My Home made Fuming Boxes

[Bingtan]

Hi everyone!

After being seguewayed into wood working to make my own fuming boxes…I’m finally almost done with it. Finally! After some thought a few months back, I realized that the only way for me to progress properly is to get my own tools and get a hack at doing my own fuming boxes so I could play around with any sort of dimensions I would eventually get into. Took me awhile as I had zero wood working experience but enjoyed the entire process of doing something with my own hands. Must say, my head almost blew up thinking about how I should design my boxes and here I am. After months of planning and developing, my wood pieces now actually looks like a box! 🙂

I had to source my funds, tools and materials and here is what I came up with. I have 6mm teflon sheets and 1/16 viton sheets that I will be sealing my box internally with as I realized that bromine really is such a vicious chemical (I had a bottled that leaked and leeched through a metal box which melted the paint inside).

Just sharing everyone with my progress..

Sincerely,

Bing

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[Andy Stockton]

Hi Bing-

Very classy looking outsides. What dimensions did you end up with? And please share the inside workings and detail photos when you have them fully assembled. The more we share the fewer heads we will have exploding. 🙂

[Bingtan]

Hi Andy,

as requested, here are some detailed shots.

Photo: Shows pyrex inside the box. I just got a pair from amazon. I think that’s the 11 cup. size. Rulers placed, the length is less than a foot. Width about, 9 inches (that steel ruler is 6inches). The area where the pyrex is will still be wrapped in 1/16 viton sheet.

Photo_1: Is a pure teflon sheet 6mm which I’ve drilled off the center. The rounded pyrex still needs to be polished flat so the teflon is flushed against the tray.

Photo_2: I’ve made a plywood sandwich just so I get more surface area to help whatever fumes escape. 1/4″ plywood. The 1/8th ply will actually be the holder of the plate. That one will be removeable, sliding in and out.

Photo_3: That’s how the wood sandwich all looks like.

Photo_4: I still haven’t glued one side.

Photo_6: There’s a 1/4th slot there. still working on the handles for that slider so the fumes don’t escape.

Hope these few pictures help clear things up…again, this was my first and only attempt at wood working so I can’t say I’ve done the most secure. I know using plywood would be best, I guess I just wanted to do something nice for myself.

For those with experience, may I ask, will bromine/iodine eat through wood glue and super glue?

Sincerely,

Bing

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[photolytic]

Hi Bing,

Yes, Iodine and Bromine will eat though the wood.

You should have used a Teflon sheet without a cut out to seal the top of the glass tray.

Sealing just the rim as you have done will not prevent the fumes from seeping into the wood.

Eventually, after several years, the wood will have absorbed enough iodine to fume the plates without any iodine crystals in the glass tray.

Do you plan to add a screw and a pressure plate at the top to apply pressure against the rim of the tray to improve the seal?

After grinding the top of the tray flat, a bit of high vacuum silcone grease on the rim would also improve the seal.

The box looks great though.

John

 

[Bingtan]

Hi John,

Thank you for those insights! I think my work is not yet done! I was wondering, I actually don’t intend to store the br and i in the box. Just during fuming…that said though, I was intending to prop up the Pyrex and push the top down with viton sheets. Would that be good enough?

Too late for the Teflon unfortunately 🙁 I don’t think I could afford another one right now. I’m banking on the viton to act as the seal in between the layers.

Thank you for indulging me!

[Andy Stockton]

I am using 1/32″ etched Teflon sheet bonded to 1/8″ acrylic as a lid on one of my fuming boxes. It is much less expensive than thicker Teflon stock and bonds quite well using the recommended adhesive. Here is the link.

http://www.scicominc.com/index.php/products/teflonr-products/ptfe-etched-sheet

 

The sheets may require some smoothing with very fine grit sandpaper to achieve a good seal. The piece I received was a bit scratched up on the non-etched side.

Andy

[Bingtan]

these boxes are finally done and they really. REALLY. drove me nuts. I don’t have a future doing this as my day job… I still have to make handles for my slide but at least I can fume w these already.

Pyrex trays were polished flat pressed against 5mm of teflon sheet.
Whole box is teflon lined.
Viton rubber for slide compression. I have a glass piece from the top of the viton slide with dried silicon bead at the center to make further compression in the center of the box.

[Bingtan]

sorry here are the attachments

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[Blake]

Bing,

I am where you were at two years ago. Can you give any updates since the beginning of the year? How is the box holding up?

Also, how did you attach the teflon to the wood? Is that also holding up well?

Thanks!
Blake

[Bingtan]

Hi Blake!

I haven’t been here at cdags for awhile, working on the rest of my equipment. I can’t offer a good update on the box as I only started fuming now.

That said I saw that you had your box done already but if it’s still relevant, the teflon on my box are all fit together and seem to be doing ok. Essentially, I made a smaller, inner teflon box from 1/4″ material which I routered 1/8″ on each edge and then sealed. so far so good…

Bing

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