Flattening Warped Chips (5 Viewers)

[Sprinsd]

This week I have been Flattening Grand Cardrooms in the oven. Works great. 170 degrees at 13.5 minutes and they are very flat... I'm using printed chipcos between chips and there is no color transfer. My question is , should I be concerned baking chips in the oven I eat out of! Is there still lead in the newer Paulsons? Anyone baking chips for a while experienced any growths or mutations?

 

[BGinGA]

No signicant amounts of lead in those GCRs.

Even if you flattened old-school Paulsons while baking or warming up food, I don't think there would be any degassing of lead involved.

 

[3betChet]

After buying the 100 ceramics off eBay, I'm disappointed with how wobbly they are and am sending them back (the last thing I want to do is try to flatten chips with ceramics that ARENT FLAT!) Anyone have experience with any leading ceramics manufacturer and knows that they send out good, flat chips?

 

[Shaggy]

After buying the 100 ceramics off eBay, I'm disappointed with how wobbly they are and am sending them back (the last thing I want to do is try to flatten chips with ceramics that ARENT FLAT!) Anyone have experience with any leading ceramics manufacturer and knows that they send out good, flat chips?

How are you checking the flatness of the ceramic blank?

 

[Mental Nomad]

170 degrees at 13.5 minutes and they are very flat... should I be concerned baking chips in the oven I eat out of! Is there still lead?

The melting point of lead is 621.5 degrees F, so it's not going to melt... and it doesn't boil until 3280 degrees. It's possible to produce some lead vapor when melting lead, but the oven temp you're talking about is way below melting point.

The way we usually get exposed to lead is through dust (like leaded paint flakes) or through corrosive water (acidic or corrosive water will leach lead and other minerals out of solids.) So if you're keeping it dry, and not breaking the chips into dust in the process, your oven is perfectly safe for food.

 

[3betChet]

How are you checking the flatness of the ceramic blank?

I am holding a stack and pinching the sides, when they splay out and light shows through I presume it isn't flat. As compared to a barrel of mint paulsons that absolutely doesn't move when pinched. Also, prevalence of spinners.

 

[Mental Nomad]

I am holding a stack and pinching the sides, when they splay out and light shows through I presume it isn't flat. As compared to a barrel of mint paulsons that absolutely doesn't move when pinched. Also, prevalence of spinners.

That may not be the best test... Paulsons have a recessed center and raised rim, so they should never be spinners. A ceramic can have a slight convexity (raised center) while still being perfectly even and fine for pressing, but the raised center will cause spinners.

Chipcos used to be made slightly convex (raised rim) to avoid wear on the face, so they would pass your test with flying colors, but that would also make them a bad choice for pressing; you might be pinching the rims on every Paulson you press.

Might be better off holding a metal straightedge to it and looking for light. Alternately, put one on a good flat surface, and hold the first inch of a good metal straight edge tightly on top. The other end of the straight edge, being a foot or so away, should show any deflection nicely.

 

[Max D]

I bought the clamp, now I need to follow the process: and try...

 

[Thomacetti]

I need ceramic blanks....tried with the ones I had but they transfer color

20 - 40 should help me out ?

Ps. can send them back after I'm done if needed

 

[Mental Nomad]

Stack some parchment paper (sold for baking) in between and you should be OK on color transfer.
Keep using those chips, and they'll eventually stop transferring.

 

[3betChet]

That may not be the best test... Paulsons have a recessed center and raised rim, so they should never be spinners. A ceramic can have a slight convexity (raised center) while still being perfectly even and fine for pressing, but the raised center will cause spinners.

Chipcos used to be made slightly convex (raised rim) to avoid wear on the face, so they would pass your test with flying colors, but that would also make them a bad choice for pressing; you might be pinching the rims on every Paulson you press.

Might be better off holding a metal straightedge to it and looking for light. Alternately, put one on a good flat surface, and hold the first inch of a good metal straight edge tightly on top. The other end of the straight edge, being a foot or so away, should show any deflection nicely.

I used a straight edge and looked for light: they are almost all slightly bowed out so one side is convex and the other is concave...

 

[3betChet]

That may not be the best test... Paulsons have a recessed center and raised rim, so they should never be spinners. A ceramic can have a slight convexity (raised center) while still being perfectly even and fine for pressing, but the raised center will cause spinners.

