Jimmidaboot

Hey there, I may have an alternative for you. I am in the process of expanding my workshop and tooling up for the build of my first large alembic still. I've been a coppersmith since 1994, focusing on hand forming American Arts and Crafts lighting - www.craftsmancopper.com . My first project is a 700 liter alembic, all copper construction, riveted and brass brazed, direct fire, stainless steel companion flanges and tri-clamps, large copper doubler, and large copper condenser, pressure relief, stainless manway, copper parrot, etc. My pricing is competetive to Hoga or Al Ambique, with the advantage of being American made. Therefore, no language barrier, cheaper shipping, no customs intrusions, extremely customizable to fit your desires, etc. I've yet to advertise anywhere, as I have no pictures yet, but rest assured that I will be making my presence known ASAP. If you are interested in talking, please contact me. I bet I can deliver for you at a good price and in a decent timeframe. james@craftsmancopper.com 360-486-4962

Well let's see. We started the day at noon, at a luncheon where three distillers spoke: Tito Beveridge from Tito's Vodka, Lee Medoff from Bull Run Distilling, and Lee Pappas of Big Bottom Whiskey. Three signature cocktails from each of the brands in attendance were offered to those of us at the lunch. Talk about getting started early! It was entertaining and all three of these gentlemen were very approachable and willing to tell their stories in a candid manner. I introduced myself to them and had a brief conversation about the industry and my plans. They seemed receptive to my ideas and offered advice to me as well. After lunch the distillers festival opened up. My god, there were a lot of liquors to taste and compare. It was really quite overwhelming. I sampled absynthe, many vodkas, a lot of different whiskeys, some interesting interpretations of american tequila, and a lot of other options. The folks manning the booths were informative and polite and more than willing to pour you any number of their products. It was a good thing that I had some lunch beforehand. I was able to make some promising connections and gave away many of my business cards to potential clients. We shall see if there is any follow up. So, overall it was a fine event. There were mostly distillers peddling their brands. There was a table selling very small Al-Ambiq copper stills, a bottle supplier, and that's about it. I definitely enjoyed myself, but did take about a three hour break in the middle of the event in order to keep sober(ish). I would go again.

If you get serious, I can build you a copper alembic still. I'm up the road in Olympia. Best of luck, friend!

Who is going? I'll be there to introduce myself and my copper smithing skills to people...I hope. Anyone else?

Nepal in 66! Very cool. In my lamp biz I generally use 32ounce copper, or about 19 gauge. I've been using commercially available copper/silver that I get at the welding shop. I also braze with brass, which is what I will do for the stills. Just seems more inert.

I'm leaning towards direct fire and immersion heating. I will need to build my skill set further before I go for a steam jacketed unit. As it is, it seems a person interested could have a look at offerings by Al Ambiq or Hoga, and that would help determine pricing. Then just cut shipping costs and maybe some percentage of pricing could be cut as well. Just riffing here!

This is precisely the kind of thoughtful feedback that I was hoping to elicit. Thank you P9pa. And Gwydion, it was a strange and fortuitous (perhaps fateful) the timing of your email and our conversation. Many signs are pointing to "GO" on this. I await more thoughts and feedback from other members to help me in my decision making process. I also hope to be able to offer advice on smithing techniques, tools, and materials to those interested. I have a vast background in abusing copper. LOL!

I've been building hand forged copper hollow ware lamps/sconces/chandeliers since 1994. I opened my own shop, www.craftsmancopper.com, in 2005. I've had several features in magazines over the years (Style 1900, and most recently American Bungalow), and primarily my focus has been on the lighting of the American Arts and Crafts era of the early 1900's. About a year ago, I became interested in the "new" wave of craft distilling. I started to do a little research on the design and construction of traditional alembic type stills. Never having had one in my posession until just recently. I have in my shop currently, a Hoga still. It's an 80 gallon unit....which I believe would be considered a 300 liter pot. After giving it a very thorough inspection, and adding some threaded bungs to it so that my client can use submersion heaters, I've come to the conclusion that the style in which I build my lamps and the techniques I employ in doing so, are the exact same techniques used by the craftsmen at Hoga to build their stills. The only difference being the brass brazing they employ, while I use silver/copper alloy for brazing, and the scale in which they work is obviously much larger than that in which I work. I'm testing the waters here. It seems that there are some extremely knowledgeable and dedicated professionals that frequent this site, as well as a plethora of enthusiastic amateurs. I'm wondering if there is a domestic market for hand built alembic stills? I've seen some of the overseas products available, and I've seen their somewhat reasonable prices, but I know that shipping/communication/customs/taxes/etc. can be daunting obstacles for a start up distillery to navigate. It seems that there are very few domestic suppliers. Am I wrong? The bottom line here is, I'm very good at what I do, which is hand form copper into hollow shapes. I would like to diversify. I want to be fully legal. I want to build a top quality tool that will help distillers make a top quality product. And before I commit to any more time doing research, spending money for the materials and eventually building an initial prototype, I would like to know if the general (and I suspect very well informed) opinion of the moderators and members here is if there is a market for what I would be able to offer? I would like to thank, beforehand, any opinions or advice on the subject of my intro. And if this is too in depth for this sub-forum, please let me know where better to post these important questions. My future career may depend on the info that you good people can give me. With great respect, James "Jimmi" Davies james@craftsmancopper.com 360-486-4962