Bubinga wood box mod.

[Mrgreen819]

Newest project, finally got the last of the parts this week. The wood is African Figured Bubinga. The circuit is VV using the texas instruments 04050 switching (high efficiency) regulator. The brass pins on the back cover are locating pins,the cover is held on with neo magnets. Range is 3.7 to 10 volts, under load its more like 3.3 to 5 volts. I used a IMR 18350 800 MAH battery but may change it to fit a 18500 depending on how long it lasts. The mod is about the size of a regular pack of cigarettes but slightly narrower. So nice to finally having it working after all the waiting on parts.

 

[breaktru]

Bravo, it's beautiful

 

[Mrgreen819]

Thanks Breaktru. Still learning and playing around. I should have crammed a 18500 in it, I still think I can. Everyone was out of stock on the IMR type when placed my order. I used your schematic for the 04050 regulator, thanks for sharing it. I thought the blue display would be nice but its not as easy to read as the red ones, still works though.

 

[P1NkY]

Sweet box, MrGreen819!
Try some automotive window tint film on the display, it adds contrast between the lit/unit segments and makes them a helluvalot easier to read as well as looking "cleaner" when powered off.

 

[Mrgreen819]

P1NkY thats a great idea thank you! I just happen to have some in the garage. I will absolutely do that tomorrow, I am so done for today.

 

[breaktru]

Thanks Breaktru. Still learning and playing around. I should have crammed a 18500 in it, I still think I can. Everyone was out of stock on the IMR type when placed my order. I used your schematic for the 04050 regulator, thanks for sharing it. I thought the blue display would be nice but its not as easy to read as the red ones, still works though.

Looks like you have the room for an 18500 or 18490 if change out the spring.
P1Nky has a good idea with the tint

 

[Mrgreen819]

Looks like you have the room for an 18500 or 18490 if change out the spring.
P1Nky has a good idea with the tint

Thats the plan. I tried ordering a 18490 but it was out of stock so I have a 18500. I have a few types of battery terminals and will experiment with them tomorrow. The 18350's are just a bit weak for my type of vaping. Right now this mod dosnt like to fire my line V2 which is wrapped at about 2.5 ohms but using 30 AWG kanthal so it takes a bit more amperage to really burn well. My evercool mod has no issues but that uses dual 18650's. The circuit is good I just need a bit more battery capacity. They are all IMR batteries I just cant expect a 18350 to perform like a evercool with dual 18650's. So far I cant find anything that can compare to the evercool.

 

[Mrgreen819]

I also used 18 gauge wire for the battery to regulator and regulator to switch and atomizer connector. I also flowed some solder on my board traces. I have plans and parts to make a few more just slowly learning and developing skills before I really go nuts and make something with more expensive wood and parts.

 

[asdaq]

Gorgeous box, I really like the Bubinga's grain. The pot knob even fooled me that it was a drip tip or fire switch. I was still mesmerized by the grain, lol. If you use a flat steel spring to get the 18490 in there you may even get a current improvement as your ohm's and wire gauge seem acceptable for that 18350. Longer coiled springs tend to be current limiting. I have some Bubinga but need to tell it apart from a piece of Koa.

 

[Mrgreen819]

asdaq, Thanks for the feedback. I didn't think of the spring limiting current, that does make sense. I turned the pot knob in a drill press, I don't have a lathe. Wipe some paint thinner onto your wood and it exposes the grain yet evaporates leaving no trace. Only way I can think of to help tell it from the koa. This box was made from a single thick piece. You can't tell from these pictures but all the grain matches. I resawed a thick board on the band saw and planed everything smooth. I took the center board which I left about 22mm thick and cut out the center on a scroll saw. Then I glued the back on carefully lining up the grain. The front I cut for the door and glued the outside pieces on carefully keeping them square. So if you have a single thick board your set.

 

[Mrgreen819]

Amazing how much time you can spend on these mods. Today I changed the battery spring and modified it to fit a 18500 protected battery. No small feat there it took a while. I also put some window tint on the display which really made a nice difference. I tested for function but the battery is nearly dead, its new and charging now. I will give a more through test when its charged.

 

[asdaq]

Just from these pics I am not surprised that the grain matches, one can see the attention to detail already.

I honestly have no idea what to look for in the grain to tell which is which and they are already roughly sanded bodies. I believe one is heavier than the other, but that I can't really test anymore either as each is slightly different.

Can't wait to see your progress with the battery change, I suppose it is a xxxfire protected battery? You might want to compare it to the IMR using magnet spacers to make up the gap to see if a high drain 18490 might perform better. They are only 1100 mAh, but that is a sizable step up from the 700 you had. At 2ml a day, I find I need ~1100 mAh per day.

edit: is the wavy grain of Bubinga due to the wood itself or the cut? The grain I could match pretty easily, but like I said before, I really don't know.

 

[Topper]

I see very slick 510 connector - from where it is ?

 

[Mrgreen819]

Thanks both of you. I silver soldered a 510 connector to a number 12 finishing washer. You have to take a rat tail file to the inside of the finishing washer for a few minutes until you get a press fit. That keeps it tightly centered while you solder the two together. Yes the 18500 I have is a protected Ultrafire the supplier I was ordering from was out of IMR type as usual. I find the hardest part to making mods is just getting the correct parts. I also don't blame guys that make the really nice ones for not selling them. It's just too much work making them and too time consuming. I'll try and post a picture tonight of the battery update after work. Need more coffee, then off to work.

 

[cos]

That is a beauty of a wooden PV. so neat and everything in its place. I just love Bubinga wood.There are a lot of wood mods out here but this wooden beauty just stands out. very nice work. Would love to see a pic of the insides of your Evercool with dual 18650 batterys. From the looks of your outstanding work on this i can only imagine what the Evercool looks like inside. So it was worth the wait for the parts to finish this beauty. Hope to see more of your work.

 

[Mrgreen819]

Thanks for the feedback and compliments everyone. I modified it for the 18500 battery and it works much better now. I also added the window tint to the display which really improved the contrast in bright light. I will post pictured in another thread at a later time on more wood mods. For now time is precious. I will be making more just not immediately.

 

[Mrgreen819]

That is a beauty of a wooden PV. so neat and everything in its place. I just love Bubinga wood.There are a lot of wood mods out here but this wooden beauty just stands out. very nice work. Would love to see a pic of the insides of your Evercool with dual 18650 batterys. From the looks of your outstanding work on this i can only imagine what the Evercool looks like inside. So it was worth the wait for the parts to finish this beauty. Hope to see more of your work.

I will post a thread on a wood evercool when I can. It will probably be bubinga also as I have some left and the supply house is far away. The evercool is my favorite so far, its a powerhouse. This guy with the 04050 regulator does quite well now with the larger battery. Now I need to order some IMR 18500's. With the correct AW IMR battery I think this mod will perform really well. As of now it performs about the same as my apollo. I'm a bit spoiled with the evercool being able to handle somewhere around 10 amps.

 

[Mrgreen819]

heres the 18500 shoehorned into place. This is a cheap protected one so a AW IMR 18500 will be slightly shorter and fit even better. Its not difficult to remove for charging.

 

[olds-cool]

Holy cow it that a beautiful mod! You should be proud.

 

[Mrgreen819]

Thanks olds-cool. I didnt get a lot of response here, or least less than expected.