New Ashtray Idea
 

I am new to this site but not new to cigars. While chatting with a friend about cigars and the prices of ashtrays, he decided to make his own ashtray. After seeing it posted on Facebook and in person, I had a light-bulb turn on. I am just wondering if anyone in the cigar community has any interest in this idea. If you would like to know more about it please feel free to get in touch with me. I have attached a photo of a very basic raw version. If enough people show interest it will be cleaned up and finalized.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

10 bucks at my friendly local tommy bahama store got me a much prettier single ash tray, but cool idea. just a heads up, you may want to go over too the new inmates section and introduce yourself before you start trying to (i assume sell?) these

stearns

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I see what you did there, couple pieces of metal mig welded together. Most people here just use stinkys they are very practical and work in all applications. Only downside is if it is very windy the cigar will fall off the small leaves of the Stinky.

You probably wouldn't have that issue with an ashtray like that. Although you would be cleaning that out every day or two due to the small size.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Well its a nice idea.

Knip.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Stearns~introduction is posted, and thanks for the input. I am just looking for feedback on this idea for now. Of course final version will be a lot cleaner and "prettier" looking.

Bill86~ Thanks for the input. I have seen stinky ashrays before and I agree that cigars can fall off of them easily. This is actually a proto-type for holding one cigar. I was thinking it would be good for outside. I am planing on making ones that can hold up to four cigars too.

My goal is to see if there is any interested in an ashtray like this. I am still working on some things with it, such as cleaning it up some and adding color. I will post a finished product when I get it completed.

Again, any interest or comments are welcomed as long as they are in the form of constructive criticism. Thanks for the input.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

You may want to consider making the portion that cradles the cigar a bit smaller so it can be easily picked up and the ash portion a bit bigger to hold more dead soldiers.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

You can't have too many ashtrays. You friends ashtray looks a lot like this one --

http://www.hcmcigarbeads.com/images/ashtray.jpg

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

What is the anticipated price point? That would be a major factor in my interest, or lack of it.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

:tpd:


Different styles of ashtrays appeal to different personalities and situations and the combinations are limtless. I would say go forward with the design, do what you need to with it, clean it up, modify it a bit, make it more aesthetically appealing or whatever you need to do and throw a few out there. They might appeal to someone here, or someone elsewhere. You have nothing to lose but a little bit of time and some metal.:2

PS: If you're stuck with them, you could always just add some weights to them and use them as bacon presses.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Icehog~ the anticipated price is around $20 for a single like that to $50 for one that holds four and is gold colored. It just depends on what the costumer would want.

Zappafreak~I was thinking the same thing about making that part a little smaller. Again this is just a rough proto-type of what it could look like.

T.G.~ Bacon press??? Why would someone need to press bacon?:confused:

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Single cigar ashtrays can be found for closer to $8 and I am not sure how much 'prettier' you can make welded metal pieces. Good luck with your sale :tu

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

You'll probably have to get a good cleaned up version produced before most people can judge if they would buy one. If you're sticking with that size of metal too a 4 leaf one might be a problem to ship for a reasonable cost. You might want to consider weight as well when producing a final product.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

How about as a trowel then?

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

For perspective, wanted to show you these two single cigar ashtrays at a price point well below $20. Might make your friend reconsider whether his project would be viable.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Single-Cigar-Ash...item564118cdcf

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ashtray-Stainles...item1e5b282ca9

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Thanks for all the input. You all have given me some things to think about with this.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

T.G. - I'm with you on the bacon press. Used to work at a Waffle House. Great dual purpose idea bacon press and ash tray for the 'Mel's Diner' set.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

:tu

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I think it's cool.
If the piece of pipe that holds the cigar was cut in 1/8's so it'd be easier to fish out the cigar, I think that'd help. I don't think I could dig my cigar out of that trough with it being so deep.
I'm assuming they're stainless? It'd look cool once it's all buffed out. :tu
It'd probably look more sleek if you backwelded the inside of the piece of pipe looking up, and cut the plate the same width as the diameter of the pipe. Then you could grind off the points of the plate the same radius of the pipe on all four corners. That'd look really sweet.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Scott~ thanks for the input. Making the corners the same radius as the pipe would be a great way to make the edges a little softer. Also the piece you are refering to is actually welded on both sides. That being said a lot of the welds just need a good filing to smooth them out a half rounded and round file will clean up those welds nicely.

