I'd keep it simple for the metal mods = mechanical
Rob you are a master of your craft, Looks fantastic!!!!!!!!
wow, are mechanicals really that good? i love the buttons on my woods
Yup, mechanical all the way. Wish the wood ones were mechanical as well. I had a problem with a juice I was using and it swelled the oring and leaked all over the place. If it wasn't a mechanical switch, I would have fried the wires many times over. This is what kept me from ordering a 18490 wood. I've since changed juice vendors but still, always watching the oring. Can't wait till these metal ones come out. I already have the batteries.
Yes the button would be on the top .I will make a few mods like this and post picks .I have to make a couple delrin inserts first a job I am not looking forward to .Mechanical FTW
I'll just buy more wood mods to feed my side button need........
Wait ...??? Would the wired button be on the top ?????????
"I keep the Woods heavily waxed inside and out so the water basically rolls off and doesn't soak into the bare wood on the inside."
What do you use to wax the inside? Something like Howard's beeswax? I've been trying to make sure I have my mini with me when I'm with the horses or in other situations (like, as you mentioned, the Jacuzzi) where the wood on my 18490 could get damaged, but, Murphy's Law and all that... I'm also not the neatest person when changing bottles at this point.
And, I would vote undecided on the button issue - positioning for my less than 100% functioning hands vs mechanical - that's a tough one, isn't it?
Thanks for the quick response, Nerak! I have Feed and Wax on hand which I'll use right away, and will get some Sunshield. I wouldn't want want the wood to turn - it's gorgeous! I consider Howard's products a staple around here - I am remiss in not having SunshieldThe Howard's Feed and Wax is great for the inside also. I always put a coat on the inside and let it sit and dry. Wipe off any excess. I use a Q-tip and make sure all the crevices are coated. Howard's contains: a unique blend of carnauba wax, beeswax and orange oil. Howard's SunShield also contains UV protection. Some of the exotic woods will turn or lose color when exposed to UV.
"I keep the Woods heavily waxed inside and out so the water basically rolls off and doesn't soak into the bare wood on the inside."
What do you use to wax the inside? Something like Howard's beeswax? I've been trying to make sure I have my mini with me when I'm with the horses or in other situations (like, as you mentioned, the Jacuzzi) where the wood on my 18490 could get damaged, but, Murphy's Law and all that... I'm also not the neatest person when changing bottles at this point.
And, I would vote undecided on the button issue - positioning for my less than 100% functioning hands vs mechanical - that's a tough one, isn't it?
Waxing the inside will help to protect the wood from juices. DH used his Figured Redwood Mini for several months before I got it cleaned up and waxed inside. He did have some bottle leaks and the juice soaked into the bare wood. (He was not screwing the top on well enough.) It stained it some, too. Also, the door became a slightly warped. I don't normally go "several months" without cleaning any of the REOs but DH just wouldn't turn it over to me. When we got the Bublinga in (Classies) I immediately waxed it and turned it over to him. I cleaned his Redwood with alcohol, inside only, and let it sit to air for many weeks and then waxed the inside. I should have put it in rice to maybe draw more moisture out. It's currently in rice now but there probably isn't any more moisture that can be drawn out.
I use the Howard's inside and let it soak in for a day or so. And then it is very important to get all the excess wax cleaned out or you will get some Howard's "taste" to your vapor. Juice doesn't have direct contact with the Howard's, of course, but the "scent" mixes with the air drawn into the atty/carto.
Don't make the mistake I made a couple of months ago either. (I should post this in the Dumb Things thread.) I wanted to wax all of my Woods, all REOs except for one Lacewood Phidias (that's one reason why I didn't snap up a Lacewood 18490 and I want to collect other woods I don't have yet). To make soaking the insides easier I took the bottles off. I put them all in a big bowl and slathered a whole bunch of Howard's on each and pooling inside each. I let most of them sit, with bowl covered, for several days. Wax came into contact with all areas of the Woods including the catch-cups. When I took them all out, in several sessions, I didn't clean the inside very well when I was buffing them. I, also, didn't clean the tubing and catch-cup. I put them all into the closed cabinet with their respective doors on. The cabinet reeks of Howard's now. Probably a dish of fresh coffee grounds will absorb the smell after I get all the excess wax cleaned out of them.
Not very smart............
When I went to use one I just casually ran some room temp alcohol into the catch cup and down into the tube collecting it in bottle. Dried and started vaping. HOWARD'S SMELLS GREAT BUT NOT FUN MIXED WITH JUICE NOR SCENT MIXING WITH AIR COMING THROUGH ATTY/CARTO!!!!!!!!!!
So each wood has to be cleaned out, on the inside, with non fuzzy cloth or shop paper towel, using alcohol. I picked up some small model paint dabbers, the other day to get into the tiniest places. I left so much wax in them, that then congeled there were globs of yellow. AND each catch-cup has to be cleaned, several times, with hot alcohol and various tools to get the wax out of the threading. I use small humming bird feed hole cleaning brush and tiny wads of blue shop paper towels (they don't shred and snag like cotton does). Then the tubing needs to be cleaned with hot alcohol internal and outside, collecting alcohol in a bottle. Then the bottle needs to be cleaned with hot alcohol and then hot soapy water.
You can use small tipped tweezers to hold the paper wadding but if you have any hand issues, like I do, you'll do better with small ended hemostats, that can be clipped closed. We have gads of medical instruments, from tiny to large, that we use for all kinds of things, around the house.
This is a real hassle and I won't make the mistake again!!!!!! I'm not using most of my Woods as I haven't done a good cleaning on them yet.
Most of my Woods will never get anywhere near the pool, spa, a sink with water in it, or the bathtub. The purpleheart is so closed grain I never worried too much about moisture affecting it. Same with the Curly Oaks. I did use the 801 Curly Oak, in the spa, for weeks, before I found out about Howard's, and it took several dunkings. The only noticable difference between the Curly Oak 510 that has never been swimming and the Curly Oak 801 that took several "swims" before good waxing, is that the figuring on the "swimmer" is a bit darker. Since I started waxing them well the darker has not gotten any darker. None of the doors have become out of shape. None of the groves or door edges have swelled.
Again, most of my woods will never get close to bodies of water.
There are varying degrees of protection offered by the stabilization process. Some woods and processes will make the wood virtually impervious to water absorption. Others not so much. My new Red Stabilized has been well waxed inside, and out, but has yet to take a trip to the spa. I'm hoping it will become my only "swimmer" but I won't know if it will take that position until it makes a few trips to the spa. The first indication of moisture issues, I think, will be a change in how the door slides into the grove. Purpleheart and Curly Oak never showed any signs of door sliding issues.
I would think any of the very closed pore woods, especially the naturally oily ones, would be suitable. I don't advocate letting REOs of any kind joining a "swim team" and I don't casually let my "swimmers" take a dip, but sometimes they insists and get their way.
Hugs, Alice