and look of wood with an oil finish but I strongly maintain that it's not the optimum finish for squonkers.

Here is the one I started today and it's coming along nice. It will be much more curvy than what you see here but I always leave the final shaping for last so I can clamp it easier when I need.

I made a short catch cup which will be lower than the airholes of all atties. Inspiration comes from Gepetto mods

Started with this block of Buckeye Burl



Cut the bottle and battery holes as well as the catch cup and 510. Then did the milling for the DNA display and control plate as well as chamfered the button area for finger comfort.







I opened up a hole to connect the wires to the 510 from the here



Here I cut the plate and installed for fit and it came on like a glove



Here is where I am now. It's coming alone nice

 

[studiovap]

Referring to the previous Pdib style:Very pretty Steve, always stunned by your work.
I want to ask about the cracks in the burn, and if they affect the structural integrity. And we're you afraid you might suffer a fracture while drilling those big 19mm channels.
I have been playing with the idea of a burl mod and wondered about filling the cracks with sawdust and CA or brass dust and CA, thinking that bight reinforce the cracked area. Not overy fond of CA finish although I have used it many times love the like and wax.
Refering the to DNA mod, lovely start

 

[CaptSteve]

Referring to the previous Pdib style:Very pretty Steve, always stunned by your work.
I want to ask about the cracks in the burn, and if they affect the structural integrity. And we're you afraid you might suffer a fracture while drilling those big 19mm channels.
I have been playing with the idea of a burl mod and wondered about filling the cracks with sawdust and CA or brass dust and CA, thinking that bight reinforce the cracked area. Not overy fond of CA finish although I have used it many times love the like and wax.
Refering the to DNA mod, lovely start

The cracks on the dibie-like are not structural but more surface cracks and it's a feature of this species of wood. There is only one crack that actually goes through to the battery tube. Was I worried while boring out the battery and bottle tubes?? No, not one bit because I've handled this wood species before and it's a pleasure to work with. When I bore out the holes I do it with forstner bits and they cut really cleanly without much effort so it's not an issue. Remember that for the structural integrity to be compromised you need really thin walls but as you can see here I don't over do it.

You could fill all the cracks but frankly I believe that way the wood loses all it's character.

 

[asdaq]

I'm a fan of linseed oil and beeswax finish first and foremost. On some mods I've had to update the wax, but others not. The oil permeates and in a fashion 'plasticizes' as it cures and adds strength to the wood. If you look into beeswax, it is quite an amazing substance, containing unidentified compounds. Even a 'worn down' finish is plenty juice resistant.

Just after applying oil, I sprinkled brass dust on a Wenge mod that has a veined texture and was quite pleased with the results. A friend of mine is quite the woodworker, and I've been thinking about an approach he did with voids, he mixes crushed turqoise with epoxy and fills them with this. Quite a nice contrast, but I'm not sure how it would work with smaller workpieces. I do have amber in abundance around me, I might need to look into that.

Steve, your Mallee burl came out great!

 

[Roscoe01]

Progress pic



I counter sunk the 510 but this might cause leaking into the mod. What would you guys suggest I seal it with?

Man River you sure do have some good taste in wood! Another fine mod coming along quite nicely. Cant wait to see the finished product.

 

[Roscoe01]

I bought some of that gap filling stuff you were talking about so I'll give that a shot. Thanks Quigs

i have been doing a lot of work with CA lately and yes the gel stuff works really good for what you are looking to do. the gel loctite brand works pretty darn good if you are looking for something local.

let me know what you think of the gap fill stuff. which brand did you get? Hot Stuff?

 

[Roscoe01]

My latest mod which I finished today. It's brown Mallee burl wood finished with Danish oil and then polished with wood wax.

I have an obsession with the dibie shape (Peter nailed this design) and I'm trying to make the perfect dibie for myself and this I think is my final attempt. I'm very happy that this is my best ever dibie attempt so far so I retired the other 3 I made. Please forgive me for not posting pictures here as I really don't want to show how this is made because it's a true 1 to 1 copy of a dibie so out of respect for the maker (pdib) I'll refrain. Despite feeling confident now that I can make a perfect dibie (for my standard) I still intend to honor my 2 original dibie spots on Peter's list because I really want to own at least 2 of his amazing creations.

