julieooly
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721 
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Post by julieooly on Nov 9, 2019 19:46:34 GMT -5
I think I have a crappy dop pot, and I even had to return the first one I got because the black finish was totally flaking off everywhere. This one seems to take FOREVER to get ready.....
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Post by stonemon on Nov 9, 2019 20:37:35 GMT -5
I don't use dops...... unless it is less than 10mm. Then I use a hot plate I have in the shop with a metal lid. Sorry I can not help.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Nov 9, 2019 20:40:15 GMT -5
Depends how full it is. Under half full maybe 15-20 minutes but when it is full a good half hour to get really thin.
Chuck
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 9, 2019 20:44:25 GMT -5
I have a gooseneck lamp with an old fashioned 60 watt bulb. I pull the lamp shade over the dop. It heats a lot faster. But, it heats too fast sometimes. Ya gotta watch it. When you overheat your wax the solvent burns out of it and it gets more brittle and doesn't hold as well. So, slow is a good way to go, unless you want to watch it carefully.
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julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721
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Post by julieooly on Nov 10, 2019 13:53:56 GMT -5
Depends how full it is. Under half full maybe 15-20 minutes but when it is full a good half hour to get really thin. Chuck Yeah, I'm at an hour for soft.... and not even super soft |
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julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721
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Post by julieooly on Nov 10, 2019 13:56:56 GMT -5
I have a gooseneck lamp with an old fashioned 60 watt bulb. I pull the lamp shade over the dop. It heats a lot faster. But, it heats too fast sometimes. Ya gotta watch it. When you overheat your wax the solvent burns out of it and it gets more brittle and doesn't hold as well. So, slow is a good way to go, unless you want to watch it carefully. Yeah, definitely a problem at an hour or more, I'll try adding my lamp. When I saw your dopped stones on IG I knew I had an issue. It used to work much better now it just sucks and takes me so much longer to get the job finished. It seems to fluctuate temperatures, sometimes its better than other times. One day it was working properly and I burnt the *** out of my palm. Instant blister but I was still able to cab and the cool water running over it was great. I should get a new one, maybe when I treat myself to the sintered wheel. Hello Santa! |
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rixrocks
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2019
Posts: 51
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Post by rixrocks on Nov 23, 2019 10:26:12 GMT -5
I gave up on the dop pot and just super glue the cab to the head of a wood screw. I have dop sticks with a hole drilled in them to screw the cab into it after the super glue sets. To get the cab off the screw when finished, I heat the screw with a small torch and it drops off.
It's worked better for me so far.
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Post by manofglass on Nov 23, 2019 10:48:02 GMT -5
Stick a tuna fish can on your coffee pot
Heater put your wax in it cover the can
With a piece of metal it will melt the wax
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 23, 2019 10:52:55 GMT -5
Stick a tuna fish can on your coffee pot Heater put your wax in it cover the can With a piece of metal it will melt the wax Do you think a coffee cup warmer would do? |
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Post by manofglass on Nov 23, 2019 11:09:52 GMT -5
Try it to see I took a old coffee pot apart
To just use the warmer for my back up dip pot
My other dip pot uses a 100watt light bulb
That sets under a soup can my shop room temperature
Is 55 degrees that affects the wax some
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julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721
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Post by julieooly on Nov 23, 2019 16:17:01 GMT -5
Stick a tuna fish can on your coffee pot Heater put your wax in it cover the can With a piece of metal it will melt the wax Do you think a coffee cup warmer would do? Maybe it would but I don't have one  |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Nov 25, 2019 2:28:14 GMT -5
In addition to a coffee pot heater as others have mentioned, an old electric skillet with a temperature control works, as does an old Mattel "Thingmaker" oven, or an electric burn-in oven like the ones used for melting shellac sticks for furniture repair burn-ins. Most of the light bulb heated dop pots I have used don't get quite hot enough to get a good dop for cabbing.
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Post by manofglass on Nov 25, 2019 9:56:15 GMT -5
My light bulb dop pot works good
Have to heat the stone to get a good bond
I have not had many come off I also run warm
Water to the cabber
I use that more then the coffee pot
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Post by knave on Jan 17, 2020 14:45:14 GMT -5
Is dop wax special or different than candle wax?
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Post by mohs on Jan 17, 2020 15:01:38 GMT -5
don't know all the difference between real dop and regular wax
pretty sure that candle/regular wax
as to much parafin content
to be effective
that would be my thought
altho I never tried
I did use candle wax to clean out the old dop wax
from my pot by adding
wax candle and heating it
the old dop came out
slippery clean
thing is-- you have to be sure to wipe the dop pot
out really
really good
regular wax is to slippery
mohsstly
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 17, 2020 16:47:40 GMT -5
Is dop wax special or different than candle wax? If I remember right, dop wax is (genuine) shellac, solvent and other stuff. If overheated, the solvent burns out, leaving it useless. |
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Post by knave on Jan 17, 2020 16:48:34 GMT -5
Stickier than other wax then.
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Post by Starguy on Jan 23, 2020 15:07:58 GMT -5
Stickier and much harder when cool. I think rockjunquie is right about it being shellac. It smells similar when heating. |
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Post by pauls on Jan 23, 2020 17:25:06 GMT -5
Dop wax is sealing wax, like the stuff that used to be used on legal documents.
Mix in a bit of flake Shellac and a bit of Plaster of Paris and you have dop wax, more shellac makes it stickier more POP makes it harder. There were various recipes around the place back in the 60s when just about everything had to be home made because it was difficult or impossible to buy.
Rockjunqie is correct about the solvent evaporating, once that has gone it becomes a rubbery goo, useless for anything, I have tried to figure out what the solvent is and if it's possible to rejuvenate old wax but my experiments have all failed miserably.
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