Best cabbing chair and other creature comforts?

[sophia13]

You long time cabbers, What kind of chair do you have in your shop. What chair do you all prefer to spend time cabbing in? Getting my shop ready and would love the input. A l.jso what other creature comforts have you implemented in your area? Thanks

[rockjunquie]

I use a completely adjustable office chair of good quality.  I slide back and forth a lot with it.


I use an adult terry cloth bib when I cab, too.  The first couple wheels on my genie throw a little water. It keeps my shirt dry and gives me a handy towel to wipe the cab between wheels with.  

[stardiamond]

My 8 inch cabbing machine is free standing and about a foot over table height. I cab standing. My Genie is obviously portable and sits on a work bench. I spend less than 10% of my cabbing time on the Genie so I cab standing. I sit when I design and inspect using a good ergonomic office chair.

[Pat]

I have a stool to sit on. Also have a soft mat to stand on.

Other creature comforts include drinking water in covered container, ceiling fan, and a cookie now and then.

Make yourself comfortable! Cabbing is fun!

[NRG]

kegerator

'nuf said.

[zarguy]

I cab standing.
I have foam mats to stand on.
I have a tall draftsmans chair, but find I don't use it.
Standing works best for me.
Lynn

[orrum]

X2 Tela. Office chairs.

[Peruano]

I have a pocket sewn on the top of my plastic shop apron to hold extra rocks, but my friend has further enhanced his apron with a 3" turn up at the bottom which catches the water that runs down the front and shunts it to the side away from his feet. His machine throws more water than mine. A high shop stool lets me sit when I want but mostly I stand on kitchen mats. Bluetooth headphones with music from my phone help me remember to use ear protection, but I suspect I waited to long to start using said protection.

[fernwood]

Agree on the "bib". I have made them in the past for those who require total care. Just find an old oil cloth table cloth, or purchase some of that material. It is waterproof on one side and has a felt type backing. I cut a large bib shape from the table cloth. Then cut another pouch for the bottom. The pouch can be sewn on as a whole piece, or partitioned for holding multiple items.
In the back (behind the neck), I added two snaps, to make it adjustable. Added two pieces of the table cloth at about waist level and more snaps. Nice thing about this material i that it does not fray and can be washed as needed.
Time to make is about 30 minutes. Cost depends on where you get the table cloth or material from.

The only thing I would add to the list is inspirational music and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

[rockjunquie]

Jul 23, 2018 7:54:23 GMT -5 fernwood said:

Agree on the "bib". I have made them in the past for those who require total care. Just find an old oil cloth table cloth, or purchase some of that material. It is waterproof on one side and has a felt type backing. I cut a large bib shape from the table cloth. Then cut another pouch for the bottom. The pouch can be sewn on as a whole piece, or partitioned for holding multiple items.
In the back (behind the neck), I added two snaps, to make it adjustable. Added two pieces of the table cloth at about waist level and more snaps. Nice thing about this material i that it does not fray and can be washed as needed.
Time to make is about 30 minutes. Cost depends on where you get the table cloth or material from.

The only thing I would add to the list is inspirational music and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

I gave my sewing machine to my daughter and have little patience for it anymore, so I buy adult bibs for cheap on amazon.

[Pat]

I don’t sew either. To keep dry, I bought a bib type soft plastic wrap that hair cut shops use. Velcro at the neck in back. Works well.

[wigglinrocks]

I just sit on my 2 foot step ladder and get wet . But , I do most of my wheel work in the summer outside under a patio umbrella . 

[fernwood]

To clarify on the chocolate. Must wash hands completely. Then leave shop. Eat chocolate and return.

Maybe I should start making lapidary bibs and sell them here. Hmmmmmmm?

[gemfeller]

I cab on a DP Genie and I use what I call a variation of the "Idar-Oberstein position." I couldn't possibly stand to cab (back problems) so I use an adjustable-height office chair with the following arrangement:

My Genie is set up on a bench about 30 inches high. I built a 7.5 inch shelf on the front of the bench that sits high enough so the tops of the Genie water pans are about even with the top of the shelf. I bought a couple of foam rubber gardener's knee pads and use them on the shelf as elbow rests. I perch on my chair (adjusted to a comfortable height) and lean forward with elbows on the pad so I have complete control of the grinding/sanding process. It's a very comfortable position for me and I can cut for hours without tiring.

The I-O cutters use very large wheels. They sit to cut and hold the workpiece at about knee level, resting their elbows on their thighs. It's worked for them since the Middle Ages.

[goatgrinder]

Zazen bench. Best sitting and most comfortable seating ever (low to the ground).

[rockjunquie]

Jul 23, 2018 18:39:54 GMT -5 gemfeller said:

I cab on a DP Genie and I use what I call a variation of the "Idar-Oberstein position." I couldn't possibly stand to cab (back problems) so I use an adjustable-height office chair with the following arrangement:

My Genie is set up on a bench about 30 inches high. I built a 7.5 inch shelf on the front of the bench that sits high enough so the tops of the Genie water pans are about even with the top of the shelf. I bought a couple of foam rubber gardener's knee pads and use them on the shelf as elbow rests. I perch on my chair (adjusted to a comfortable height) and lean forward with elbows on the pad so I have complete control of the grinding/sanding process. It's a very comfortable position for me and I can cut for hours without tiring.

The I-O cutters use very large wheels. They sit to cut and hold the workpiece at about knee level, resting their elbows on their thighs. It's worked for them since the Middle Ages.

I've seen cameo workers lay down on their stomachs to carve. They've done it that way forever, so it must work. 

[gemfeller]

Until recent times the Idar-Oberstein agate-cutters used enormous sandstone grinding wheels that rotated on a shaft powered by a water mill. The wheels were a couple of yards in diameter and cutters laid on their stomachs on wooden platforms facing the wheels. Usually a couple of cutters shared the same wheel because they were very wide. The wheels were often grooved to specific shapes for making decorative objects like bowls, etc. They've been cutting agates since the 15th century, first using material from the local Nahe Valley and later, when local agates were depleted, Brazilian agates

[mohs]

like to know how wheel was made
was it quarried and formed ?

[gemfeller]

Jul 24, 2018 19:07:03 GMT -5 mohs said:

like to know how wheel was made
was it quarried and formed ?

I've wondered the same thing. I have a packet of info about I/O and surrounding gem-cutting villages from a visit there several years ago. I'll go through it to see if I can find anything specific about that. I assume standard quarrying methods were used; there's a long history of quarrying going back well over a thousand years.

[mohs]

Right on Rick

Not sure 14th century Germany had the technology to mold those wheel
Although they would have loved to--to control the grit

Haven’t looked into how modern grinding wheels are made
Beside heat & pressure and very particular bonding materials
Grinding wheels are complex dumb things

I’ll have to look up Norton factory on You Tube
See how grinding wheels are made
Now that I’m not grinding for a living
I have time