End cap jewels/ring light. Getting carried away again...

[Automaton]

So, I'm getting carried away again.

I recieved a PIF recently where, to my amused surprise, I got some colored plastic gems. I immediately thought of replacing that ugly ash cap.

They came in two sizes - one slightly too small and one slightly two big. Bummer, man.

So I got creative. Hmm... those soft tops should fit in the battery tube, right?

I cut a cartomizer soft top in half with a razor, and super-glued one of the smaller gems onto it, and stuck it in the battery barrel. It fits! And looks kind of "modern" in a way.

But what's even cooler, is what it looks like when the light is on. I get a "ring" of lights.

Pics below. If you do this mod, I'd recommend super-gluing it into the battery barrel. The LED does tend to push it out over time if you don't.

It's a Kr8 batt with a 901 atty and cart. Batt is decorated in nail stickers, cart is flavor marked with a colored rubber band, and now I have a bejeweled, ring light ash cap.

This is getting ridiculous.

 

[keyzygirl]

Very pretty,your so creative!!

 

[Automaton]

...Aaan I did another one.

This time, I scratched some of the metallic paint off the bottom of the jewel, in the center, so the light would come through it (you can faintly see where where I scratched off the paint in the second picture, right in the middle of the gem).

Almost super-glued my fingers together on this one... And got some glue on to the gem in the process. It gives it a frosty look - yeah, I totally did that on purpose.

 

[JustKryssi]

Very cute!!!

<--------iz not crafty but can follow directions very well. There might be some blinging going on over here soon!

 

[Automaton]

Very cute!!!

<--------iz not crafty but can follow directions very well. There might be some blinging going on over here soon!

Sweet! Let me know if I need to clarify something.

I have one more batt that still has an ugly ash cap on it, so I may do a pic tutorial.

 

[JustKryssi]

Um, yes please! To the tutorial. And the stickers...did you put a coat of clear over them?

 

[Automaton]

Um, yes please! To the tutorial. And the stickers...did you put a coat of clear over them?

Workin' on a pic tutorial right now.

Yes, I put a clear coat of nail polish over the stickers. I have found that I need to do this once or twice a month, especially with the stickers by the button.

I hold the batt in two fingers, one on the threads, one on the ash cap, and paint it in long strokes.

Pic tut will be up in a few...

 

[Automaton]

Made a total mess of this one. Gotta start again.

 

[Automaton]

PICTURE TUTORIAL!

The pictures are at the bottom, in the same order as the steps.

So, here is what you will need.

1. A flat-back jewel or gem of some kind, that is either the same width, or slightly smaller than, the barrel of your e-cig.
2. A soft-tip mouthpiece from a cartomizer.
3. A razor
4. Possibly a knife - doesn't need to be sharp
5. Super glue

Optional, but useful
1. A file
2. Rubber gloves

STEP ONE
Pry the ash cap off the end of your e-cig. I just wedged a pocket knife between it, and the barrel of the e-cig, and applied a bit of pressure. It should come out without too much fuss.

STEP TWO
Cut the soft-tip mouthpiece in half across the width of it, so you have basically a shorter mouthpiece, using a razor. BE CAREFUL.

OPTIONAL STEP
The plastic jewels I am using, as most do, have a chrome finish on the back. If you leave this as it is, the light will not come through the jewel. It will instead create a "ring" effect around the jewel. See my first post in this thread for an example of what that looks like. If you want the light to come through the jewel itself, you can scratch some of the paint of the back. See my second post in this thread for an example of what that looks like.

STEP THREE
Glue the jewel and the mouthpiece together. If you are using the side of the mouthpiece that has a "lip" (the top), then glue the jewel onto that side. BE CAREFUL, I ALMOST GLUED MY FINGERS TOGETHER. You only have bout 5-10 seconds to get the jewel on right. The glue will set FAST. You can give it a few hours to really set, but I just gave it 15 minutes or so.

STEP FOUR (AS NEEDED)
If you have any rough edges from the glue, you can file them down. It may take a little work - super glue is tough stuff.

(Continued on next post, due to pic uploading limits.)

 

[Automaton]

STEP FIVE
You now have your jewel/rubber mouthpiece, and the open barrel of your e-cig. Try it out for fit before you glue it down. You may find it fits best at a certain position, or you may find that the LED is far enough down the barrel that it doesn't push the jewel out, and you don't need to glue it in.

STEP SIX (AS NEEDED)
If you do need to glue it in, apply a small amount of super glue around the circumference of the jeweled ash cap, on the rubber mouthpiece part. Again, BE CAREFUL.

STEP SEVEN
Stick that bad boy in. Again, be quick about it. You've only got a few seconds.

