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Rosin Press
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DoctorJohnson
New member
I'm thinking about pressing too and have looked at what's out there. It looks to me like there's nothing out there yet that's any good that isn't expensive. Since there's a lot of interest, I'm sure so enterprising Chinese manufacturer will probably soon have a small bud smasher that's a big step up from a hair straightener but still under $100. After all, it's just a heater and a squisher; unless you want to press an ounce at a time. there's no reason that that should cost hundreds of dollars.
gbauto
New member
I built a rig using a 12T HF press with a pair of 3x5 plates. I already had a pair of temp control modules I used for tire warmers for my track bike.
I press flower in a 90 micron bag @ 188 degF and it produces really nice rosin-extremely potent so be prepared. With the press, plates, heaters and controller you will have about $350 in it.
I press flower in a 90 micron bag @ 188 degF and it produces really nice rosin-extremely potent so be prepared. With the press, plates, heaters and controller you will have about $350 in it.
DoctorJohnson
New member
Just to give this a try, I ordered a Kipozi Professional hair straightener for about $37 on Amazon because it has a good reputation and LED readout for the temp from 170 up to 400 or so.
I also ordered some Raw brand silicone-coated parchment 5-inch squares.
My principal guidance: Pure Pressure's Top 5 Flower Rosin Tips & Tricks
First test: 170 F, 60 seconds
For the first test, I I decided to try some dried out bunk weed some guy grew on his farm that that was left over at a party a couple of years ago. Hey, there was a seed in there! Old skool bag weed for sure. (In rosin-squeezing videos, I see people rolling sticky weed into a ball. This stuff won't do that--it's more like green sawdust.)
Pure Pressure's first rule is GOOD QUALITY AND FRESH, but this is the opposite: poor quality and dried out (been sitting in a non-ziplock sandwhich bag for a couple of years).
Process: I folded about a little less than pinky-finger's worth into the parchment (I like the Raw the parchment squares--looks like quality) and squished it so hard my feet came off the floor for 60 seconds.
Result: FAIL Dried out bunk weed smashed about 1/16" thick and stuck glued together with what little rosin/trichomes were in there. So it melted what little of the sticky-icky there was, but there was so little of it that it couldn't do anything more than just glue the bunk weed into a green tortilla. :sad-frown: But garbage in, garbage out, right?
Second test: 210 F, 3 minutes
Since the first low temp/short squish was a failure, I decided to go for higher temp for a longer time on the same green tortilla. And this time I actually stood on the hair straightener, 180 lbs over 2 square inches so 90 PSI.
Result: FAIL No change; still just a green tortilla.
Lessons learned:
1. The Kipozi Professional is a nice unit with digital temp control and stands up to being stood on. I would say that it's a good investment if you want to try using a hair straightener).
2. The RAW silicone parchment squares look like a good investment too. I will be able to re-use the sheet I tried. No tearing or breaking, and very non-stick. Expensive, though.
3. The first rule of the guys at Pure Pressure is "Quality is King, Followed By Freshness," and this would seem to bear that out: Heat plus pressure do not transform crap weed into good weed. Soaking bunk weed in alcohol will extract what little rosin is there, but pressing it just liquefies it so it glues the grass together. (Though maybe super high pressure would have made a difference?)
Next steps:
1. Try squeezing some better quality weed.
2. Try squeezing some keif.
3. Finally, take apart the hair straighter and install the metal plates in my bench vice to get a lot more pressure.
How about you? Had any luck pressing rosin, especially with sub-$400 homebrew kind of rigs? I really don' think you should have to invest hundreds of dollars to buy a press that won't fit in the closet just to be able to squeeze weed for personal use, but we shall see...
I also ordered some Raw brand silicone-coated parchment 5-inch squares.
My principal guidance: Pure Pressure's Top 5 Flower Rosin Tips & Tricks
First test: 170 F, 60 seconds
For the first test, I I decided to try some dried out bunk weed some guy grew on his farm that that was left over at a party a couple of years ago. Hey, there was a seed in there! Old skool bag weed for sure. (In rosin-squeezing videos, I see people rolling sticky weed into a ball. This stuff won't do that--it's more like green sawdust.)
Pure Pressure's first rule is GOOD QUALITY AND FRESH, but this is the opposite: poor quality and dried out (been sitting in a non-ziplock sandwhich bag for a couple of years).
Process: I folded about a little less than pinky-finger's worth into the parchment (I like the Raw the parchment squares--looks like quality) and squished it so hard my feet came off the floor for 60 seconds.
Result: FAIL Dried out bunk weed smashed about 1/16" thick and stuck glued together with what little rosin/trichomes were in there. So it melted what little of the sticky-icky there was, but there was so little of it that it couldn't do anything more than just glue the bunk weed into a green tortilla. :sad-frown: But garbage in, garbage out, right?
Second test: 210 F, 3 minutes
Since the first low temp/short squish was a failure, I decided to go for higher temp for a longer time on the same green tortilla. And this time I actually stood on the hair straightener, 180 lbs over 2 square inches so 90 PSI.
