Flattening experiment (1 Viewer)

[upNdown]

I was surprised by how many of the dunes baccarat $20’s were warped. I’d say at least 1/3 of them aren’t perfect. But I took this handful of really bad ones:

and I stuck them under a heavy speaker in my sun room. That room, with the windows shut, gets up over 100 on sunny hot days, so that may help to soften them up. Anyway, I’ll give them a few days and see what happens.

 

[Josh Kifer]

I was surprised by how many of the dunes baccarat $20’s were warped. I’d say at least 1/3 of them aren’t perfect. But I took this handful of really bad ones:
View attachment 979185

and I stuck them under a heavy speaker in my sun room. That room, with the windows shut, gets up over 100 on sunny hot days, so that may help to soften them up. Anyway, I’ll give them a few days and see what happens.

View attachment 979186

I can flatten those for you normally..... Promise it'll work...

 

[Rieguy]

I would recommend the more reliable methods. I'm cringing at the possibility of these beauts getting squished beyond repair.

 

[Poker Zombie]

I'd be extremely concerned that uncontrolled pressure would overly squish them. Loss of the mold, slop in the rack, even bulging edges. A C-clamp can give you just the pressure you need

 

[upNdown]

Meh, it’s only a half barrel and they’re the worst ones. They’ve been there for about 24 hours now. I’ll check on them later today.

 

[Josh Kifer]

I'd be extremely concerned that uncontrolled pressure would overly squish them. Loss of the mold, slop in the rack, even bulging edges. A C-clamp can give you just the pressure you need

Odds are I doubt they get hot enough to do a ton. It'll prob fix some of the warping, but I gotta get to 130ish on Paulson's to get the warping to fade and stick. Even at 120 the warps will hang around IMO.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Odds are I doubt they get hot enough to do a ton. It'll prob fix some of the warping, but I gotta get to 130ish on Paulson's to get the warping to fade and stick. Even at 120 the warps will hang around IMO.

Yeah, I guess the northern location plays into the equation. Here in Tennessee, a sunroom can hit 130 before noon. Great for drying herbs, not great for chips.

 

[Josh Kifer]

Yeah, I guess the northern location plays into the equation. Here in Tennessee, a sunroom can hit 130 before noon. Great for drying herbs, not great for chips.

It'll be totally dependant on if the room really does get light and even heat. I should make a car chip press for flattening while at the movies....

 

[upNdown]

Well, they’re noticeably better. Still a far cry from perfect, but they don’t look like the circus is in town any more. I’m sure I should just buy some planks and find a clamp and cook them right.
Any reason a big old vice wouldn’t work? Maybe with the heating pad method? Though that vice could be a giant heat sucker. Hmm.

 

[Colquhoun]

The amount of pressure needed is surprisingly small. I use a hand clamp with JUST enough pressure that 10 chips with spacers doesn’t fall out of the clamp…that’s not much pressure at all.
For spacers, any ceramic will do. I haven’t had any issues with color transfer using DDLMs as spacers.
The right temp is important. Too much and they’ll ruin, to little and the warp may come back.

 

[umbkcshah]

Silly thought - has anyone used a sous vide bath as the heat source? Probably a terrible idea.

 

[brains613]

Silly thought - has anyone used a sous vide bath as the heat source? Probably a terrible idea.

Oh shit! I love this idea and never considered it.

What else might I need? I'll have to to sacrifice a few chips in the experiment.

Vacuum seal a small stack, put a C-clamp on it, and drop it in the water bath?

 

[BlueChipSpecial]

Oh shit! I love this idea and never considered it.

What else might I need? I'll have to to sacrifice a few chips in the experiment.

Vacuum seal a small stack, put a C-clamp on it, and drop it in the water bath?

If you have a decent vacuum sealer, you might not even need the c-clamp if you can get the chips to stack properly when you seal them.

Who has warped chips they're willing to let me experiment on?

 

[Colquhoun]

Silly thought - has anyone used a sous vide bath as the heat source? Probably a terrible idea.

Before I ever used the heating pad for the first time, there had been a few posts about possibly heating chips using warm water. Problem was, I had no way of keeping the water a consistent, repeatable heat, so I thought of a heating pad.
As long as you can get water to the right temp each time, it should work the same way.
However, I’m not a fan of the “clamp first, then heat”…I like, “heat first, then clamp”

 

[OfficerLovejoy]

I did some experiments with hot water / steam.
Problem was, when I did this, after clamping I baked any small amount of hooker juice on the chips right into the chip.

2/10 can't recommend.

 

[gmunny]

There's a thread somewhere that uses a heating pad and clamps with great results.

 

[Colquhoun]

There's a thread somewhere that uses a heating pad and clamps with great results.

This is the one I posted, I know there’s others.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/flattening-warped-chips.3903/page-5#post-1344277

 

[brains613]

If you have a decent vacuum sealer, you might not even need the c-clamp if you can get the chips to stack properly when you seal them.

Who has warped chips they're willing to let me experiment on?

Oh, I thought that was obvious. I know SOME peole sous vide with sandwich bags and that push-out-the-air method, but it's not for me. Definitely will be vacuum sealed.

In fact, I've used the sealer in the past to send chips. Kind of flatten the barrel out, seal it, then stack em in a SFRB. Worked great!

 

[brains613]

Before I ever used the heating pad for the first time, there had been a few posts about possibly heating chips using warm water. Problem was, I had no way of keeping the water a consistent, repeatable heat, so I thought of a heating pad.
As long as you can get water to the right temp each time, it should work the same way.
However, I’m not a fan of the “clamp first, then heat”…I like, “heat first, then clamp”

That's exactly what the sous vide is. I've even seen them referred to a "precision cooker". You put the device in a vat of water, and it heats the water to the temp you choose, and circulates water through it, keeping it at that temp.

I have to take a short road trip this afternoon, but I was thinking I'd give it a try when I get back. I'll have to work to find the most warped chips, though.

If someone has a few really bad ones they want to try, PM me and lets get em in the bath!

 

[billkell]

If you have a decent vacuum sealer, you might not even need the c-clamp if you can get the chips to stack properly when you seal them.

Who has warped chips they're willing to let me experiment on?

I have some warped chips from eBay that I might be willing to dedicate to science. They couldn’t possibly get worse.

 

[Josh Kifer]

Before I ever used the heating pad for the first time, there had been a few posts about possibly heating chips using warm water. Problem was, I had no way of keeping the water a consistent, repeatable heat, so I thought of a heating pad.
As long as you can get water to the right temp each time, it should work the same way.
However, I’m not a fan of the “clamp first, then heat”…I like, “heat first, then clamp”

So if it's light to mid warping, I prefer clamp then heat. It gives you a bit more protection from squishing the chips and losing thickness. Heavy warping, a little heat helps keep them relax in the first press.

 

[Colquhoun]

The problem in clamping first, is that it’s takes a long time for the chips to get an even heat throughout.
I lay them out in a single layer wrapped in a heating pad and they are heated through in less than 10 minutes. But my system doesn’t allow very many to be done at a time.