split spots on Diamond Square mold from CPC? (3 Viewers)

[Rhodeman77]

I received my new set from CPC on the Diamond Square mold this week. The $1 chip has about 40% split spots. I emailed David at CPC and he said this is a common issue with the mold and is well documented, though I don't recall seeing sets posted with a high rate of splits. So if you have them as well, especially coming from this most recent run could you please share some pics.

If this is such a common problem with this mold why is this information not on the website anywhere? I love my new set, but these split spots are the one downside to an otherwise incredible set.

edit:

I finished separating out the split chips. There are 65 split, and 5 more that are just about completely split. Leaving 95 that have minor or no squeezing of the spots.

Edit:
Please read the entire thread. CPC made replacement chips for this order to make it right, I posted it on page 8, but didn’t think to put it in OP as well at that time as it was a hot topic and would see it as a new post then. But now it is an older thread it should be in the OP as well.

Again, read it all, but the bad chips were replaced.

 

[72o]

Shit that sucks man...sorry to see that honestly. I have never heard that being an issue coming from CPC at all! I mean it happens every once in awhile obviously but not at that rate you stated.

Not related to CPC but related to that "issue"...that is the only reason why I never bought a set of the BCC Mardi Gras V2s.

 

[Rhodeman77]

And there was a huge disclaimer about it on the site!

I was also shocked that he said it is a common and know problem. I couldn’t find any sets that have it this bad.

 

[ThinkingFold]

Was it only the $1s? Curios if some spot patterns are more likely to experience it?

 

[CRAW]

I’m sorry I don’t have any advice, but that’s a lot of money to me and if my chips looked like that, I’d be livid. It makes me think thrice about ever ordering custom clays.

 

[Rhodeman77]

Was it only the $1s? Curios if some spot patterns are more likely to experience it?

There are some with the $25 as well in the purple spot, but not nearly as many or as big. It is irksome, but not a deal breaker like it is with the $1.

 

[Eriks]

Ouch, sorry man! I could live with the ones on the 25s but not the 1s. If it’s a known issue it should be clearly stated (I have also never seen or heard about this) so that one can make an informed mold decision.

 

[k9dr]

Several different orders from ASM and CPC for my Suicide Queens - I don't recall any split spots

 

[Rhodeman77]

Talking with others that have had split spots or have seen them on any mold, it seems to be most common with non weighted (DG or BW) base color and a darker spot color. This is just my observation and could be off base.

 

[upNdown]

That stinks. That would keep me up at night.
And yes, if it’s a known issue that you’re gonna get 40% split spots with that mold, the buyer should definitely be informed before ordering.

 

[Meddler2]

My first custom set back with ASM had a large percentage of split spots on the E&C mold with the 3v12. (All colors weighted) I inquired with Jim and he had them remade at no cost and they were perfect. Since the remakes came out so nice, I don't believe it's a specific mold or spot issue entirely but probably too many factors to nail down with any degree of certainty imo.

A rudimentary search on pcf yielded no other discussions specific to the diamond square mold albeit I only used limited key words such as diamond, square, and split. Perhaps this issue was discussed in an unrelated thread.

 

[justsomedude]

Is the base a Dayglo color?

I recently received my Darkroom BBQ chips (post and pics coming soon!). They have a Dayglo base on DSQ... and tons of split spots.

 

[BGinGA]

Which spot pattern? I've noticed recent big splitting issues with tri-moons, especially certain color combinations.

But I don't recall anything published related to split spots and specific molds. It's always been about specific spot patterns and/or color combos used, and generally irrelevant of mold.

I suppose if some molds created larger initial 'cast' products than others (and subsequently had more material removed from the outer diameter during the cleanup and finishing steps), it's possible that mold design could influence the amount of splitting seen in the final product. And I suppose the thermal properties of a given mold design could influence heating and cooling rates of various colors contained within, altering the likelihood of creating split spots.

Fwiw, they really aren't 'split' spots. The phenomenon is actually 'squeezed' spots, caused primarily by pressure exerted on two adjacent materials in different stages of softness (with different temperature levels needed to create similar molten conditions). One material 'gives' more than the other, creating a squished pattern.