Don't forget this was done in about 20 minutes by a friend who works at a muffler shop. All I am doing is working with him to get a finished product and pricing done for now. I will keep this updated with pics as I can. When I get a finished product for sale, I will post on here for more input. Thanks for all the input so far. It's been helpful.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Since it's a circle you won't be able to weld it in a single click, I would just take a small disc grinder and clean it up. If you use a file it could take you quite a while. Just try to keep the bead uniform and a grinder will make quick work of it. Or you could just spot weld it all the way around and it would look MUCH nicer.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Yeah you can, just use a rotating welding table. I doubt that you'll find one in a muffler shop though. You could build one with a lazy susan rotator and some steel plates if desired.

A standard grinding wheel might be too abrasive, try a weld dressing wheel - that's not the proper name for it, I'll try and remember the proper name, that's just the name it was always known to me and the people I worked with by. It was a very soft abrasive, almost spongey in nature. When it came to removing metal, it was a bit more than a polishing wheel and a bit less than a compressed abrasive wheel. You could even put compound on some of them if you wanted.

You could also sand or bead blast the finished product. Depending on what you're after, you could use this to create both a surface finish and obscure the look of the weld.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Yeah I just figured he wouldn't really have a lot of specialty things in a muffler shop.

Sand paper discs for grinding wheels work pretty good as well. You just have to go easy really. Anything will work using the right pressure. Don't grind the bejesus out of it. Maybe a small air pressure sander for more intricate work?

Even spot welding looks fine by itself if you are decently skilled. Or if you could do one single pass and make it look nice you wouldn't have to mess around with it. Just depends how skilled you are with Mig welding and how nice you want them to look.

Yeah I hear what you're saying, in shops you learn different languages/units of measure. Rarely does anyone use "proper names" or do anything "proper" for that matter.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I have dozens of ashtrays.

However, I find ashing on my shirt is the most likely outcome whenever I smoke.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

:rI believe I may have seen this method in action.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

:r

Definitely

That or the wind blows the ash off onto the deck. No wonder my Stinky could last months.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Latest and greatest is that my friend knows a fabricator who can clean it up. He also shared his 2 cents. I find out the cost of the final prototype tomorrow afternoon. That is going to determine several things. One of the being, is this something that people will be willing to buy and is it something that is worth trying to do. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have some good news about this as well as some pics of the final prototype.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Cool.

If you make it out to Ratter's this Saturday, hopefully Jakey-poo will be there, talk shop with him. The guy knows his ****.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I like the concept...especially the deep holders and agree they could be shorter. I was tired of looking for a place to put my cigar down in my shop so I stopped what I was doing and turned and milled an ashtray out of aluminum...looks pretty cool but it killed a good 2 hours of my time.
For the guy that posted the links comparing prices...you posted auction links of items that didn't sell...one of the similar items a little ways down was listed at $30.
At any rate...nice idea...I hope it works for you.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

So here is the latest. this is the second prototype that was done. Notice the bigger bowl and that I extended the holder part into the bowl a little so if you need to ash before it falls onto your shirt or floor, you can. This is also the prototype that was taken to a fabricator to make a cleaned up one. The cleaned up one will be brushed stainless steel. So, it will still have some weight to it. Also notice that the cigar in the holder is a nice average size cigar and you would have no problems picking it up or putting it down. One thing I didn't like about some of the ashtrays you can get now is how short the holders are and that the cigar tends to end up with the burning end in the ash. I think that takes away from the taste a little. With having it as long as it is, you don't have to worry about that ash taste on your tasty cigar.-(P

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I can't speak for Tom, but I think he was just trying to provide an idea as to what other, possibly similar ashtrays are going for.

