I didnt go this route since i did it with blood, sweat and tears. But if your looking for an affordable tap/die set, harborfreight actually has a decent set and i have friends who use it in automotive industry as a backup to their expensive set -they said its pretty good and helped them when they didnt want to mess up their good set. I'm sure if its pretty good for them, its great for us since its just tapping pvc.

http://www.harborfreight.com/40-piece-sae-carbon-steel-tap-and-die-set-39391.html

Thanks Matt. I'm going there tomorrow to get one of these.

snaglpus,
Did you try cutting the slot in the bolt?
That is what gives the chips a place to go for cutting threads.
Thanks for all your information.

Doug

It's been running more than 24 hours, not a drip not a drop.
It's going to be a good day.
Happy new year!

Doug

Does everyone using a Cloner have lights above the cutttings? I was wondering because when we root cuttings in a plastic box with moist coir or moss, some of my best roots was in a dark closet?

Any help will be greatly appreciated....  : )

Frank,

The roots are in the dark here too - obviously blocked by the cloner lid.  While I have a light on above the cloner, it isn't set up the way it would be if I were trying to grow out the figs (i.e close to the cuttings and full power).  I lost a lot of cuttings when I used a humidity dome and Root Riot cubes (which in general worked great) when my cuttings leafed out prior to the roots getting developed.

In those cases, I had the 'plant' exerting energy growing at a time when it didn't have a root support system.  I'm much more interested in having the cuttings get some serious roots before I convince them to leaf out.  Especially since I'm starting in December.

Basically if I have a stick with roots I can expose it to sunlight and the leaves won't need to be coddled (I hope).


Just my thoughts (and I killed all my figs 2 years ago in a snowstorm, so what do I know?).


Andrew

I use lights for the simple purpose of making a plant think its summertime with long daylight hours.
The plant will grow vigorously until spring, and I plant the tree in ground in march.

Here are figs that were dormant 2-3 weeks ago. They had no leaves. But with long daylight hours the plant will grow just like it does with long hours of sunlight during summer.

Here are the same dormant (was) figs.


 

Have fun
Doug

Frank your setup should be fine.  I just added my lights because I copied the setup they had at the hydroponic shop.  My cuttings have 6 inch plus roots but i'm in no hurry to pull them out yet.  So, technically I can leave them in the cloner another month or so.  But what will happen is the roots will eat up the water and the cutting will put on 6 inches plus of branches and leaves.  And they will get top heavy and start to lean over and eventually fall over.  this isn't a bad thing because the roots will be hard as nails and the cutting will not be a plant.  But your setup should work out fine.

  
   Frank,
   
      Utilizing the cloner is new to me, (although I've been propagating via rootings for twenty years.)   So, taking my experience with a grain of salt,  what seems to be working well for me so far is kind of a middle road between Doug and Andrew.

     I keep two systems running...  starting off my cuttings without artificial lighting, but immediately moving the cuttings that leaf out into the system that has intense LED lights.

    Upon receiving this Desert King (largest leaves) from Charles (EatMoreYeah) I had it begin to leaf out after just a day in the dark, and with no roots present.  I moved it over under the lights and this is the fig after eight days:

 





   My thinking is that supplying the light to cuttings that are already pushing leaves, will hopefully allow them the energy to build their supportive foundation of roots.   Here is that same plant's roots now, after the eight days under lights:




 


   Again, I too am just in the experimenting stage, but if we each share our experiences, we'll get this sorted out a heck of a lot quicker...   Blue
 

Beautiful results blue!

Question for Dennis and others who have been using cloners historically in the past, when your removing the cuttings (or tree, lol) do you pull it out from the top or the bottom? I'm looking at the root development in these pics, and im just wondering how people do it to not damage roots or top growth from the netcup. I'm assuming its either way, but that worries me.

I am so happy to see every one is having success with cloners!  Wow!  

so if you have a prize cutting that you want to make sure it roots...just place it in the cloner and let it do its thing.  A very good friend sent me a bag of cuttings in November and I loaded everyone inside the cloner.  From what I can tell, every cutting has roots!  And the one fig that I wanted was Kure Beach and that dude has rooted even after I chopped it up into 4 cuttings!

Here's another tip guys, it won't hurt to add some liquid fertilizer to your water every 2 weeks or so.  I use Clonex Clone Solution....about a capful every 2 weeks.  The roots will be very strong so no need in worrying about breaking the roots!  Once you start rooting cuttings this will way, you won't go back to other method unless you're just playing around.  Hehe!!

How bout those figs!!!

Dennis, could you help me with how much hydrogen peroxide I should use for about 4- 5 gal of water?
And how often? I think you have one of the same size containers I used.
I need to get on a schedule.
Sorry if this has already been answered, I need specifics.   :)


I guess I run the light over my cuttings for the warmth and as soon as a bud breaks it starts absorbing the light,
And because I have other plants I'm trying to keep growing through winter.
Doug

FYI. For anyone contemplating building a cloner, Lowes has the 27 gal Commander tote, used by most, on sale for $8.98. It is the yellow lided one with 35 squares on the top.

Guys,
What is the shortest cutting that can be used in a cloner?
It seems one would need 3 or so inches under the lid.

Happy New Year My Friends.
Here is my newest timer. 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off. Its from Hyrdofarm and it isn't jerry rigged like the other variable timers. I think this might be a good on off cycle and I'm going to give it a shot. The best part is I bought it on Amazon for $13.90 (free shipping with Amazon Prime)
 

Doug, I add a teaspoon every 3 days. I know it's not much but it works well. I have an event placed on my Outlook calendar at work which is sync he'd with my IPAd and iPhone. This is how I know when to add the HP.

Green fig, I broke an unknown 2 node tip cutting by accident. I placed it in the 64 spot in my cloner. The roots are not longer than cutting. The cutting was barely 3 inches.

Coop, that's a good timer to get. The 15min on/off will work fine.

After 3 days in cloner I have white bumps on a fresh rdb cutting.
Hard to believe, my wife didn't.
I had to pull the cup to prove it!
I now have 35 cuttings in the cloner. Filled to the max.
My pump uses 16.7 watts, how cheap is that going to be to run?
Pure excitement here. No more dirt rooting for me.
Let alone I can clone my seedless grapes ect.
I can think of all kinds of ways to use this contraption.

Thanks for the tip Dennis, I will set it up on my phone calendar.
Still, no leaks, drips or any sign of escaping water....ya I'm happy.

Happy New year!

Doug

Oldoneeye, that is 2 Plumeria  plants.
Cuttings came from Hawaii.
They are 2 years old. Gonna attempt to make it flower this winter.
Doug

Way to go Doug !!!!

Matt, I've left cuttings in the cloner for 8 weeks. There was so much leaf growth, the cutting got too top heavy! Here's a pic.. I have more pics but I am having trouble locating them. I use my IPAD for all internet use and photos. I have over 3000 photos that I need to move over to my MAC.