Anyone can build a squonker!

[gavc]

Excuse the seriously terrible work done here guys but a little info on the very basic mechanical squonker I built, comments appreciated! I've been vaping for 2 years but never built a mod before.

It started when I saw Todd buy a very nice little wooden box a good few months back and I thought "hey I could build myself a squonker with that!". So I purchased the box from https://boxmod.ecwid.com/ and purchased a mosfet, fat daddy 510 with squonk pin, wire, battery sled and all the rest of it from http://modmaker.co.uk/ (thanks Richard!). When the box came 10 days later it was blatantly obvious that everything was going to be such a tight fit. I gave it a go and failed miserably.

Then I thought instead of wires and battery sleds I could turn this into a mechanical squonker. Being new to mod making, and being a little worried about the safety of it all I did all my research and concluded that I knew my battery safety and that's all I needed to know. I bought a pre cut strip of copper from eBay and went at it with nothing more than a pair of tin snips and a pair of pliers. As you can see from the photos it's not exactly expert craftmanship, however, this little baby works a treat! I got the bottles from China (they are actually advertised as portable herb pots) but they are the PERFECT size for the little fella. I have a couple of mechanical mod clones and hybrid tube mod clones and I tell you this thing has way more kick to it. Unfortunately the top rim of the wood has cracked a little but it is holding up apart from that and I've been using it for a couple of months now.

All in all it came in under £50 and there really is something about vaping on a mod you've built yourself. I think down the line I'm going to give a regulated mod a go (as if I need any more gear).

 

[hodge40]

Top job matey,squonk ftw

 

[gavc]

I wouldn't say it was a top job but it works and that's all that matters to me!

 

[hodge40]

It's a damn sight better than i could do mate and if it works then its a #TopJob

 

[mattvapes1976]

Could you please share the specs of the copper strip you used please ? Been looking at similar to build a parallel mech box the squonk looks awesome btw- great job !

 

[gavc]

No problem mate! I figured I would go for as thick as possible but not so thick that it wasn't easy to manipulate (since I didn't have any specialist tools) and so I opted for 0.9mm thickness, then I simply measured the inside width of the box (which was 20mm) so I ordered 19mm x 200mm size strip from ebay seller sgs132 http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/sgs132. They will cut the copper to whatever size you want and you can choose the thickness too. It came to £4 in total (which is probably overpriced slightly but it saved me a lot of hassle trying to cut it to size). Do you want some more detailed pictures of the setup inside to see what's going on?

 

[oldhippydude]

No problem mate! I figured I would go for as thick as possible but not so thick that it wasn't easy to manipulate (since I didn't have any specialist tools) and so I opted for 0.9mm thickness, then I simply measured the inside width of the box (which was 20mm) so I ordered 19mm x 200mm size strip from ebay seller sgs132 http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/sgs132. They will cut the copper to whatever size you want and you can choose the thickness too. It came to £4 in total (which is probably overpriced slightly but it saved me a lot of hassle trying to cut it to size). Do you want some more detailed pictures of the setup inside to see what's going on?

It would be nice to have a closer look at your switch and your copper circuit without the battery in the way. No rush for me, I have been thinking about an idea for ages. I have bought brass plate and have some nice wood and like you limited tools.

 

[gavc]

Nice one I'll get pictures up tomorrow when I'm home from work. Not as good looking close up but it might you some ideas and things to improve on. My button is a joke but I'll get round to improving it at some point!

 

[mattvapes1976]

No problem mate! I figured I would go for as thick as possible but not so thick that it wasn't easy to manipulate (since I didn't have any specialist tools) and so I opted for 0.9mm thickness, then I simply measured the inside width of the box (which was 20mm) so I ordered 19mm x 200mm size strip from ebay seller sgs132 http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/sgs132. They will cut the copper to whatever size you want and you can choose the thickness too. It came to £4 in total (which is probably overpriced slightly but it saved me a lot of hassle trying to cut it to size). Do you want some more detailed pictures of the setup inside to see what's going on?

Thanks for that !

 

[gavc]

Hi guys here's some more pictures. Like I said, I did this with some tin snips and a pair of pliers so take no responsibility for the awful metalwork you are about to see. My button is literally a drilled out switch I bought for a few quid, and yes, a piece of wood. I used a pencil sharpener and a piece of sandpaper to round off the end. I really need to improve on it but you know, it works so I put that idea on the back burner.

You'll see at the 510 I simply tin snipped 2 strips into the copper and peeled it back, then cut off the excess. The 510 sits snug in there and it's all tightened down nicely. For the battery connection I cut the end of the metal at an angle and sanded the sharp edges down. Bent the whole thing back on itself and this makes up my negative connection. As for the positive it's just a strip of copper bent at a 90 degree angle, then manipulated to let the bottle sit in, with the end bent round slightly to allow for a flat surface to touch the positive pin when you press the little wooden button against it. Without a battery installed it is flimsy and doesn't seem like it would work, but the battery and bottle are such a good fit it's all rock solid and gives a nice firm press and spring back when you push the button.

If I were to do something similar again, I would find a better way to cut my copper (its a bit ragged as you can see) but it can be sanded/filed down to make a nice smooth surface very easily. I'd also drill a hole for the 510 to fit through and tighten onto rather than using tin snips, for obvious reasons! I think if I'd just procured a couple of extra goodies before I built this it would be a much higher standard. It is what it is though. I looked back and it was July I bought all the original bits and pieces so I must have been using it since about September when I think about it and I've never had any issues with it.