Khyperian

[quote name='colto' date='24 June 2010 - 08:39 AM' timestamp='1277365163' post='472688'] [quote name='Khyperian' date='20 June 2010 - 11:28 AM' timestamp='1277051331' post='472227'] [quote name='colto' date='25 February 2010 - 11:15 PM' timestamp='1267136136' post='453794'] Well, I finally ended up buying several feet of pipe to make some downstems and when it came in each piece had the pipe information printed along its length in ugly black letters. Any idea what the best way to get the ink off and the finish to a fair polish? Perhaps sanding with different grits? [/quote] Here's a suggestion... I had the same issue with the 316 tubing that I used on my Hookahs. First I used a coarse scotchbrite abrasive pads to take of the lettering. Follow that with a coarse sandpaper, say 180grit, then to 240 git, then to 320 grit, then 600 git and finally polish to mirror finish using jewlers rouge. You can find all this at McMaster-Carr or if you happen to have a machine shop supply company in your town. Of course when I was doing this I was spinning the pipe in a lathe at about 1800 rpm. But if you have an electric hand drill and the chuck will hold it you can use it like a poor-mans-lathe. Loading the pipe into the chuck, spinning it and polishing your pipe. Just a thought. [/quote] Thanks but if you read my post right after that you would have found out that all you have to do is pour some alcohol on it and the ink will lift right off. From there you can polish with normal cleaner and a rag. Super easy! [/quote] Sorry about that. Just trying to be helpful.

I have enjoyed ABSOLUTE Raspberry Vodka with Banana Tobacco. ABSOLUTE Orange is pretty good too. The ABSOLUTE flavoured vodkas work so well, the flavour comes accross perfectly.

[quote name='colto' date='25 February 2010 - 11:15 PM' timestamp='1267136136' post='453794'] Well, I finally ended up buying several feet of pipe to make some downstems and when it came in each piece had the pipe information printed along its length in ugly black letters. Any idea what the best way to get the ink off and the finish to a fair polish? Perhaps sanding with different grits? [/quote] Here's a suggestion... I had the same issue with the 316 tubing that I used on my Hookahs. First I used a coarse scotchbrite abrasive pads to take of the lettering. Follow that with a coarse sandpaper, say 180grit, then to 240 git, then to 320 grit, then 600 git and finally polish to mirror finish using jewlers rouge. You can find all this at McMaster-Carr or if you happen to have a machine shop supply company in your town. Of course when I was doing this I was spinning the pipe in a lathe at about 1800 rpm. But if you have an electric hand drill and the chuck will hold it you can use it like a poor-mans-lathe. Loading the pipe into the chuck, spinning it and polishing your pipe. Just a thought.

[quote name='poncho' date='14 June 2010 - 07:06 AM' timestamp='1276495592' post='471628'] hey man they look awesome! Do you make the heart piece yourself? Never seen one quite like that before looks great! If you need any custom vases, or glass parts in general to add to your hookahs i'm interested in doing a collaboration, perhaps 2 hookahs so we each can have one! I could make some awesome glass parts to complement your wood parts and we could get something really different and beautiful. Check out my hookahs www.jacobmoskowitz.com -- more to come soon, about to start some new ones, i'll think about some accent parts, how big does the inside diameter need to be to fit over your stem shaft? Awesome work! Jake [/quote] Jake, Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Between the world cup and late nights at work I have just been super busy. Anyhow, All the parts , including the heart piece, are made from scratch by me. Awesome work on your website BTW. I just had a look. A collaboration would be interesting. I have been looking for someone who worked in glass for a while, but they all seemed a little to artsy, I need someone more technical. The shaft diameter on the paisley/olive wood hookah is .680"+/-.005. Currently the thru hole on the wooden stem decorations is .750". Lots of clearance and they self-center well. Thanks for the custom vase offer. I'll check my leftover parts, I'll bet that I might have a threaded vase flange or two lying around and get back to you with some possible sizes for the vase neck. What kind of tolerances do you work to? You seem to gind your mating surfaces. Is that manually on a wheel or do you use a machine similar to a cylindrical grinder? I was also thinking about a multi-chambered hookah. Any thoughts? Maybe a series of glass spheres around a central hub. Looking forward to talking with you more. Where are you located? J

