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[joleyred]

I recently bought a Cab King and at the same time I ordered a complete dop kit. That included wax and dowels. Of course I immediately went to work because I had several rough cabs to start with. The dop pot didn't seem to get hot enough for me to effectively get the dowel attached. The wax cooled before I could form it to keep it back from the edges of the stone. I called the company and they apologized and immediately sent out a replacement.  Great customer service. The second one arrived and it's actually worse. I checked the temperature of the first pot and it gets to 150 degrees. I'm not sure what to do, but this isn't working for me. Any ideas? I'm thinking one with adjustable temperature settings might be better. Thanks for any input.
Tim

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[vitzitziltecpatl]

I've wondered about the newer designs in dop pots. Have used a mug warmer and flat-bottomed metal cup. It will work if you can't find or fabricate one of the older styles.

Many people just warm the stone and then melt wax onto the stick directly by heating it in an alcohol lamp flame. Keep a cup of cool water close by for hot wax on the fingertips!

[joleyred]

I don't know about the older pots, but I can say the new ones are much to brag about. I wasn't crazy about the super glue option, but I think that might be better. I don't have a hot plate, and that sounds like a good idea, I just don't want to buy something else. I might watch for one at places like the Salvation army.  I saw in another thread about guys using screws or nails coupled with wine corks or dowels. That will be my next move most likely.

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[peruano]

A drop of super  glue, a roofing nail (clean and no oil), and a block of styrofoam to hold the nail upright and you are in business.  I hold the stone for a few seconds (15?) and let it set for an hour unless I use the instant set  spritz in which its ready to go immediately.  The wine cork makes a better handle for the nail, but you can glue directly to the cork if you don't like nails and have a big enough cab.
A tiny bit of heat from a microtorch on the nail when you are ready to remove it, and  it will pull off easily.  To reuse the nail just heat it until it smokes or better yet hit it with a wire brush to remove glue residues.    A touch of the back of the stone to any grit wheel will remove any glue residue.  EEZY - PEZZY.  My shop is too cold to use wax in the winter - the stones would pop every few minutes. 
I have a vintage wax station from Lortone (I believe).  Its nothing more than a inverted U of tin with a light bulb underneath.  Wax takes a long time to reach the right temp so I suspect you may have been hurrying the process or in possession of the wrong grade of wax. 

[joleyred]

Your roofing nail idea is what I think I will do. Thanks. As far as time for the dop pot to warm up, I had it on for 4 hours and the wax was barely melted and my shop is heated too. The wax I had is what was sent with the pot, so I would assume it's what would work. I was actually successful 5 or 6 times but you have to work fast. The temperature it comes out of the pot is so close to where it solidifies that I have maybe 15 seconds and it's hard. I will likely just abandon the wax and go the glue route. Thanks for your input.

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[gunsil]

Don't really need dop and sticks for much work. I was taught to cab by hand and have no problem doing it without dopping on stones down to 12x16 mm and it's very easy on anything over 14x20mm. For tiny stones it is necessary but not at all on larger pieces.

[vitzitziltecpatl]

Gunsil makes a good point. I rarely dop anything other than tiny stones, some opals, high-domes, or rounds.

After a while you might find sticks "get in the way" and just add more time to the process.

If you want to use nails - I do have a couple of opals super-glued to nails right now - pick up a cheap pin vise for a "handle".