Dop wax problem

[Ajo]

Hi Everyone! Happy 4th! I have  been having a problem with my dop wax. I get to my final stage of polishing and the cab pops off. I bought a new dop pot thinking that the wax was'nt getting hot enough to get a good bond. It still is happening, but not a often. Any tips? Eric.

[travelerga]

Round up the usual suspects. clean stone where the wax will be. warm stone,hot wax. Do not letthe stone and wax get cold " like 40 deg or less". Do not let the stone get to hot while  you are polishing it. make surethe waxis clean  and has not been thinned.
hope this helps.
mike

[Bluesssman]

Yea, what Mike said!!

I was having a similar problem and started making sure the back of the stone was really clean. I think I had a little cutting oil still on it. I started using a brush and dishwashing soap to really clean them. I also made sure the stone was warm enough to let the wax flow well. I have not had a problem since.


Gary

[akansan]

One problem I had was that I wasn't letting the wax completely set before cabbing.  It would be cool to the touch, but it (the wax) would develop cracks while I was working on the stone.  By the time I got to the last wheel, the wax would finally give and the stone would come off.  I admit to having a patience issue sometimes, though.  If I let the dopped stone wait a day rather than 30-45 minutes after dopping, I didn't have these problems.

[Ajo]

Thanks, Gary and Mike. I will make sure the slab is very clean. I will give it a try. Eric.

[Taogem]

When I bought my new dop pot, the heating element was very loose. I had to make sure that element was pressed tightly up against the bottom of the pot.

So if your was is not getting hot enough, maybe take it apart and double check that element.

Although maybe not highly recommended, I use a propane bottle torch on some minerals before applying my dop.. Not extreme heat, but hotter than what the dop pot offers. Never with agates, but many others.

I also use metal dops. I heat the ends with the torch as well before dipping in the wax.

Now all this extra heating does add to some discomfort to the fingers because the extra heat results in the wax having to be formed around the base of the dop and back of the stone by hand.

Not sure if any of that makes any sense, but it works for me.. I also use warm water when I decide to use a dop. Cooler water acts just like cooler air, and can make the wax brittle, and also shrink a bit resulting in it coming off the back of the stone.  The warm water remedies this for me.

Rather than dish soap, I also use the torch for removing oil left from the saw.. Does not take a lot of heat, and again, do not use for agates, but a little heat from the torch you can actually see the oil burn off.

Don't flame me too bad about the torch use ! 

[bobby1]

Another thing that weakens the dop wax is contamination from the polish residue. I very thoroughly clean the cab and dop stick while they are still attached in my ultrasonic cleaner. If it isn't well cleaned each time, the polish builds up and weakens the bonding capability of the wax.
Bob