I'll be starting a new Swonker today which will be a DNA-40 so I'll post progress photos on that for you.

Capt you have an uncanny ability to choose exactly the right finishing technique to bring the character out in your wood. Yet another beautiful mod! Cant wait to see the next one!

 

[CaptSteve]

Well I guess as the saying goes "you live, you learn" and I had a good share of learning last night. Sadly I didn't hear my gut feeling that that piece of buckeye burl looked a bit too yellow. Sure enough when I put on a couple coats of finish things went quickly southbound and I had a mod closely resembling a banana in color. This thing is simply hideous, my wife said "well you can always call it Chiquita" or "old yeller"

Here take a look and bear in mind that the photos don't do the color justice. (it's actually worse up close )







Now since I wouldn't be found dead with this thing in my hand I decided to call it quits and start from scratch with another piece of wood. I had a piece of Norwegian curly maple which was just the right size so I stripped "Chiquita" of all the hardware and made another mod out of the Norwegian curly maple in exactly the same style.

Here is a few quick snaps after the first couple coats and hopefully my tomorrow I'll have it finished. I wired the DNA-40 today so it's pretty much ready to be installed once the finish is done.

 

[asdaq]

The irony is, I literally went to the kitchen, grabbed a banana, sat down and opened this thread, read Steve's post while eating my banana, and honestly did not see what the problem was. It tasted good and looked good! What finish was this?

 

[Mark Howard]

Steve, what finish would you have used on that piece to avoid the "banana" look?

 

[CaptSteve]

The irony is, I literally went to the kitchen, grabbed a banana, sat down and opened this thread, read Steve's post while eating my banana, and honestly did not see what the problem was. It tasted good and looked good! What finish was this?

hey nothing against bananas, I love them but not to vape with

 

[CaptSteve]

Steve, what finish would you have used on that piece to avoid the "banana" look?

Mark the wood itself is yellowish and when a liquid goes on like an oil or even a lacquer it just emphasizes the yellow. I would have used a completely clear lacquer frankly because all the oils are pretty much tinted yellow but honestly it wouldn't have saved this. The only thing which frankly would have saved this is if I had stained or dyed the wood first but even that would have dubious results.

Mega fail because I had a gut feeling this piece just wasn't right.

 

[supertrunker]

I have a liking for curly maple, but i'd like to know how you made that replacement so fast?

T

 

[Roscoe01]

hey nothing against bananas, I love them but not to vape with

I would rock that banana mod. Looked great to me[emoji6]

 

[Steamer861]

I know taste is subjective But I'm loving that piece It has a great character. Yellow isn't my favourite colour but thats an awesome piece of wood IMO

Well I guess as the saying goes "you live, you learn" and I had a good share of learning last night. Sadly I didn't hear my gut feeling that that piece of buckeye burl looked a bit too yellow. Sure enough when I put on a couple coats of finish things went quickly southbound and I had a mod closely resembling a banana in color. This thing is simply hideous, my wife said "well you can always call it Chiquita" or "old yeller"

Here take a look and bear in mind that the photos don't do the color justice. (it's actually worse up close )

 

[supertrunker]

The wife has spoken and her word is law.

I'm with Steve on this - i think it's garish and ugly, but it's well made. 'oh please Steve can i have it?'

Demeaning. Make your own!

T

 

[2buildawall]

Captain, after your dib masterpiece you mentioned retiring the other beauties you have made. How can you possibly retire the one you made with the stainless showing through the wood and the recessed RDA? That has to be the most beautiful and unique squonker I have yet see. Just amazing work you do!

 

[penguiness]

Steve, what finish did you use? If you used simple oil, you will see that yellow turn golden brown with age. Maybe put it on a shelf and come back to it in 6 months? I made some small boxes (not mods) with buckeye that aged to a deep golden brown over time. A bit slower of a browning than Osage Orange has, but started similar in color.