I still need to give it a good polish, but I bent and sanded this stem yesterday:
Pipe Talk - all makes, models, and designs
- Thread starter Absintheur
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Tell me again please, how I can bend stems at home? I've got some fancy straight stems that I'd like to see a slight curve on. Tried holding it under HOT running water to see if it softened, NADA!! No give whatsoever..
Dusty, drop em in a pot of almost-boiling water. give it a bout 3-5 min, take it out and bend it. Repeat as necessary, then run under cold water to set it once you get the desired bend. You can also put a pipe cleaner through the hole to keep the airway from collapsing, but shouldn't be an issue if you're only going for slight bend.
ETA: When dealing with ebonite (aka vulcanite) though, your water does not need to be as hot. They are made from rubber and soften rather easily. They will also oxidize if the water is too hot/boiling. This is not really an issue with acrylic (lucite).
ETA: When dealing with ebonite (aka vulcanite) though, your water does not need to be as hot. They are made from rubber and soften rather easily. They will also oxidize if the water is too hot/boiling. This is not really an issue with acrylic (lucite).
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Yep, stainless tread cover from MadVapes. This is a little weird for me since I don't usually use cartos, but you're looking at the Smoktech mini UDCT carto tank (sold as the Artemas in some places, and the larger one is the same one Romaniac is using for his carto tanks these days, minus the fill hole that he adds). I don't mind cartos on some juices, but I'm mostly trying to get used to carto tanks in anticipation of the GG Achilles rba that will work in them, once they come out. I might get impatient and try to track down a Killer 705 in the meantime, but I'm guessing it wouldn't fit in this one.
@Dusty: You can also use a hair dryer. I use a heat gun, but it can be a little tricky because the stem goes from hard to rubbery in a matter of seconds and if you're not careful the material can start to bubble. The hair dryer would obviously take longer, but it would also allow you a bigger window of time. The key is to move it back and forth and try to heat it evenly on all sides before making the bend, and like Nick said, a pipe cleaner in the airway and cold water to immerse it in after the bend are crucial.
Good points, Tez. I did a few by just holding them over my electric stove burner. They get much hotter that way, and the bend is easier but it burns the crap out of my fingers. I don't know how you do it, bro. The other drawback of the super-hot options (heat gun, stove burner), for me, is the potential for making depressions and fingerprints in the material. Of course, they can be sanded out, but it just creates more work. I find the hot water approach is a much more controlled, albeit slightly longer, process. Now that I've found the proper water temperature, I've cut the time down considerably.
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OMG.. Genius! My wife has one of those industrial hair driers with all it's fancy attachments hanging right in the bathroom. Easy access to cold running water too. Why didn't I think of that?!
Future conversation:
Wife: Honey, all ok in there?
Me: Yeah, yeah babe, why?!
--pregnant pause--
Wife: You're using my hair drier, but you shave your head?! Umm.. what are you doing in there?
Me: Oh, nothing... nothing at all!!
I use the hot water method but am going to try the heat gun as well on the next one I bend.
Tez the Killer 705 is in stock right now, but your right about it not working in the Artemis tank because the caps aren't removable.
I haven't tried a hair dryer (having no need for one being single and... a bit on the folically challenged side), but the heat gun does a pretty good job of localizing the heat at the point at which you make the bend, and I haven't had unbearably hot fingers or any fingerprints in the stem, or anything like that. I keep it moving over the heat, but mostly try to keep the heat on both sides of the bend area.
Oh, of course! I was only thinking of that bulge that the Killer has being too wide for the narrow mini UDCT, but you're absolutely right about those non-removable end-caps. Thanks for the heads-up on the Killer -- I'll go pick one up!
Edit: I just tried Greek-Vapes and House of Mods and they were both out of stock -- is there another place that you know of where I could get one, or did I just miss the boat?
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Wow that was fast, apparently the ship has sailed. I don't know of any other place, but someone might. Worst case scenario, just check the classies. I'm sure some ...... bought one just to sell for profit. For reference I bought mine from the site for ~$80 shipped, so you'll know if someone is trying to price gouge you.
......!
I just saw that 405 Vaperz has a preorder for them, expected to come in in late April (worked out to be around $80 w/ shipping), so I just picked one up there -- it's a bit of a wait, but I don't mind since it looks like the Achilles preorder won't even start until July now, and then lord knows how long it will take for the orders to be fulfilled after that. Thanks for your help, Shoog!
Anytime bro. Be on the look out for The Diver by Atmistique. Billakos was really close to production before he passed.
Yeah, real shame about that. Very sad story, and I keep hearing what a great guy he was. I'll keep an eye out for The Diver.
Received my Curly Eucalyptus Dragon from EPM today. I bent one of my BlackRose Fancy stems for it. I think they go perfectly together. Started off with the hair drier and then gave up and went with the boiling water to bend it. Takes quite some time to soften huh?! Vaping Dragons Fire from Heathers Heavenly Vapes in a DID on the Dragon.
Wicked shot, D. So muhfuggin sick!
*Note to self* - never piss off Dusty or Ab.
*Note to self* - never piss off Dusty or Ab.
Super pipe and the fantastic photo!!! 
Received my Curly Eucalyptus Dragon from EPM today. I bent one of my BlackRose Fancy stems for it. I think they go perfectly together. Started off with the hair drier and then gave up and went with the boiling water to bend it. Takes quite some time to soften huh?! Vaping Dragons Fire from Heathers Heavenly Vapes in a DID on the Dragon.
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