@darjones and spartan, I know I'm 6 months late to the party but love the Dbz reference :p
Lots of interesting info on this post I'm glad it was bumped.
Lots of interesting info on this post I'm glad it was bumped.
Do It Yourself Tobacco Press?
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:Okay, Okay. I couldn't stand it. I have been listening to people talk about pressing their own tobacco. Got to try one person's efforts, even.
So I was reading this thread last night and decided to go for it.
I made it to the local Harbor Frieght about twenty minutes before closing and got a six ton, bench-type, press. On the way home I picked up some 3" i.d. PVC with 1/4" walls and a 2 1/4" in diameter steel flange with a 1/2" opening.
Put the press together, the Chinese don't write very good instructions, but it appears to be functioning correctly. Cut enough PVC to make two 3" tall sleeves. Turned a couple of pistons to fit inside the PVC. (I turned their surfaces like a butter mold, for the fun of it."
Inserted a piston in the bottom of the PVC sleeve, Cut up a plastic grocery bag and lined the sleeve with it. Packed as much tobacco as I could into it. Stuck it in the press and smooshed it down and then put in some more tobacco. Folded the plastic bag remenent over the top of the tobacco. Put the flange between the press's ram and the piston - I wanted to spread some of the energy out as the piston was only made of maple.
I maxed out the press. About seven square inches of surface area in the sleeve. Six tons of pressure, if the chinese measure such things the way we do and didn't wimp out (I don't know if any of you worked with older American motors and have compared to current Chinese motors. The American motor just seemes to have a little more than a Chinese one with similar horsepower rating. I just figured it was poor work on the Chinese manufacturer's part. Turns out it isn't true. I spent some time in China a little while ago. What I noticed was that Chinese just have smaller horses.), puts it at a little more than 1,700 psi.
So, the question I have now is: how long do I leave it in the press?
anthony
So I was reading this thread last night and decided to go for it.
I made it to the local Harbor Frieght about twenty minutes before closing and got a six ton, bench-type, press. On the way home I picked up some 3" i.d. PVC with 1/4" walls and a 2 1/4" in diameter steel flange with a 1/2" opening.
Put the press together, the Chinese don't write very good instructions, but it appears to be functioning correctly. Cut enough PVC to make two 3" tall sleeves. Turned a couple of pistons to fit inside the PVC. (I turned their surfaces like a butter mold, for the fun of it."
Inserted a piston in the bottom of the PVC sleeve, Cut up a plastic grocery bag and lined the sleeve with it. Packed as much tobacco as I could into it. Stuck it in the press and smooshed it down and then put in some more tobacco. Folded the plastic bag remenent over the top of the tobacco. Put the flange between the press's ram and the piston - I wanted to spread some of the energy out as the piston was only made of maple.
I maxed out the press. About seven square inches of surface area in the sleeve. Six tons of pressure, if the chinese measure such things the way we do and didn't wimp out (I don't know if any of you worked with older American motors and have compared to current Chinese motors. The American motor just seemes to have a little more than a Chinese one with similar horsepower rating. I just figured it was poor work on the Chinese manufacturer's part. Turns out it isn't true. I spent some time in China a little while ago. What I noticed was that Chinese just have smaller horses.), puts it at a little more than 1,700 psi.
So, the question I have now is: how long do I leave it in the press?
anthony
Why not utilise a vacuum press within a piston like system, you can generate tons of pressure with something as simple as a sealed pipe with a blow off and a heavy weight and a modified bicycle pump or for even more power the hydraulics from an automobile jack. I did immediately have the crazy idea of creating that sealed piston system with the one way blow off and tethering it and dropping it off the side of the boat. There is a lot of pressure under the ocean, but the amount of money you'd have to spend on cable makes it totally unrealistic. Bonus points if you figure out how to launch it into space. Good luck to you whatever you come up with. Happy smoking.
That is really cool; even if it's just a statement piece. Even cooler if it still works. We used to have a cast iron apple corer/peeler that was as big as a sewing machine and it was just awesome, but it went to an aunt when grandma died.
I was going to wait for a full month, but I took the tobacco out of the press four days early.
This is the press I used. It cost me 70 dollars if I remember correctly.
This is the container I created to hold the tobacco during the pressing process. I described it in a previous post. It took about 15 minutes of hard work to get the tobacco out. Some of the plastic bag and tobacco, just a little, little bit, squeezed between the inside wall of the PVC and the wooded pistons I made. The result was they no longer slid inside the tube.
...and here is the consequence. The tobacco was MacBarrans Virginia #1, I think. I didn't buy it, but someone told me. It is that tobacco at right front. The container for pressing the tobacco is in the back, and the result of the experiment is on the left.
The compressed plug weighs 3.25 ounces and is 3 inches wide by .5 inches thick. The plastic peeled off without problem. There is no way to crumble it, but a knife cuts it well. It took a little rubbing out after the cutting.
