Wooden Dowel Mod

[Bahnzo]

Here's a 14500 mod made from a 1 inch wooden dowel. More of a proof of concept I guess, it needs some refinement. It's simply a 3/4 inch hole with 3/4" end caps that I bought.

I think with a 14500 I could use a 7/8 dowel instead and the end caps would match up better on the end. Also some sanding and some stain would do wonders for the overall finish of the thing. The next one I make will be done with a tact switch and a mosfet and I'll probably find a way to add a LED to it as well.

But overall...it works and seems like another interesting way to make your own PV.

 

[Bacawind]

Very cool!!! I'm not a fan of tube styles but I LOVE natural pine!

 

[honuhart]

wow, that is really nice looking....

 

[stouchon]

Looks good, my "dowell mod" is getting close to done. I am still on the fence about staining though. I worry about the stain messing up my pockets.

 

[Smocha]

That looks great. You should give that badboy a nice stain to finish off the look.

 

[asdaq]

Bahnzo, that turned out even better than I thought, good job on that hole! I'm not sure what the length is, but if the hole is a clean 3/4", you could fit 16xxx batts with the wire as is, or even 18xxx if you made a filed a groove for the wire to run through. And a little sanding on the outer edge of the ends would give you at least an interim contour or flush if it doesn't get too thin. Nice work indeed, what tools did you use for the hole?

 

[basementcat]

Very nice looking. Wish I had a shop with proper equips.

 

[mistinthewoods]

That looks real good Bahnzo. I've considered solid wood tube mods. Wood can be decorated in lots of cool ways.
My main issue is how to maintain a good connection at the negative end while still having easy access to the batteries.

Looks good, my "dowell mod" is getting close to done. I am still on the fence about staining though. I worry about the stain messing up my pockets.

Just gotta clear coat it to seal it. I tried polyurethane on my first wood veneered mods but it proved to be too soft to hold up to the friction and moisture of holding it in my hand all the time. I'm using Minwax Polyacrylic now and it seems to wear quite well.
Juice leaks are a problem as well. It soaks into the end grain and causes nasty black stains deep in the wood. Making sure you seal the end grain with the acrylic real good solves this problem.

 

[stouchon]

Thanks for the info, I will have to get some of that.

 

[WillyB]

Here's some.

Split with magnets to get at the inside.

From Mark at the Vapertalk forums.

 

[Bahnzo]

I like the idea to split it to make access easier. I'll have to think about that.

Mist...thanks for the info on the clear coats. My plan was to stain it and then clear coat it, but I've never worked with any of that stuff, so it's a good starting point to read up on some info.

 

[Lorizgal]

I was going to suggest a clear coat of shalak (sp?) because I put some of that on a piece of furniture put pics underneath between the wood and shalak and got a great place to put drinks. It can take stuff spilling on it and stuff getting dumped on it and just needs to be wiped up. Important part is to make sure it dries completely between coats and then you have one helluva PV that people could drop inthe sand and wipe it off with out causing issues to the PV.

 

[mistinthewoods]

I wouldn't suggest shellac. Shellac's solvent is alcohol. Many juices have a little alcohol in them. I put everclear in the juices I mix. You can strip shellac with everclear.
When I finish my furniture and want a durable top coat I use a spar urethane but I put a coat or two of shellac on first so if need be in the future I can score the urethane and strip the piece with alcohol for refinishing.

 

[Bahnzo]

Just gotta clear coat it to seal it. I tried polyurethane on my first wood veneered mods but it proved to be too soft to hold up to the friction and moisture of holding it in my hand all the time. I'm using Minwax Polyacrylic now and it seems to wear quite well.

So Mist......I take it you would stain it first, let it dry, and then finish with the Polyacrylic to give it a tough shell?

 

[mistinthewoods]

So Mist......I take it you would stain it first, let it dry, and then finish with the Polyacrylic to give it a tough shell?

Yep. For small pieces like your mod I like to buy the Minwax Polyacrylic in a spray can. After the stain is set wipe it off good with a tack rag and apply 4 or 5 light coats, buffing with '0000' steel wool between coats to remove any dust specs or impurities in the surface.
That stuff dries hard in a few hours so it doesn't take as long as you'd think. I can usually put on three coats in a day.

 

[Bahnzo]

Yep. For small pieces like your mod I like to buy the Minwax Polyacrylic in a spray can. After the stain is set wipe it off good with a tack rag and apply 4 or 5 light coats, buffing with '0000' steel wool between coats to remove any dust specs or impurities in the surface.
That stuff dries hard in a few hours so it doesn't take as long as you'd think. I can usually put on three coats in a day.

Excellent, thanks for the info.

 

[candy_93454]

wow what a neat idea!!

 

[sjohnson]

Another 'topcoat' would be linseed or tung oil. Gives a more warm, matte finish with less shine - IF that's what you want. Even wax will do, you'll just need to reapply every so often.

 

[mistinthewoods]

Tung oil an wax will seal in the stain but they're a topcoat that DOES require maintenance. Wooden pens are usually finished with a hybrid wax like Briwax but it's applied when the piece is on the lathe and buffed in real good. If you can chuck the dowel into a lathe or even a drill press somehow wax may be a pretty good option. I'm not sure how it holds up to juice though.
I use figured veneers (like curly maple) on my mods and I use tung oil to bring out the figure in the grain. I let the oil polymerize for a day or so and then apply the top coat. The oil brings out the beauty of the grain by soaking in and making some of the cells somewhat translucent and the clear coat acts as a lens making the figure even more obvious and it also protects the surface.
Hope you're taking notes people, the quiz is on Friday.

 

[Bahnzo]

Hope you're taking notes people, the quiz is on Friday.

I hope it's open book!