Tired of this?????

Also distributed exclusively by Simron is a really remarkable new device. From the inventive mind of an engineer I've come to know by the name of Curt Post, the age old problem with tobacco falling out of your sticks when they are in your cigarette case has been solved. It has always been annoying when traveling only to find that as you near the end of your supply of sticks, even in a very good case, one begins to find increasing amounts of loose tobacco in the case, tobacco that should have remained in the stick. Since the tobaccos most used in CMC are free from any binders or adhesives to make the tobacco in tubes more sticky, this was a problem I assumed would always persist. Usually when walking with the case in a pocket, I simply carried my case filter tip down. That actually works to a degree but if the sticks have been in there very long, even when you take them out, the tobacco has dried and will begin to fall out. Once lit the tobacco becomes stable but you can loose a good amount in the meantime.

Curt contacted me well over a year ago about his first prototype of what has now become the CASSPIN CLOSER. I was immediately struck by the lack of such a device and was none too happy I had not thought of it myself. A few months later, and once things started looking like they would lead to a real product, we introduced Curt to Ron Moscovitch at Simron International who has and continues to perform, his own brand of magic. Those two had a finished nicely packaged final product within a few weeks. I like people who can take a good idea and move on it. Yes, a lot of testing by all concerned went into the CASSPIN CLOSER and some of the early prototypes were pretty strange looking. We'll show later, just a bit below, photos of a whole box full of prototypes I have that ultimately led to the final product. I suspect my "stash" represent a small fraction of what Curt came up with and to this day he continues to send me new gadgets. Like a tiny key chain held injector THAT WORKS! The Closer is truly an inspired piece of engineering, elegantly simple but incredibly effective. And the developmental journey was almost as interesting as the incredibly efficient final product. Curt like many creative people took a look at the world around him and asked the simple question - What's missing? This kind of intellectual curiosity and energy to follow through is much too rare in our country and it hints quite strongly at perhaps the most effective solution to our economic woes. Simply put, think of what you would like to be able to buy to perform a specific function and if it does not exist, CREATE IT. America has always been an extraordinarily creative society. Now Curt is a full time engineer and did all of this in his spare time. The point is he made the time - as can we all when we really want to. The world is full of product vacuums and vacuums prefer to be filled. Really an inspiring example of what is possible with a little thinking, a little effort and a knack for seeing beyond the obvious "what is" to the more esoteric "what can or should be". So here we show you graphics of the CASSPIN CLOSER later to be followed by a comprehensive video exploration of this ingenious device.

Basically what it does is allow the user to place a filled tube into its maw/opening (a round recessed cup with a shaped bottom), push the small button on its side and as the very long lasting 9 volt battery powered motor spins the cup, the end of your stick is formed, looking not unlike the way a shotgun shell is sealed. The animation above left show two of many degrees of closing, from a pinpoint hole with "squared off" corners to a folded bevel to keep the tobacco in your stick. You can adjust how much closing you want by simply pushing a filled tube a little more aggressively or very gently. And it works every time. Further, it helps to pack the very end of the filled tube (which is usually the softest part of a stick) much more evenly which in turn causes the entire stick to burn with much increased consistency. This was an unintended consequence which turns out to be really useful for those large cut tobacco filled sticks that keep dropping their "cherries". And after a day of walking 18 holes of golf, there is not on flake of tobacco in my cigarette case, it all is still in the tubes. Again a video will follow soon but for now take a look at what the "toy box" of an inventor looks like. Remember the familiar and inspiring story of Thomas Edison who when asked "why he failed two thousand times to make a working light bulb?", his response was, "I didn't fail two thousand times to make a light bulb, I simply found out several thousand ways how NOT to make one. Failure is a great teacher and in fact failure is really not failure at all, it is the foundation of true learning. Here's the collection (likely no more than 10% ) of a small number Curt's formative experiments and with each one he learned how not to do something until he ultimately learned HOW. Eureka!!! Oh and by the way he IS a professional and he has patent pendings on all of his designs including the variable speed control on Simron's Easy Roller. Many of the attempts below were finger driven and very small. Some looked more like the Jupiter 2 of "Lost In Space". Most were powered by batteries. It is pretty easy to attach an off center weight on a turning shaft. It'll vibrate like hell! Hmmm . . . I wonder . . . .??? Dual Purpose!!!!