Chipcos used to be made slightly convex (raised rim) to avoid wear on the face, so they would pass your test with flying colors, but that would also make them a bad choice for pressing; you might be pinching the rims on every Paulson you press.

Might be better off holding a metal straightedge to it and looking for light. Alternately, put one on a good flat surface, and hold the first inch of a good metal straight edge tightly on top. The other end of the straight edge, being a foot or so away, should show any deflection nicely.

I used a straight edge and looked for light: they are almost all slightly bowed out so one side is convex and the other is concave...

 

[3betChet]

brpropoker.com sells good, flat ceramics at 39mm, 43mm and some bigger sizes. I got a rack and they're great, rock solid with great tolerances.

 

[slisk250]

Read through all the thread.

Anyone have additional comments regarding BCC MGK chips? Looks like I have a bunch that are spinners from hot stamping that I'll be working on this summer.

 

[BPTDirector]

Read through all the thread.

Anyone have additional comments regarding BCC MGK chips? Looks like I have a bunch that are spinners from hot stamping that I'll be working on this summer.

A lot of times with hotstamped spinners if you scrape the stamp area to get the extra flashing off the chip the spinner is cured. Not necessarily warpage, just raised areas on the chip from the stamping.

 

[RainmanTrail]

Read through all the thread.

Anyone have additional comments regarding BCC MGK chips? Looks like I have a bunch that are spinners from hot stamping that I'll be working on this summer.

The best advice I can give is to start off conservative with your temps and heating times (I'd try 120F for 20 min) and slowly increase those marks until you get the results you're after. This is what I did with my Mapes, and it turned out that 130F at 30 minutes was the magic ticket for those. They're harder than Paulsons, so it took a little more heat to soften them enough. I imagine BCC's to be similar. The 'using light bulbs in the oven' trick for heating was the best solution I found for getting them to 130F. Also, when you pull them out, tighten the clamp again very slightly.

 

[BGinGA]

And make sure your ceramic blanks are at least the same diameter (or larger) than your chips. Many later produced BCC chips were machined to 39.5mm diameter, and using stock 39mm ceramic chips as spacers can cause ballooning of the heated chip's edges.

 

[MD Mike]

I bought the Bessey LHS10 and some 43mm ceramic blanks.

I have a bunch of BCC Aquasino chips that are warped.

So, I tried this method!

I used the clamp, turned on the oven and got it to about 130 - 140 degrees. I have a probe in the oven that tells me the temp with a high sampling rate. So I stood by the oven and let out heat whenever it got a little too warm.

Basically, 135 degrees for 15 minutes and then let cool and flat as the day is long.

 

[codeman00]

Has anyone ever tried cut acrylic sheet in place of ceramic? The melting temperature of acrylic is 320F and has a perfect flat surface.

 

[Max D]

I read this thread over a year ago and decided to buy a Bessey model LHS10 and then discovered that my oven did not go low enough to follow the instruction. At that point clamped a few chips that needed to be straighten and left them in my office for about year and it worked... So either heat or time seems to be working.

 

[Emlemleml]

about year

So you left them clamped for a full year?

 

[Max D]

yes, just clamp it and forget it

 

[Max D]

So you left them clamped for a full year?

yes, my oven didnt go low enough, so I tested time....

 

[Phish1321]

Anyone have any blank ceramics to sell so I can try this on my warped fun nites? Thanks

 

[ReallyGoodUsername]

Anyone have any blank ceramics to sell so I can try this on my warped fun nites? Thanks

@ABC Gifts and Awards

 

[TeamNapoli]

if dice chips could be used then there is a purpose for dice chips besides leveling your table?

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

Hi warped chip flattening enthusiasts! I modeled a little tray to hold the chips in place prior to flattening, and I'd love to get your thoughts on it:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/my-attempt-at-3d-printing-racks.50525/page-7#post-1024447

Thanks!

 

[BGinGA]

How much for a 21-chip model?

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

How much for a 21-chip model?

I think it will be about $7 for the frame and a 21-chip insert, plus shipping.

 

[ReallyGoodUsername]

I think it will be about $7 for the frame and a 21-chip insert, plus shipping.

SOLD!