I have to say that I never smoked the original tobacco. I was here. The tobacco was here. I was in the mode and I packed it in the press.
The result is pretty good. It has kind of a jazzy, spicy flavor. Very smooth. Fairly sweet. Burns well. Worth following up with another try.
anthony
This is the press I used. It cost me 70 dollars if I remember correctly.
This is the container I created to hold the tobacco during the pressing process. I described it in a previous post. It took about 15 minutes of hard work to get the tobacco out. Some of the plastic bag and tobacco, just a little, little bit, squeezed between the inside wall of the PVC and the wooded pistons I made. The result was they no longer slid inside the tube.
...and here is the consequence. The tobacco was MacBarrans Virginia #1, I think. I didn't buy it, but someone told me. It is that tobacco at right front. The container for pressing the tobacco is in the back, and the result of the experiment is on the left.
The compressed plug weighs 3.25 ounces and is 3 inches wide by .5 inches thick. The plastic peeled off without problem. There is no way to crumble it, but a knife cuts it well. It took a little rubbing out after the cutting.
I have to say that I never smoked the original tobacco. I was here. The tobacco was here. I was in the mode and I packed it in the press.
The result is pretty good. It has kind of a jazzy, spicy flavor. Very smooth. Fairly sweet. Burns well. Worth following up with another try.
anthony
I threw this together on Sunday from materials languishing in my garage. I then loaded it with approximately 2 ounces of my homemade blend wrapped in parchment paper. After loading the press, I torqued down the wing nuts as far as I could(I have very strong hands)and put the press in a cabinet. Every afternoon I add pressure as necessary. I'll probably crack this open after Christmas or early next month.
Pretty impressive efforts! I'd been thinking of using oak whiskey barrel staves (oak) and forming a tube with them, then using a heavy metal frame and a bell screw to put the pressure on.
But, I may have to rethink that seeing both the high, and low, tech methods shown here. Both with pretty good thinking behind them.
Let us know how each of the experiments turns out so I can steal the best ideas!
But, I may have to rethink that seeing both the high, and low, tech methods shown here. Both with pretty good thinking behind them.
Let us know how each of the experiments turns out so I can steal the best ideas!
I know this is an old post, but that press is long gone and no longer do i have to struggle with it :p
Hmmmm. Dead thread. I've been Mia about 4.5 years. Had to get my spending in order. Lol so I'm just going to add to this first off I'd like to say hi. I'm Shawn. Anyone who was here when I hung out knew I was working on maki g a press and it started out with oak and several c clamps. I now have a 3000 pound shop press. I welded a stainless 3/8" box together. Like 8"x8" by up to 3 inches tall.then bore a hole in the center of the bottom of the box. Like 3/4". Then I cut two more plates to fit just inside the box. They floated. So i took the first floating piece of stainless and dropped it In the bottom of the box and started layering tobacco that had been cased with whatever I wanted. Mixed the tobacco/casing mix and fill the box as full as you can. Then drop the other floating metal plate and fit it on top. Then I placed it in the shop press and jacked it up so the plate was smashing the tobacco in the box. I left it usually overnight in the box, pulled it out, flipped it over, grabbed a piece of rear, stuck it in the hole and hit it till it came out in a big square pad. Then I put it in a humidor at like 50% humidity and aged it for months if it's not aged at least 6 months, it's not worth smoking. I just opened a perique heavy VaPer I pressed 5 years ago. It's really nice. Still need another year though. You can get raw tobacco from leafonly.com. & fairtradetobacco.com. FairtrDe has a bigger community of growers and hobbies. All tobacco great. Nuff said.glad to be back. Hope I see some people I know. Ttyl
Hi Shawn:
I smoke whole leaf myself, usually a Burley/Bright leaf/honey mix. I like Burley but it needs to have the ph lowered so it doesn't bite. Bright Leaf (Virginia) will do this, as will honey. I use just a little of each so as to not add change the flavor a lot. Anyway, I just get the 'baccy in heavy case and stove it lightly in a mason jar, like a 170 degree oven turned off and put the jar in for a half hour. Then I roll it tightly into "cigars" and press between two metal plates in a bench vise overnight. It ain't pretty, but it's a solid, hard mass. Slice off "coins" and dice them a bit and go.
Your setup sounds purty neat.
I smoke whole leaf myself, usually a Burley/Bright leaf/honey mix. I like Burley but it needs to have the ph lowered so it doesn't bite. Bright Leaf (Virginia) will do this, as will honey. I use just a little of each so as to not add change the flavor a lot. Anyway, I just get the 'baccy in heavy case and stove it lightly in a mason jar, like a 170 degree oven turned off and put the jar in for a half hour. Then I roll it tightly into "cigars" and press between two metal plates in a bench vise overnight. It ain't pretty, but it's a solid, hard mass. Slice off "coins" and dice them a bit and go.
Your setup sounds purty neat.
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