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Accessories Old Mate Designs

momofthegoons said:
My OM landed yesterday. First impressions are that it's built well... love the spinner. Fits well in the hand. It has a nice sized 'chamber' for the ground herb that seems bigger than the BCG. It utilizes the same 'clam shell' technique to open the bottom herb chamber. But I am having a devil of a time opening the top section. Is there a secret to this lol? I can get it open but it takes quite a bit of effort compared to the bottom section.

Haven't ground anything in it yet... I'm waiting to see if I'm doing something wrong with the top section. I have arthritis in my hands and if it's going to be this hard for me to open it may not be the grinder for me. Not saying that it's a bad grinder.... just that I'm having a difficult time because of my own issues.
Click to expand...

IMG_20230208_121146.jpg

My hands can be so painful after doing a chore that they are useless for some time
I use the mat from disorderly conduction and set my grinder on top
This keeps the grinder from moving and keeps it set to the countertop freeing up both my hands to fiddle with the grinding and lifting the top
The mats at DC are off the wall sticky

IMG_20230208_121918.jpg
 
Swapped my bearing for the hybrid linked earlier, works about the same as the skateboard OG on the first couple of spins but should get better.
I probably should have used something longer to knock the OG out but it worked OK,

I should get my all ceramic version soon that will make getting the top on/off a lot easier as the magnet will have no effect on it.
 
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I've had the OM a couple of weeks now and have to say that it does grind easily and well. The flower comes out sort of half way between fine and medium grind and is light and fluffy. Takes very little effort to grind and I'm always surprised at how quickly it happens. And, of course, everyone loves the fidget spinner aspect of it.

But there are some downsides as well. The weight is one. This is one heavy grinder. I'd hate to drop it on my foot lol. And the weight makes it a bit harder to work with arthritic hands. But that's not a deal breaker. What bothers me the most is how hard it is to open the top portion. The magnet seems way too strong. But the bottom magnet is weaker and it seems like that chamber could open easily by mistake. I'd like to see the magnets reversed so that the bottom chamber has the stronger one. You also have to pay attention when replacing the top to make sure the teeth are lined up properly. Coming from the BCG that seems like 'work.' Not hard work lol... but work.

The other thing that I think has been overdone is the branding. Not only is there branding on the bottom, but on the top as well. A bit of overkill imo. I wasn't aware of the option to have them engraved or might have gone that route. But then again, it would have been a bit much with the other branding. I'd like to see the branding on the bottom only.

I see several people switching out the bearing for a different one; you included @LesPlenty . Why is that?
 
momofthegoons said:
But there are some downsides as well. The weight is one. This is one heavy grinder. I'd hate to drop it on my foot lol.
Click to expand...
I dropped mine and did the old...chuck the foot out to catch it trick and now have a large lump on the top of my foot!
momofthegoons said:
I see several people switching out the bearing for a different one; you included @LesPlenty . Why is that?
Click to expand...
I only swapped as I opted for the NTN bearing that was made to last not spin. I got the normal skateboard bearing on my friends version and as soon as I spun it I knew I needed my grinder to be a fidget spinner too. I also have the full ceramic version coming to see how it goes not being magnetically attracted to the top post.
momofthegoons said:
The other thing that I think has been overdone is the branding.
Click to expand...
I am hoping some action stickers might be released for the spinner, easily posted worldwide!
 
momofthegoons said:
I've had the OM a couple of weeks now and have to say that it does grind easily and well. The flower comes out sort of half way between fine and medium grind and is light and fluffy. Takes very little effort to grind and I'm always surprised at how quickly it happens. And, of course, everyone loves the fidget spinner aspect of it.

But there are some downsides as well. The weight is one. This is one heavy grinder. I'd hate to drop it on my foot lol. And the weight makes it a bit harder to work with arthritic hands. But that's not a deal breaker. What bothers me the most is how hard it is to open the top portion. The magnet seems way too strong. But the bottom magnet is weaker and it seems like that chamber could open easily by mistake. I'd like to see the magnets reversed so that the bottom chamber has the stronger one. You also have to pay attention when replacing the top to make sure the teeth are lined up properly. Coming from the BCG that seems like 'work.' Not hard work lol... but work.

The other thing that I think has been overdone is the branding. Not only is there branding on the bottom, but on the top as well. A bit of overkill imo. I wasn't aware of the option to have them engraved or might have gone that route. But then again, it would have been a bit much with the other branding. I'd like to see the branding on the bottom only.

I see several people switching out the bearing for a different one; you included @LesPlenty . Why is that?
Click to expand...




