Hello all!
I’m sure you’re familiar with the Four Thieves Vinager Collective and their various projects. I find them intriguing and I’d like to explore what they have to offer but I’d like to know–has anyone tried it/built it? How did it work?
Thanks in advance!
Hey. I haven’t built one yet but I’ve been thinking about it. I just don’t think I have the bandwidth for drug synthesis right now. I was hoping to practice producing some estradiol as a backup for friends, and maybe insulin as a stretch goal, but that would likely require some modification of the apparatus. Sometimes they call it a “bioreactor” but I don’t think the intention is to grow anything in it 
I know some of the members from Grindfest, so if you have any specific questions I can relay them to the team. I’m not sure how they’re hosting a support forum or whatever, I can ask. The software tools like ChemHacktica and the Apothecarium look pretty robust from the videos I’ve seen. They’ve been working on it for awhile.
Thanks for responding, first of all!
I’d love to get in touch with them directly, or with anyone who’s actually built this thing. Like you, I’m thinking about it as a backup for friends and loved ones should things take an ugly turn. I’d also be interested in volunteering with FTVC, but their response to my email inquiry was nebulous at best.
Yeah I’m not surprised. They’re a small team and their intention is to disrupt one of the biggest industries on earth, so they’re understandable insular. Mixhael also does a lot of antagonistic stunts that get him in trouble and he’s a bit of a character…he’s passionate I guess you could say.
I’ll reach out to them and see what the next steps would be.
Apparently there’s no official communication channel for the community after the MicroLab subreddit got nuked. One of the team members provided this if you want to get involved.
Thank you so much for sending this my way. I’ll follow up!