Here is part two. Same design info as in the Part One posting The Paisley/Olive Wood Model This last one is my most recent build. I designed it to be easier to pull as it has a larger internal stem diameter. Again thanks to Pier1 for another excellent vase. I have another one of these vases in red. Can't wait to see what I'll make out of that one. The stem decorations are white pine and olive wood, the two contrast nicely I think. The pipe stylus on this one is Titanium, another nice addition if you ask me. It is about ~980mm (39") high and wieghs ~11 Kg (24.2 lbs) [center][attachment=4916:Paisley.Olivewood.Hookah.01.jpg] [/center] Here it is dis-assembled. You can see the bowl with the threaded attachment, The wood stem decorations, The upper and lower smoke tube. The lower one has a thread on diffuser. The main base with blow-off valve. The pipe stylus with the hose above it. [attachment=4917:Paisley.Olivewood.Hookah.02.jpg] Here is another shot showing half of the stem decorations assembled on the upper smoke tube. You could make what ever you wanted here. Just have a hole through it and you can slip it over the tube. [attachment=4918:Paisley.Olivewood.Hookah.03.jpg] I love these things. Building them was a labour of love. According to my wife I am almost obsessed with hookahs. Every time we are out I’m looking at vases thinking whether or not it could make a great hookah. The thing is, they are now starting to take up a lot of room. My studio is filled with extra parts and other designs/prototypes on the go. I need to make some room. So I was thinking of putting them up on Ebay and selling them off to good homes. Good idea? Any Thoughts? The price would be kind of high compared to other hookahs so I’m not sure anyone would be interested, in the defense of the price though, this would be the last hookah you would need to buy. I can't imagine it ever wearing out. These designs are so durable and robust that, I think, they would do well in a hookah lounge. Especially since you can clean/sterilize them so easy. This forum is full of talent and knowledge, not to mention wisdom, I would like to know what you guys think. Looking forward to the comments.

OK, As promised in my introduction post here are some hookahs I have made.I hope you guys like them, and I’m looking forward to you comments. First a little background. After my first Hookah experience I decided that I wanted my own Hookah. So I bought one. It was pretty good and smoked fine but I wanted something more. So decided to make my own. I wanted it to be durable (almost indestructible), easy to clean, and a flexible design that could be easily modified to allow the owner (me) a certain level of creative freedom in making it his or her own. So I could change its look when I felt like a change. I designed these from scratch (every part of them), Machined them myself from solid stainless, polished and/or finished them myself. These hookahs are made using solid stock. I used 316 surgical grade stainless steel for the majority of the parts; however for the external connector parts I have used 304 food grade stainless. I really wanted to make something that was going to last, something that could take heavy use. I also wanted something with standard seals so I didn’t have to order special parts whenever I lost or wore out something. I liked the idea of off-the-shelf standard o-ring as seals throughout. I also wanted to be able to keep it spotlessly clean with out labouring over it. That’s why all the parts thread together and can be quickly assembled or disassembled. Once fully disassembled they can be put through a dishwasher to be cleaned and sanitized. This makes a very pure smoking experience and very sanitary hookah. Also this makes for a very portable hookah. I love to take them with me to parties and other get events. These things are super durable. Details of the design… The seals at the base-to-vase, base-to-blow off valve, hose-to-base, and hose-to-stylus joints are red food grade silicone o-rings. The hose inside the fabric shell is also food grade super-flexible silicone. The bowls are bonded to a threaded fitting with a high-temp silicone. I did this because I noticed that once the taper for the bowl became wet or covered with tobacco juice the bowl never slipped on as tight for the next session. This way the bowl always makes an airtight seal. The blow off valve on the side on the main base threads into the base and seals with an o-ring making a perfect positive seal. I preferred this to the usual ball valve as the seal is better. It does mean the you have to unscrew it about two turns then blow out and then re-seal which is a bit more labour, but its worth it for a perfect seal. The hose attaches to the base and pipe stylus with the aid of a flange held in place by a locknut over which the hose covering fabric is held in place. Once the flange makes contact with the o-ring at either joint it just takes another quick quarter turn and it’s sealed. So here they are... The Two Purple/Black models... These two are part of three that I made in the same batch about 6-8months ago. I always make at least two, just in case something goes wrong during manufacture. In this case three was the magic number. I only just finished the stem decorations after suffering a little creative block. I originaly found the vases at Pier1 and they became the inspiration. They are mouth blown in Turkey and are stupendously heavy. They are pretty much identical. [center] [/center] Here is a shot with one assembled and the other with of all its parts dis-assembled.The only difference between these is that the one in the back has a threaded bowl while the dis-assembled one has a taper attachment for the bowl. Other than that its architecture is identical. [attachment=4914:Purple.Black.Hookah.02.jpg] [center] [/center] The One Paisley-Red Model... This is the third of the batch. Its only difference is that it has different stem decoration colours, and a longer pipe stylus. Oh, and a bubble deflector above the diffuser inside the vase. Other than that it will break down just like the Purple/Black ones. [attachment=4915:Paisley.Red.Hookah.01.jpg] I have another one I'm going to post in part two. What do you think of these so far?