I need the weight and heft of the top piece to help make up for the lack of strength when my hands are acting up
I dropped the SC crusher (aptly named) on my feet a few times
Not pleasant but still less painful then using scissors and swollen hands to shred my cannabis
Use a sticky mat and keep both hands free

 
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LesPlenty said:
got the full ceramic bearing today and it makes the top very easy to remove due to no magnetism. It also has no lube so can be left in the grinder when you clean the whole unit in iso when it ever needs cleaning. A bonus is that the top spins for almost 3 minutes (2:48) without the rip chord (we will see how long it lasts now)
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Good stuff Les, thanks. I'm going to try this one* with dust shields, maybe one of each. Watching the open bearings might be somewhat entertaining. Probably unlikely that anything would get in the unshielded bearing the way you have it mounted but I can see a bit of the dust shield so there is a potential path if one were grinding upside down for a finer grind.

They should last several lifetimes in this application.

* https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32847114302.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_allProduct.8148356.23.73ea86c5tXXrHN&pdp_npi=2@dis!CAD!C$ 13.16!C$ 8.16!!!!!@211b88ee16775645892735205e6d59!10000006045454866!sh

Easy to remove lid, here we come. :aaaaa:
 
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I have only been using my OM since I got it (Feb 1st) and have noticed the spin time dropping off significantly (down to 2 minutes) in the last few days. I thought it may be the new cheap all-ceramic bearing failing but on closer inspection of the grinder I can see a line of resin forming on the bottom plate,
1678155284787.jpg

I used my S&B brush as the post for the top plate to check the bearing spin time and it is the same as when I got it, just under 3 minutes so it is the build-up that is slowing it down.
I am torn between cleaning the gummed area with an iso q-tip to get the full spin time back but I also want to see how long I can leave it to see if it ever builds up enough to impact performance grind-wise. I might just keep going and fidget it more to keep it cleaner!
 
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So I ended up just iso q-tipping the tips of the top plate row of teeth that made the smear on the lower part and have been spinning the heck out of my OM and only grinding a smaller amount each time instead of loading up as much as possible in the grinding area. The smear mark has now disappeared and my bearing is now spinning for over 3 minutes, ceramic bearings are 'self healing' so can take a little time to bed in and work like glass on glass slippery without lube!
Edit; 2 foot of para cord as a starter rope just got me 5:35 spin time!
 
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I found the seller I got my ceramic bearing has the same full ceramic bearing but in a higher spec, Abec-9, the one I have is Abec-7, this refers to the tolerances of the build of the bearing, Abec-11 seems the highest available. Anyway, still cheap at AU$7.80/US$5 and fixes the 'hard to remove top' problem,
 
Planck said:
Good grief who has circlip pliers.
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I have, doesn't everyone?
I noticed the new design has dropped the diamond tipped inner row of teeth for flat like the others that caused the smear in the pic I posted above.
 
For easy bearing removal for swapping/deep grinder cleaning etc, only AU$5/US$3ish, cheaper than my hardware shop cobbled together version,
oldmatedesigns.com

Bearing Press/Puller

This tool makes for an easy job to remove and install bearings. How to use this tool: https://youtu.be/jh3rPL7GP6o Installation animation: https://oldmatedesigns.com/pages/videos#using-bearing-tool-installation Uninstallation animation...
oldmatedesigns.com oldmatedesigns.com
 
LesPlenty said:
For easy bearing removal for swapping/deep grinder cleaning etc, only AU$5/US$3ish, cheaper than my hardware shop cobbled together version,
oldmatedesigns.com

Bearing Press/Puller

This tool makes for an easy job to remove and install bearings. How to use this tool: https://youtu.be/jh3rPL7GP6o Installation animation: https://oldmatedesigns.com/pages/videos#using-bearing-tool-installation Uninstallation animation...
oldmatedesigns.com oldmatedesigns.com
Click to expand...



Has a final version of this come out?
I'm looking for a fine grind plate option
 
Tincandtoke said:
Has a final version of this come out?
Click to expand...
It has but do not be surprised if things keep evolving. You could ask Ben for a finer grind plate...the more people ask, the more likely it will get made.
 
I have noticed the center post and bearing is being 'worn' from normal use and are more noticeable on the white ceramics but are on the steel version too if you q-tip it.
1681387510187.jpg

The dark lines do not disappear completely once q-tipped so both surfaces seem to be wearing.
If this sort of thing concerns you a simple drop of cooking oil on your finger wiped over the top post occasionally will stop the wear.
 
LesPlenty said:
I have noticed the center post and bearing is being 'worn' from normal use and are more noticeable on the white ceramics but are on the steel version too if you q-tip it.
View attachment 45633
The dark lines do not disappear completely once q-tipped so both surfaces seem to be wearing.
If this sort of thing concerns you a simple drop of cooking oil on your finger wiped over the top post occasionally will stop the wear.
Click to expand...


Would mineral oil work?
Getting ready to squeeze the trigger but I need a fine plate
Been buying pre rolls from the dispo to keep on hand when my hands seize up after digging holes
 
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