captg
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2018
Posts: 8
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Post by captg on Feb 27, 2019 16:53:26 GMT -5
Can you reuse dopp wax? I have been putting the pieces off dopp wax that I remove from the cabs back in the Doppler pot. Now I have a ball of wax that is like rubber and not melting very well. The pot is getting hot. I have new wax sticks on the way and will clean out the pot when they get here and replace all the wax with new. Guess I shouldn’t try to recycle it anymore.
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Post by manofglass on Feb 27, 2019 17:36:25 GMT -5
I reuse it all the time
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,176
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Post by RWA3006 on Feb 27, 2019 18:27:38 GMT -5
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Post by mohs on Feb 27, 2019 18:42:04 GMT -5
I reused also
Although I found that if the used wax wasn’t cleaned or after prolong reheating it lost some of its elasticity
of course-- I only doped a little still--- the good stuff took hold
mohsly
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 27, 2019 21:32:32 GMT -5
That is the problem with using a dop pot. Shellac is what is in the wax that makes it sticky. If it gets too hot, the shellac burns off and then you lose the sticky elasticity of the wax. One way to combat it is to not leave the dop pot on for any longer than you need to.
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Post by lpl on Feb 28, 2019 10:30:50 GMT -5
That is the problem with using a dop pot. Shellac is what is in the wax that makes it sticky. If it gets too hot, the shellac burns off and then you lose the sticky elasticity of the wax. One way to combat it is to not leave the dop pot on for any longer than you need to. Very much this. I have heard that you can go to a hardware store and get some shellac and add some back in to the wax in the dop pot. I haven't done this yet, but next time my wax loses it's 'sticky', I'm going to try it.
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Post by pauls on Feb 28, 2019 21:14:53 GMT -5
I reuse wax, I also don't use a wax pot.
Wax also goes off over time, some vital substance evaporates and is gone, the result is a rubbery ball of useless. I have tried adding various things inclusing beeswax and shellac and various solvents to this rubber but it seems once it gets to that stage thats the end of it.
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captg
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2018
Posts: 8
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Post by captg on Feb 28, 2019 22:03:14 GMT -5
Being a noobie to this hobby i did not do enough research on dopp pots and wax. I left the pot on for extended lengths of time and over cooked the wax. I got all old wax out and new in. Much better. Now I turn on pot, dopp stones and turn pot back off. Thanks for all the input. I am still having issues posting pictures but I’ll get it figured out. Thanks again.
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captg
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2018
Posts: 8
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Post by captg on Feb 28, 2019 23:13:50 GMT -5
Being a noobie to this hobby i did not do enough research on dopp pots and wax. I left the pot on for extended lengths of time and over cooked the wax. I got all old wax out and new in. Much better. Now I turn on pot, dopp stones and turn pot back off. Thanks for all the input. I am still having issues posting pictures but I’ll get it figured out. Thanks again.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 1, 2019 9:22:55 GMT -5
Follow the steps exactly and posting pics is as easy as clicking the Upload File button.
Good luck!
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Post by Rockoonz on Mar 1, 2019 15:40:40 GMT -5
I quit using wax years ago, got tired of the bond failing in cold weather, the messy hot pots, the smell. Now I use either 2 part epoxy or double stick tape on aluminum dop sticks with fantastic results.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Mar 1, 2019 16:01:32 GMT -5
I quit using wax years ago, got tired of the bond failing in cold weather, the messy hot pots, the smell. Now I use either 2 part epoxy or double stick tape on aluminum dop sticks with fantastic results.
What do you do to break the epoxy bond and to remove the epoxy on the dop?
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Post by bobby1 on Mar 2, 2019 2:20:57 GMT -5
Make sure that all of the polish is thoroughly removed from the dop stick before you reuse it. Polish contaminates the dop rather quickly.
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Post by Rockoonz on Mar 2, 2019 4:34:39 GMT -5
I quit using wax years ago, got tired of the bond failing in cold weather, the messy hot pots, the smell. Now I use either 2 part epoxy or double stick tape on aluminum dop sticks with fantastic results. What do you do to break the epoxy bond and to remove the epoxy on the dop?
I hold it with pliers over a butane or propane flame, heat just the aluminum for a few seconds while holding the stone with a rag and it pops right off. I immediately remove the epoxy with a knife or razor blade while it's still warm.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Mar 2, 2019 9:30:45 GMT -5
I hold it with pliers over a butane or propane flame, heat just the aluminum for a few seconds while holding the stone with a rag and it pops right off. I immediately remove the epoxy with a knife or razor blade while it's still warm.
Thanks. I'll have to give that a try. I don't have aluminum dops but I do have some aluminum rod I can experiment with. 5-minute epoxy?
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Post by Rockoonz on Mar 2, 2019 12:47:24 GMT -5
opalpyrexia I use the cheap harbor freight 5m epoxy, but I've used others with the same results. I try to line up several at a time. I made my own dops on a lathe. As you surely already know, you need to be careful with opal and other heat sensitive stones, that's where I use the double stick mounting tape.
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Post by stephan on Mar 2, 2019 22:29:49 GMT -5
opalpyrexia I use the cheap harbor freight 5m epoxy, but I've used others with the same results. I try to line up several at a time. I made my own dops on a lathe. As you surely already know, you need to be careful with opal and other heat sensitive stones, that's where I use the double stick mounting tape. Never would have imagined that even the strongest double stick tape would hold up. I use two-penny nails and superglue. With most agate, jasper or jade cabs, I can snap them off the nail by hand. Softer material calls for an acetone soak. Need to be careful, though. I recently got it wrong with a rhodonite cab that contained more bustamite than I thought. I snapped the cab in half instead 😭
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Post by Rockoonz on Mar 3, 2019 12:49:25 GMT -5
opalpyrexia I use the cheap harbor freight 5m epoxy, but I've used others with the same results. I try to line up several at a time. I made my own dops on a lathe. As you surely already know, you need to be careful with opal and other heat sensitive stones, that's where I use the double stick mounting tape. Never would have imagined that even the strongest double stick tape would hold up. I use two-penny nails and superglue. With most agate, jasper or jade cabs, I can snap them off the nail by hand. Softer material calls for an acetone soak. Need to be careful, though. I recently got it wrong with a rhodonite cab that contained more bustamite than I thought. I snapped the cab in half instead 😭 Cyanacrylates (superglue) also fail with heat, so heating your nails would probably help. As for double sided tape, I have used a 3m product, a Loctite product, and currently a Gorilla glue version. I like the Loctite best, but it's no longer available where I used to get it. I have never had a failure with any of them, but the way I cut cabs I almost always at least have a couple fingers on the rock and the dop is more of a guide than a handle. There is no reasonable way to do that on my 12" Richardsons leather polisher though, the place where most dop failures happen, and I've never had one fly across the room with the tape, happened too many times with wax. The dop sticks I use with double tape are t shaped. A friend in the club uses nails with various sized discs attached with JB weld and a lathe turned aluminum handle/nail holder that he has sold to quite a few members with good results. You definitely need more surface contact with the tape.
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