Result: FAIL No change; still just a green tortilla.
Lessons learned:
1. The Kipozi Professional is a nice unit with digital temp control and stands up to being stood on. I would say that it's a good investment if you want to try using a hair straightener).
2. The RAW silicone parchment squares look like a good investment too. I will be able to re-use the sheet I tried. No tearing or breaking, and very non-stick. Expensive, though.
3. The first rule of the guys at Pure Pressure is "Quality is King, Followed By Freshness," and this would seem to bear that out: Heat plus pressure do not transform crap weed into good weed. Soaking bunk weed in alcohol will extract what little rosin is there, but pressing it just liquefies it so it glues the grass together. (Though maybe super high pressure would have made a difference?)
Next steps:
1. Try squeezing some better quality weed.
2. Try squeezing some keif.
3. Finally, take apart the hair straighter and install the metal plates in my bench vice to get a lot more pressure.
How about you? Had any luck pressing rosin, especially with sub-$400 homebrew kind of rigs? I really don' think you should have to invest hundreds of dollars to buy a press that won't fit in the closet just to be able to squeeze weed for personal use, but we shall see...
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I have a pair of 3-2-1 machinist blocks that i thought about heating in my oven to the desired temp and then using them as the press with c-clamps for pressure. Pretty poor-mans attempt but I don't see why it wouldn't work reasonably well. Have'n't tried it yet of course. 
But I expect I could get some decent pressure on it and the blocks should hold the heat pretty well.
But I expect I could get some decent pressure on it and the blocks should hold the heat pretty well.
DoctorJohnson
New member
Cool, but over $400 just for the mini?! Yikes.
DoctorJohnson
New member
That reminds me of what this guy did. Nice DIY. https://youtu.be/LwyopuEF4w0?t=1m12s
DoctorJohnson
New member
I've seen really mixed reviews of that. Does it take special skill or only take small amounts or what? How do you make it work for you?
DoctorJohnson
New member
Day 2 and two more experiments with my Kipozi Professional hair straightener for about $37 on Amazon
My principal guidance: Pure Pressure's Top 5 Flower Rosin Tips & Tricks
Tonight:
1. Squishing some pot from the free doobie the medical dispensary gave me three years ago.
This too is pretty dry and doesn't look very good quality:
220 F for 15 seconds and then one minute basically just flattened and decarboxylated it--it's one step beyond the brown-green of properly de-carbed weed. No rosin. No joy.
2. Squishing some Super Lemon Haze Keif
Again 220 F for 15 seconds and 45 seconds. Result: I had high hopes for this, but all it did was get flattened and kind of melted, a little bit like a melted M&M or something? No rosin. No joy.
I'm getting the feeling that what you need is some super sticky-icky bud that's already so rosiny that all you have to do is melt it and squish it out.
I also read in a discussion that weed that is slightly damp is good. In one video, the woman doing the squishing was even wetting the bud in a cup of water. I suspect that what's happening there is that the moisture is a) preventing bone-dry vegetable matter from just soaking up all the rosin and b) maybe providing a little steaming action?
Clearly this is bit of an art, but none of this seems surprising.
On one forum I read a guy say, "Why squish the bud when you can just vape the bud? He might have a point...
Please share your thoughts and experiences...
PS: My White Widow finally showed pistils tonight!
My principal guidance: Pure Pressure's Top 5 Flower Rosin Tips & Tricks
Tonight:
1. Squishing some pot from the free doobie the medical dispensary gave me three years ago.
This too is pretty dry and doesn't look very good quality:
220 F for 15 seconds and then one minute basically just flattened and decarboxylated it--it's one step beyond the brown-green of properly de-carbed weed. No rosin. No joy.
2. Squishing some Super Lemon Haze Keif
Again 220 F for 15 seconds and 45 seconds. Result: I had high hopes for this, but all it did was get flattened and kind of melted, a little bit like a melted M&M or something? No rosin. No joy.
I'm getting the feeling that what you need is some super sticky-icky bud that's already so rosiny that all you have to do is melt it and squish it out.
I also read in a discussion that weed that is slightly damp is good. In one video, the woman doing the squishing was even wetting the bud in a cup of water. I suspect that what's happening there is that the moisture is a) preventing bone-dry vegetable matter from just soaking up all the rosin and b) maybe providing a little steaming action?
Clearly this is bit of an art, but none of this seems surprising.
On one forum I read a guy say, "Why squish the bud when you can just vape the bud? He might have a point...
Please share your thoughts and experiences...
PS: My White Widow finally showed pistils tonight!
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DingusKhan
New member
How many grams can you fit in there? Does it matter if you put in whole buds or grind them?
DingusKhan
New member
Thanks for the reporting, Doctor, even in the face of disappointing results. Definitely a fun read with great visuals.
alltatup
New member
DingusKhan I flatten a bud before I put it in the press; I mold it into a pancake with my fingers. I personally wouldn't grind a bud first.