In my previous post I talked about wanting to fix the problems in my RC Mods mechanical squonk mod. I got all the things I wanted for the upgrade, including a ModMaker 510 and copper contacts.
However, I was hesitant on doing the most important part; drilling the 510 to fit the ModMaker.
The problem is, this is a $300 hybrid mod. It so happens that the acrylic and wood meet at the 510 area, and I know I have to be very careful when drilling here. I already have the step drill bit required to widen the hole to 12mm.
But one wrong move, and I could crack the wood.
There was just a big possibility of fucking up here, so I waited for a better solution. I was also looking around for other 510 options that would not require drilling a wider hole, but I was out of luck. It seems that the poplar 510s (take the ModDog Nano for example) are very hard to buy piecemeal. I’m sure they make many of these, but sell in bulk to modders.
One fine day, I was chatting with my new friend, Adrian Yew (who owns a B&M vape shop called Artisan Vape) and the this topic came up. Adrian knows a lot about stabwood and hybrid mods, as he is a modder himself. In fact his DNA60 stabwood mods on display at the store look fabulous!
So Adrian offered to do me a favor. He agreed that the part I needed to widen was too sensitive to drill with a step drill. Instead he used a Dremel tool to sand the hole wider until it was 12mm in diameter. The whole process took him like 10 minutes, and he didn’t charge me for it.
I still owe him big time for this!
So I got back home, and started shaping the copper contacts I got from ModMaker. This was a bit difficult to do due to all that redundant space in the RC Mod. Eventually I got the shape just right to have the perfect throw while making sure it fit the larger size of the mod.
You can see I had to bend the contacts on top and at the bottom to nicely grasp my 18650 battery. While there was still a some room to perfect it, I was just glad that this whole thing worked.
The mod never hit harder with the Modmaker 510 and the beryllium copper contacts. I slipped in a ModMaker 510 locking ring to complete the project.
I actually have an additional ModMaker 510 washer to get it to the correct height (2mm), but I think I kinda like this “catchcup” thing for now. Also, I hope to eventually 3D-print a cradle for the contacts and battery.
Compared to the previous Fat Daddy Vapes 510, the ModMaker 510 is amazing. No leaks, no voltage drop, and easy to disassemble. I also have a large positive nut for the ModMaker, but I may not use it.
Overall, I am 100% satisfied with how this turned out. Thanks to Adrian, I didn’t have to ruin a perfectly good mod in search of a fix to the FDV.