Rockwerks Lapidary Forum

Cabbing is causing some negative physical side effects for me. Ive been a professional groomer for 16 years, exactly half of my life and as a result, I have a bad back/neck/hands. The tendonitis in my hands I can deal with by using large dopsticks and taking frequent breaks but the headaches I get after even a short cabbing session really ruin my day. I realize that my current position while cabbing isnt good as I sit on a chair and am hunched over the machine with my head down. But Ive found that if I use a lower chair, I end up peering up into the machine and cant get my hand position right. So I hunch........and I get headaches. I thought about standing but gosh darn it, I stand all day long in my grooming shop. There has to be a solution. Any advice? How do the rest of you cab?

Shannon,
I adjust my chair so that my forearms are parallel with the floor and the centerline of the wheel is at the level of the top of my forearms. In this position my head is tilted downward slightly. I scoot my chair forward until by protruding belly is in contact with the front of the machine tray. As I am cabbing I will rotate my wrists up and down as I grind and sand. The ideal ergonomic position is to keep your wrists as straight as possible and not to have to bend your head downward excessively. I always dop my cabs so that I am not having to firmly grip a small , sometimes slick object. I use as large a dop stick as I can, again so that gripping it is easier. I only use wood dowels as dop sticks because they are easier to grip. For small stones I take a 1/2" to 5/8" wood dowel and carve the end down to a smaller diameter before I apply the dop wax. Again , this is to have as large a dop stick as possible.
If you want I can post some pictures of my setup and dops sticks. I hope this helps. Also, if it is cold in my cutting area I use hot water. In my many years of cabbing I have avoided ergonomisc issues (knock on wood). When I worked at Kodak a few decades ago I was involved in designing production equipment that was ergonomically correct. This was in the early days of awareness about ergonomic injuries.
Bob

The new machine should change your ergonomics. Once you get it you may find you can cab more comfortably. Hopefully at least.

Bob,

I would love to see photos of your setup. I definitely need to make some changes with the ergonomics of my mine. I was thinking of putting a nail or screw on the end of large dowel dopsticks but cutting the end of the dowel so that it is smaller would probably also work. I wouldnt mind seeing a photo of those either. I appreciate your time in helping me with this.

Shannon, I had similar troubles at first. Now I work with the machine on a counter instead of a table. I have a wheeled chair that adjusts to a tall height. And I switch off from sitting to standing, it seems staying in one position causes the trouble. Being able to move to be right at the wheel in use helps with kinked neck. And every few minutes I walk around some.

Do you have a counter you could try it on?

Shannon,
I'll post some pictures of my setup tomorrow (Saturday) as soon as I get my wife to have confidence in my new camera. I have to get confident first! (plus my DSL was down due to the rather nasty storm that went through today)
Bob

I stand up myself. I think frequent breaks are important. Stretch those arms back!

Shannon,
Pictures of my style of dop stick.
I cut the end down with a knife so that it will match the size of the stone to be dopped.

I build the dop wax up just enough to support the stone.

This allows me to have a larger stick to hold onto while giving me the access to the girdle of the stone foe grinding and sanding. I also make the stick as long as access within the grinding area isn't impeded.
I will post pictures of my stup today.
Bob

Shannon,
Here are pictures of my (messy) setup. The machine is home made. I mounted it on a bench with the drip pans hanging over the edge. The bench allows me to put my legs under the machine and to scoot my adjustable chair close to the machine. I move up to it so that my reach is minimal. My belly touches the drip pan. In the pictures I don't have an apron on, but I always wear one when I am grinding and sanding. As you can see, I don't have to hunch my shoulders nor bend my head down much. I rest my arms on the edge of the drip pans. I designed these edges to have a flat spot to comfortably rest my arms on. Most commercial machines have a sharp or thin edge here so some people take a piece of hose, split it lengthwise and place it on this edge. Probably resting your arms on this edge would be the most important part of relieving the hunching of your shoulders problem. The polishing wheel is higher and I stand to do this so I can change my posture. It is at a height so that I can comfortably hold the cab against it without hunching or bending my head. I am also able to keep my elbows parallel to the floor and next to my body (another important thing to do for best ergonomic reasons).
If you have any questions, please ask.
Bob

Bob,

The photos were great, thanks so much! I can see now that I am sitting too high in front of my machine.

I also just finished cutting my new large dopsticks. Lillie says they look like giant crayons.

Shannon, If you need even larger dop sticks I can turn some to any diameter you need. I know your hands are way smaller than mine but I could see where a larger stick could help with your problem.