 

[Nex]

It's not the only mold. I also have a bunch of FDL showing this phenomenon. Although nowhere near your numbers, or as extreme. Since it's only a few it doesn't bother me.

Only skimmed my tournament set (1600ish) for these. I believe I have seen a couple on the FDL cash set too, and maybe also one or two on my HCEs. The broader the spots are the more prone the chips are to split spots, it appears to me.

 

[Rhodeman77]

Which spot pattern? I've noticed recent big splitting issues with tri-moons, especially certain color combinations.

But I don't recall anything published related to split spots and specific molds. It's always been about specific spot patterns and/or color combos used, and generally irrelevant of mold.

I suppose if some molds created larger initial 'cast' products than others (and subsequently had more material removed from the outer diameter during the cleanup and finishing steps), it's possible that mold design could influence the amount of splitting seen in the final product. And I suppose the thermal properties of a given mold design could influence heating and cooling rates of various colors contained within, altering the likelihood of creating split spots.

Fwiw, they really aren't 'split' spots. The phenomenon is actually 'squeezed' spots, caused primarily by pressure exerted on two adjacent materials in different stages of softness (with different temperature levels needed to create similar molten conditions). One material 'gives' more than the other, creating a squished pattern.

TRI-Moon.

My tournament set add on I used the tri-moon for the add-on 100, and didn't have any issues like this. Black base, light blue spots.

@justsomedude my base color is DG Peacock.

 

[Josh Kifer]

I had the same issue on my Scarlets Room Bounties. Made me worry about my Cactus Pete's 1s as they were trimoon, but had zero issues on those.

 

[Sambukan]

Wow thats a lot of split/squeezed spots. So iam wondering if i understood this correctly, he told you its a common problem so he wouldnt replace them?

 

[Rhodeman77]

Wow thats a lot of split/squeezed spots. So iam wondering if i understood this correctly, he told you its a common problem so he wouldnt replace them?

he said it is a common problem that is know with the Diamond Square mold and he doesn’t know if the tri-moon spot contributes to it. I didn’t ask for replacement chips, I asked if I could order more to be included in this run right now so I wouldn’t have to wait a year or so for the next run. He said it wasn’t possible because the run is almost over and it would take a month to make the clay for the chip. So I am stuck with them.

 

[JMC9389]

Some of the blue $1's from Key West with the 312+ spot pattern have some split spots as well. No where near close to 40% of the spots, but enough for me to notice.

 

[Darthhoodie]

@Josh Kifer
The Cactus Pete's are tri-moons on the H mold correct, did you use any DG base colors for those? (I'm too lazy to go back and check your posts)
Also, what mold and base color gave you issues with the Scarlets Room chips (again, too lazy to check myself)?

@Rhodeman77 that's too bad, I really dig the look of these Buzzard chips. How many of the DG Peacock $1 are we talking about, 80? a rack? more?

This has me nervous because I am in the process of designing an all DG base color set on diamond square, and I have tri-moons as an edge spot for one of the denoms. I may change it because of this issue but I'm not sure we have enough info to point the finger at any one mold, color, or spot pattern. I guess if its coming from David himself its the diamond square mold, but Ugh!

 

[Sambukan]

he said it is a common problem that is know with the Diamond Square mold and he doesn’t know if the tri-moon spot contributes to it. I didn’t ask for replacement chips, I asked if I could order more to be included in this run right now so I wouldn’t have to wait a year or so for the next run. He said it wasn’t possible because the run is almost over and it would take a month to make the clay for the chip. So I am stuck with them.

Ok i was thinking about getting a cpc set. But that doesnt sound very customer oriented.. I hope they can still make it right for you in some way

 

[Rhodeman77]

@Josh Kifer
The Cactus Pete's are tri-moons on the H mold correct, did you use any DG base colors for those? (I'm too lazy to go back and check your posts)
Also, what mold and base color gave you issues with the Scarlets Room chips (again, too lazy to check myself)?

@Rhodeman77 that's too bad, I really dig the look of these Buzzard chips. How many of the DG Peacock $1 are we talking about, 80? a rack? more?