Thanks for the kind words. I'm going to try and take some pictures tonight and have them posted by tomorrow.

Hello Everyone. I have been a way for a while and thought perhaps another intoroduction was in order. Been smoking hookah for about 6 years now. Not long I know. I have also been spending a lot of time designing and building my own hookahs as well. Way back when I first joined the forum I posted some pictures of my first model. I'm not sure if they are still around or not. (Maybe I'll try searching for them) Anyhow, since then I have been working away on serveral different prototypes. I'll be posting some pictures in the next little while, when things calm down at work. I work as a machinist in Ottawa, Canada and am fortunate to have access to some pretty remarkable equipment. I love making these things in my spare time. I can't wait to see what other hookahphiles think of them. Thanks to everyone that keeps this forum going. BTW. Just read a thread about a person with innovative ideas but, no means to realize them... we should talk.

I'm sorry I have been away so long. Thanks for re-viving this thread. I'm located in Ottawa, Ontario CANADA. And I'm looking to set up a High-End Hookah manufacturing company. I have spent a lot of time working on new variants and ideas using the highest quality materials. I am just working out the details (i.e. business plan) Do you guys have and design request or ideas? Thanks for the interest. It's good to know that there are still people out there who appreciate quality handmade goods!!! Thanks again, K

ApoC, I live in Ottawa, Ontario What about you??? Get this when I ordered my first hookah (an Egyptian 2 hose from [url="http://www.cleopatraimports.com"]www.cleopatraimports.com[/url]) it got held up at the border and I ended up paying $30.00 CDN duty on the 100gams of Romman tobacco that came with it. I then walked down to my local Mid-east food center and bought 2 250g packs of Nahkla double apple for $30.00 CDN Does'nt make any sense. SO, who's you preferred US supplier??? Boy starting up our own Canadian Hookah Wholesaler... not bad  

ApoC, Thanks for the compliments. it's good to know there are more of us out there. I saw your Diffuser in another thread, that's some good work too. If i had a little more time with the NC lathe i would have made brass decorations for the top tube. As it was I thought the wood looked a little more traditional. As for the pipes same thing. This was my first "big" project. I designed it all then built it all. It was great, a super learning experience. It taught me a lot about machining and design. Your right about the threads, I wanted to be able to make changes to the configuration of the unit. Say, a longer or shorter top tube to change the overall height and see how that effected the smoking experience. About the base, I have ben looking for a local glassblower to commission to produce a nice glass base for me, but that'll have to wait 'till i'm done school. THough if MYA has some threaded bases I may give one of them a try. Do you have any idea what the thread is??? (dia. & pitch/TPI) Where can I find them? I looked on their website, but did'nt see them mentioned specifically. I also noticed a posting about low cracking pressure check valves in another thread. I'll have to look into those as well.    

Thanks a lot Mathazar. I really appreciate the help.

Hey that's it. I think that would look kind of cool sitting on a table. Of course, like you said, making the whole thing stand and all, so it can sit at the end of you favourite chair or couch, would be pretty impressive. I'm realley getting in to this project, but your right now i need to find more info, pictures and the like. It would be nice to find a few close-up or DVD captures of it. I wonder how its set-up internally? Any thoughts?

That's pretty nice, but still kind of traditional. You know that long neck and such. I was thinking of something like this... have a look at the link (not the best picture. i'll see if I have another). It's a pic of Jabba the Hutt and his Hookah. This would be cool to have... [url="http://www.fantasiatoys.net/swultrajabba.jpg"]http://www.fantasiatoys.net/swultrajabba.jpg[/url] WHat do you think?

No i have not. What's it like? Do you have a link to a pic of them?