STEP EIGHT
TADA!! You're done.

On this one, you'll notice I have light coming through the jewel - this was accidental. I had to rip the jewel off and re-glue it, because I didn't get it centered fast enough, and it took some of the paint off. Ah well.

 

[JustKryssi]

Thank you! I'm going to try this first with one of my old reg batts that I don't use as much just in case my non-crafty fingers screw up.

 

[Automaton]

Thank you! I'm going to try this first with one of my old reg batts that I don't use as much just in case my non-crafty fingers screw up.

Be sure to post pics if you can!

And yes, do be careful. My first two batts went fine and then, go figure, the one I used for the tutorial turned into a mess. I actually wound up gluing it to the LED.

The light isn't quite as bright as it used to be, and I seem to need to press the button a little harder now. No idea if those things are related, but... be careful.

 

[Zenfrogs]

hey! I did this to my moms 510s when she lost her ash caps and I used the donut inner ring from the old hardcap cartos ... worked pretty well and you dont have to cut up the soft caps plus the have a big hole in the center for the light to shine through... i like the way you removed the foil ... way better looking than the ones I made nice job!

 

[NuGalicia]

Of course, I'd have never thought of nail stickers & polish over them, but it seems like a good idea. I was gonna have my artsy son paint a vine around a PV, but maybe I'll try your sticker idea instead. Where do you buy those? Doesn't sound like a hardware store item, maybe wifee will get 'em for me somewhere.

 

[Automaton]

Hey Zenfrogs - I eventually figured that out, hah. The hardcaps are so much easier! Finally, something they're good for.

NuGalacia - You can get 'em at a craft store probably,

 

[librarising]

I just did this to one of my kr808s and used a natural round cut faceted quartz crystal (bought on eBay) and it's spectacular. I used the fill cap plug of a ce2 carto, which just fits. I inserted it backwards. I have 3 left to do. They're 9mm and with shipping came to about $2 each. This can be done with any faceted natural stones or czs which are cheap on eBay.

Thanks MistressNomad for the inspiration!

 

[librarising]

and

 

[Automaton]

That's beautiful! Very classy.

 

[librarising]

I wouldn't have done it without your assistance! Thank you! And what's cool is if the battery goes dead, you can take the quartz (or what ever you use) off and place it in another battery!

I intend to try to convert a couple of analog users during the holidays and am debating whether to use quartz again or czs. The cost is about the same at $2 per. I have a VGO with a cz button and I'm like a little kid when ever I look at its sparkle! The quartz sparkles and it's cool because it's natural but czs are sooooo pretty! lol!

BTW...I also want to thank you for recommending the 808s. I just started to use them (automatics) when I want the feel and draw of an analog and battery life isn't an issue (like driving/going on errands). I find them so much better than the 510s and truthfully, more than my larger 510 batteries (Riva/Ego/Vgo). I very rarely go on the newbie board any more because tons of people there quickly ascend on the newbie recommending the 510 or Ego, when I think the 808 would be a perfect ecig for a lighter smoking newbie and my "voice" gets drowned out. Oh well.

Have a great day!

 

[Automaton]

The 510 and the Kr808 both have their merits, but when it comes to auto's, the Kr808 wins, hands down. This is because they have a vacuum switch, and the 510's have a finicky and sensitive noise switch.

But I've read V4L may be moving to the noise switch. I hope all auto Kr808's don't go that way. The auto Kr808's are the last good auto's that don't cost a ton of money.

I hear ya on the "get an eGo" brigade. I think a lot of us forget, as we move on in vaping, how we felt when we first began. I'm now moving into mod territory. It's not because the Kr808's and eGo's "suck." It's because life has gotten more active, and I'm vaping a lot more. It was the same way when I smoked. So, I've had a lifestyle change, and my needs have changed.

And with the amount I'm now vaping, Kr808's and cartos are impractical, and regular atties don't do it for me - if it's going to be an atty, it has to be LR. And my LR's are killing my eGo batts. So time to go to mods.

But I'm 4 months into vaping, cigarettes have lost all appeal, and I'm no longer fighting to remain a vaper. I'm in a very different place than I was when I started.

If I could do it all again, would I just "get an eGo," or jump straight to a mod? Nope. I wouldn't even get a 510. I'd do it exactly the same. Getting over cigs has been a process, and my vaping needs are changing as my process is moving along.

Every vaper has a process. And I get so frustrated to see people giving stock answers to unique individuals. That's the whole reason NRT sucks! It's a cookie-cutter solution for people who are not cooke-cutter. That's why it doesn't work for most people.

You're not getting drowned out. A newbie in need reads all the replies. You may help someone. Keep on keepin' on.