This has me nervous because I am in the process of designing an all DG base color set on diamond square, and I have tri-moons as an edge spot for one of the denoms. I may change it because of this issue but I'm not sure we have enough info to point the finger at any one mold, color, or spot pattern. I guess if its coming from David himself its the diamond square mold, but Ugh!

I ordered 165 of the $1 chips, at least 60 are split/squeezed.

 

[Josh Kifer]

@Josh Kifer
The Cactus Pete's are tri-moons on the H mold correct, did you use any DG base colors for those? (I'm too lazy to go back and check your posts)
Also, what mold and base color gave you issues with the Scarlets Room chips (again, too lazy to check myself)?

@Rhodeman77 that's too bad, I really dig the look of these Buzzard chips. How many of the DG Peacock $1 are we talking about, 80? a rack? more?

This has me nervous because I am in the process of designing an all DG base color set on diamond square, and I have tri-moons as an edge spot for one of the denoms. I may change it because of this issue but I'm not sure we have enough info to point the finger at any one mold, color, or spot pattern. I guess if its coming from David himself its the diamond square mold, but Ugh!

SR - SCrown, bright white, weighted spots
CP - h mold, DG peach base, canary spot (there are a few splits on the CP, but it's very minor compared to SR)

I believe he said on SR was because the bright white clay is harder then other colors. I could be making that up, but I vaguely remember it.

Honestly, it bugged me so much when I got them. But as I've kept on going, I like them for what they are. It's a handmade product. It's art. I have accepted and adore them.

 

[markleteenie]

@Ben8257 / @FordPickup92 - I think your Silver Tongued Devil set has some, were they only on tri-moons or other spot patterns too?

 

[Eriks]

I think a few actually brings the chips some character, like on Joshes above but 40 percent?! Geez

 

[cpac54]

Yikes... I certainly have never seen or heard about this being an issue anywhere. A few chips looking like that would be one thing, but if it were my set and 40% of the chips looked like that, I wouldn't be a happy camper, that's for sure. Given the cost of custom CPCs, I'd expect to be informed if this was really a "known issue" and if not, I'd expect replacements at the very least.

I will certainly be looking out for this on my own set once it arrives, especially as all the denominations use DG colours (with lots of DG edge spots) except for the $20 chip.

 

[Eriks]

Yikes... I certainly have never seen or heard about this being an issue anywhere. A few chips looking like that would be one thing, but if it were my set and 40% of the chips looked like that, I wouldn't be a happy camper, that's for sure. Given the cost of custom CPCs, I'd expect to be informed if this was really a "known issue" and if not, I'd expect replacements at the very least.

I will certainly be looking out for this on my own set once it arrives, especially as all the denominations use DG colours (with lots of DG edge spots) except for the $20 chip.

Yeah, I’m a bit worried myself now, although scrown and no tri-moons

 

[markleteenie]

Fwiw, they really aren't 'split' spots. The phenomenon is actually 'squeezed' spots, caused primarily by pressure exerted on two adjacent materials in different stages of softness (with different temperature levels needed to create similar molten conditions). One material 'gives' more than the other, creating a squished pattern.

So for my own education: Is there a different thing as a split spot? Or is it a misnomer for a squeezed spot?

Also, is the little bit of base chip color showing in the middle of the spot - squeezed out of the main chip and through the edge spot, or are edge spots always sandwiched over a bit of the base chip and we just don't see the middle base color layer because it doesn't usually reach to the edge?

 

[Ben8257]

Definitely on the Tri moon scrowns made last year!

Sorry at work so snipping screen shots from pictures. Baybe not half but close. They don't bother me like many others. For me I look at it as proof they are hand made and not perfect. But I guess we all have different opinions on that one! Lol

None of the others in this set, just the tri moons

 

[David Spragg]

I ordered 165 of the $1 chips, at least 60 are split/squeezed.

We located sufficient clay to make another 100 so are going ahead to see what happens. Can't guarantee what the result will be though.
Problem is that the only way to eliminate all such issues is to withdraw molds/spot patterns/colors and that is going to disappoint way more people.