chassroc
Cave Dweller 
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
|
Post by chassroc on Jan 3, 2022 14:34:55 GMT -5
I have a Rock Rascal plug in dop pot that softens but not get wax to a drippy stage. I have worked around the issue with a mini butane torch but I wonder if there is a better solution.
I keep the pot inside a box covered with bobble wrap to retain heat.
I'm thinking my wax may contain "impurities". Despite having only green wax, the wax in the pot seems quite dark. I reuse wax from earlier cabs.
Anyone else observe this behavior?
Charlie
|
|
|
|
Post by rockjunquie on Jan 3, 2022 14:46:01 GMT -5
I have a Rock Rascal plug in dop pot that softens but not get wax to a drippy stage. I have worked around the issue with a mini butane torch but I wonder if there is a better solution. I keep the pot inside a box covered with bobble wrap to retain heat. I'm thinking my wax may contain "impurities". Despite having only green wax, the wax in the pot seems quite dark. I reuse wax from earlier cabs. Anyone else observe this behavior? Charlie Hi Charlie!
I have a dop station brand. When the wax is slow to melt, I bend a gooseneck bulb over it, being careful not to overheat it. My green wax also changes color with age. I use it for quite a long time. When the cabs fly off, it's time to replace. There are different waxes out there now. I tried one of the cheap ones and it was awful. I threw it out.
|
|
|
|
Post by stephan on Jan 3, 2022 21:10:32 GMT -5
Wax does seem to “expire” after a number of reuses. Never figured out how many it’s good for, but getting dark is a sign. It seems like you have an excuse to use the torch.
|
|
agatewhisperer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2020
Posts: 836
|
Post by agatewhisperer on Jan 3, 2022 21:46:46 GMT -5
I'll add some info from my experience in hopes you can use it. I started with a dark green wax bought new from a rock shop. Worked great, melted easily in the dop pot to an easy consistency to work with, dried a nice glossy green. After about a year I started having cabs fall off so it was time for some new wax.
Got some new wax, thought it was the same thing but it was a little lighter green. Threw it in the dop pot and had a real hard time melting it. It did end up melting but was never liquid enough to easily work with. Once I got it on the dop sticks... dang that stuff worked good and am still using it. However now I just use an alcohol lamp to heat everything to do it more quickly.
Not sure what the message is but maybe that helps with another perspective. Don't give up on it and consider an alternate way of heating the wax if it's not working out.
|
|
|
|
Post by stephan on Jan 3, 2022 23:30:34 GMT -5
To “revive” the wax, you can melt some, and gradually stir in shaved or shredded beeswax to lower the melting point. A little bit of hot glue can make it stickier. Stir in gradually and test periodically. It’s easy to overshoot
|
|
chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
|
Post by chassroc on Jan 4, 2022 9:50:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies
I have removed as much old green wax as I can and have started adding new shavings etc..
I will add some hot glue to see what happens with that
Check back in a week or two.
I have never bought wax myself!
Much of my equipment is second hand or older.
Charlie
|
|
|
|
Post by roy on Jan 4, 2022 11:39:38 GMT -5
hey Charlie good to hear from you
|
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 4, 2022 21:55:36 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies I have removed as much old green wax as I can and have started adding new shavings etc.. I will add some hot glue to see what happens with that Check back in a week or two. I have never bought wax myself! Much of my equipment is second hand or older. Charlie The other thing you can try is adding shellac to it. That's what makes it sticky in the first place. I use the old alcohol lamp method, so I've never actually tried it that way, but I do paint it on my cabs before I dop them and they never come off the dop when I do that. |
|
agatewhisperer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2020
Posts: 836
|
Post by agatewhisperer on Jan 4, 2022 22:04:11 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies I have removed as much old green wax as I can and have started adding new shavings etc.. I will add some hot glue to see what happens with that Check back in a week or two. I have never bought wax myself! Much of my equipment is second hand or older. Charlie The other thing you can try is adding shellac to it. That's what makes it sticky in the first place. I use the old alcohol lamp method, so I've never actually tried it that way, but I do paint it on my cabs before I dop them and they never come off the dop when I do that. I was going to try this when you suggested it to me several months ago but didn't need to since the new wax was super sticky. Had a few questions though... with the extra shellac, does it still come off just as easy in the freezer? Is there any extra cleanup needed? And, do you need to let the shellac dry before dopping? |
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 4, 2022 22:21:10 GMT -5
The other thing you can try is adding shellac to it. That's what makes it sticky in the first place. I use the old alcohol lamp method, so I've never actually tried it that way, but I do paint it on my cabs before I dop them and they never come off the dop when I do that. I was going to try this when you suggested it to me several months ago but didn't need to since the new wax was super sticky. Had a few questions though... with the extra shellac, does it still come off just as easy in the freezer? Is there any extra cleanup needed? And, do you need to let the shellac dry before dopping? Usually it comes off just as easy in the freezer. I have had a couple where it had a real good grip and I had to leave it in the freezer longer than I usually do. I usually use a cotton swab dipped in denatured alcohol to clean any residue that's left. Takes a couple of seconds.
My dopping method is different because I use an alcohol lamp and I dissolve some stick shellac in a very small jar of denatured alcohol. Then I just paint it on the stone with a little paint brush. It doesn't take long to dry - maybe 5 or 10 seconds. If I were going to use a dop pot, I'd probably put a little bit of shellac flakes directly into the dop pot with the wax, let it melt and mix it up good. I don't know how much, but I'd start out with just a little and add more if you need more stickiness. I don't think you'd want to put too much in, so I'd experiment with a little at a time.
|
|
rixrocks
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2019
Posts: 51
|
Post by rixrocks on Jan 15, 2022 11:08:08 GMT -5
I gave up on using the dop wax for my cabs. For some reason the dop was always going bad and it was more trouble than it was worth to me. I now put a dab of super glue on the stone and apply activator to a screw and it sets immediately. The activator is the key for fast set up.I then use the wooden dop sticks that I drilled a hole in the end so I can screw the piece into the stick. To remove, I heat the screw with a handheld butane torch and it falls right off.
|
|
|
|
Post by victor1941 on Jan 15, 2022 12:44:07 GMT -5
I use dop wax in a homemade wax pot. I made my own melting container by combining a commercial pot that didn't work by inserting the cup into a small electric box with a 100 watt bulb. The bulb provided a 150 degree heat source needed to heat the wax. I also reuse the wax and add new wax to the existing wax to get a good melt. My pot has a 3/4" insulating foam around the outside to help retain heat. My method also requires clean cabs which are stacked on the top for preheating. This process does work even with colder weather but does take longer to heat.
|
|
