Cold weather cabbing- A new way to dop
Jan 5, 2018 14:21:55 GMT -5
drocknut, RWA3006, and 8 more like this
Post by rockjunquie on Jan 5, 2018 14:21:55 GMT -5
As a lot of you know, I used to not cab in the winter. I have complained often enough about it that minerken came to my rescue. He asked me to try out a new dop system he had been working on. After I tried it out we tweaked it just a hair and declared it awesome!
If you want, you can read about it on my blog, too. Otherwise keep reading.
My problem had been that I don't keep my house hot in the winter. It is comfortable to us, but the wax hated it. My preform would go flying. So, I needed a better way to cab. I can't use my hands because I generally keep longer nails and sometimes my fingers have psoriasis on them.
Ken designed an aluminum dop system with a comfortable, easy grip knurled handle and the heads that go in it. It is similar to what faceters use and similar to one sold by DP. BUT, the DP one uses a screw type head. I had considered that one before I got Ken's, but I didn't like the screw. I often work with my fingers low on the stick, near the stone. The screw looked very uncomfortable.
Ken thought of everything. The idea is to have a bunch of heads with preglued precabs ready to insert in the handle and lock down with a set screw. The first handle that I tried was incredible. I was cabbing away with no issues, but we talked about it and Ken decided to taper the head a bit to make it easier to clear the wheels at odd tight angles. That one works even better. I use just a dab of CA glue to secure the stone. What I have been doing is, after using the 100k wheel, while the stone is still pretty warm, I just pop it off the head. But, you can freeze (it takes a long time), or heat, or use acetone to release the stone. You have to make sure that the stone and the head are clean before attaching. I just wipe them down with acetone.
I have tried various ways of dopping with no success. This system has really worked well for me. We are experiencing record cold, and I do mean cold, so my cabbing water has just been too cold for my fingers. I haven't been able to cab in a bit, but by Mon we should be back into 50. I'll do some more cabbing then.
minerken is not doing this to get rich, but he is open to doing trades for it if you are interested. You can message him to discuss things. He'll even make it to the length you want. He is making them one at a time.
If you want, you can read about it on my blog, too. Otherwise keep reading.
My problem had been that I don't keep my house hot in the winter. It is comfortable to us, but the wax hated it. My preform would go flying. So, I needed a better way to cab. I can't use my hands because I generally keep longer nails and sometimes my fingers have psoriasis on them.
Ken designed an aluminum dop system with a comfortable, easy grip knurled handle and the heads that go in it. It is similar to what faceters use and similar to one sold by DP. BUT, the DP one uses a screw type head. I had considered that one before I got Ken's, but I didn't like the screw. I often work with my fingers low on the stick, near the stone. The screw looked very uncomfortable.
Ken thought of everything. The idea is to have a bunch of heads with preglued precabs ready to insert in the handle and lock down with a set screw. The first handle that I tried was incredible. I was cabbing away with no issues, but we talked about it and Ken decided to taper the head a bit to make it easier to clear the wheels at odd tight angles. That one works even better. I use just a dab of CA glue to secure the stone. What I have been doing is, after using the 100k wheel, while the stone is still pretty warm, I just pop it off the head. But, you can freeze (it takes a long time), or heat, or use acetone to release the stone. You have to make sure that the stone and the head are clean before attaching. I just wipe them down with acetone.
I have tried various ways of dopping with no success. This system has really worked well for me. We are experiencing record cold, and I do mean cold, so my cabbing water has just been too cold for my fingers. I haven't been able to cab in a bit, but by Mon we should be back into 50. I'll do some more cabbing then.
minerken is not doing this to get rich, but he is open to doing trades for it if you are interested. You can message him to discuss things. He'll even make it to the length you want. He is making them one at a time.