Plastic Rod as Tamper

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maxx

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 10, 2015
709
6
I've found my favorite tamper. It's a plastic rod cut to length. Mine is clear but you can also make one that's colored. The pix are from online.
acrylic-rods-clear-od35x1000mm-acrylic-aquarium.jpg

acetal-rods-slide.jpg


 

seadogontheland

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 4, 2014
599
2
hmmm...plastic compressing something which is quite hot...sounds like a potential toxic mess...and that's not good smoking in my book.

 

johnnyreb

Lifer
Aug 21, 2014
1,961
612
Maxx, if you like the looks & feel of the plastic rod I would suggest going to the hardware store and getting a copper end cap for copper tubing. They are usually available down to 1/4" diameter so you should be able to find one to fit. The tip is usually rounded & convex but some are flat I usually take a small ball-peen hammer and rework it a bit to make it concave. That way it will tamp with a slight mound shape and the center of the bowl will be higher than the edge. I put copper end caps on antler tines a lot.

 

delro

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 7, 2015
204
2
Plastic and heat, what could go wrong?! Darwin award

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
I use the bottom of my Bic most of the time.

Call me crazy, but it never does any significant damage, actually there's a bit of a cake forming (AKA it's just dirty).

But um, yeah, use a plastic bottle of butane at your own risk.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Probably no combustion takes place while tamping, but why take the chance? Metal pipe nails and horse shoe nails are perfect and cheap, and Czech and other folding stainless steel tools are inexpensive. Minimize the risk when you can.

 

ravenwolf

Can't Leave
Mar 18, 2014
302
0
... I want to see somebody use a rod made out of ox horn, the sort I occasionally see utilized in shank adornments that come as a long black rod blank.
I bet it would smell and taste like burning hair.

 

jkrug

Lifer
Jan 23, 2015
2,867
8
I must say I'd be a bit concerned about using plastic as a tamper as some of the others have mentioned.

seacaptain those are a couple of very nice looking tampers. :puffy:

 

bulldogbriar89

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 3, 2014
644
1
I m with everyone els on the plastic being a bad idea but I think Johnny had a good idea with the copper

 

maxx

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 10, 2015
709
6
So how hot does burning tobacco get? And when acrylic start to melt?
"The temperatures produced when tobacco was burned in pipe, cigarette, and cigar smoking have been measured by a calibrated thermocouple.

Temperature of the combustion zone in a pipe was about 500° C. (variability, 380°–620° C.). The maximal temperature was thus relatively low, but the heat spread over an extensive area outside the actual glow. Because of this, strong dry distillation took place, and the corresponding fractions from the evaporating substances escaped into the smoke without being pyrolyzed. With a cigarette, the situation was found to be quite different. The temperature was high, averaging 650° C. (variability, 470°–812° C.), but over a very limited area. The amount of dry distillation was slight, and the low and middle fractions were burned more completely. No essential differences could be noted among the different brands of cigarette studied."

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/16/6/490.abstract
500 C = 932 F
"Q: Will acrylic melt?

A: While acrylic softens at higher temperatures, it does not actually melt until it reaches 320 °F (160 °C). Therefore, normal household use does not risk melting acrylic. Hot stovetop items should only be placed on an acrylic tabletop surface using a protective trivet or other padding, preferably with rubber cushions. As a safety precaution, never place acrylic directly on or next to an open flame or hot surface."

https://www.plexi-craft.com/acrylic-plexiglass-lucite-clear-plastic.html

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,206
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I usually tamp with a finger and it hasn't melted yet. Sometimes gets bit hot. I have a couple of callouses that prevent any discomfort. I'm never far from a tamper when I need one. I seriously doubt a bit of tamping with a plastic rod will cause any problems. What a bunch of whussies! :puffy:

 

okiescout

Lifer
Jan 27, 2013
1,530
6
I tend to stay away from anything that is flammable with the exception of briar for direct contact on tampers. I like to collect tampers and when horn or other bio materials are used I prefer a metal cap. I just picked up a beauty from Michael. He posted picks of them the other day. Silver work with stone encased. I have some made with turned buffalo horn and capped with 1936 Buffalo Nickels.I have to get better at posting pics. 8O
Warren, they do't make em as tough as you anymore. :lol:

 
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