The one I posted above (http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showpo...81&postcount=7) is very similar in style to what the OP is building and sells for anywhere from $10 to $20 plus shipping. (If you want specifics on non-auction sites that carry this ashtray at these prices let me know.)

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

They were still up for auction when I posted them, and the point now is they didn't sell...even at a price point significantly lower than the OP had mentioned earlier. Not sure what point you are trying to make? :confused: I was just trying to give the OP some examples to consider in his research of the project.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I like it!

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

You and CigarNut are right...looking back at the posts and my post and mine comes out total nonsense. My apologies to you icehog3...I'm going to go smoke a Gurkha and think about what I've done. Next time I won't be so fast to type...

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

No need to apologize to me, good that you're looking out for your fellow Brothers of the Leaf...I just wanted to make sure you know I wasn't trying to sabotage his idea, just giving him some potential benchmarks. It's all good, my friend. :tu

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I have no hurt feelings from all the input that has been posted. This is moving along nicely and I should be getting the final prototype tomorrow. Can't wait to see it.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

So the latest and greatest is that the prototype is finally completed. I will post pics of it tomorrow after I pic it up. I am still working on the pricing and should also have a final price range tomorrow too.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Cant wait to see. Ill be lookin forward to the post. You guys might have something there, Keep at it!!:tu

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

On my way to pick it up and talk with my business partner about the ashtray. Should have pics and prices up tonight. Might have a website up soon too.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I must be doing it wrong. All the cigars I smoke have ash on the burning end. :sh

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

:r When i read that I thought the same thing, looking forward to the new pics though.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Here are pics of the final prototype. I am still working on the final pricing and a place to do the fabricating. If anyone is interested, I will take pre-orders but will not be able to delver till January or February of 2010. If you want one that badly, and I get at least 15 to 20 pre-orders, I can do them for $40-$60. If you pre-order and can wait till I get the production cost down, it will be less. Again, I am still working on final pricing and hope to have it done soon. I will keep everyone who is interested updated as much as I can. If you would like to pre-order send me a PM. No payment is required until I give confirmation on the pricing. I would like to get a number as to how many I need to have made by the end of the month.

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Ever have a cigar slip all the way into the ashtray?

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

It's just a jump to the left

And then a step to the right

With your hands on your hips

You bring your knees in tight
But it's the pelvic thrust
That really drives you insane
Let's do the Time Warp again
Let's do the Time Warp again...

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

oops...meant 2011....Boy I suck with this year thing...

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PWa6ZF6gbA...is_whoohoo.jpg

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I liked that show!

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Yes, I liked it too. (stress the past tense).

Past tense. Christopher Eccleston is a wonderfully talented actor, and anyone less than his caliber could never have brought the show back from the graveyard, but as much as I loved the old Doctor WHO, I ended up tuning out mid season with Eccleston and have never seen an episode with Tennant nor whomever replaced him. Too much CGI, not enough cheese. I miss the campyness, low budget production, 4, 5, 6, 10 episode story arc scripts...

Someone else played the Doctor besides Tom Baker? :confused:
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

I can honestly say I haven't but I'm sure now you just jinxed the hell out of me and it will happen soon.:lr It looks good man, I am concerned it may be too big though from the pictures, does it not swallow the cigar to the point you have to slide the cigar out?

Re: New Ashtray Idea
 

Take into consideration the largest ring gauge that you could buy. Then look at all the ashtrays that you see. There really isn't one on the market that can take those big gauges very well.

Also with an "average" size cigar placed in the holder, there is no problem with getting your fingers around the cigar to pick it up again. When you place a 36-40 gauge cigar in it, the sides come up to even with the top of it. It is wide enough to fit even the largest gauge cigars.

With the length of the holder, being able to set down even the longest cigars is no problem. Even if you have thick fingers.