United Machining Stainless Steel Grinder

tlp5002

Well-Known Member
Yep and mine has already been marked as shipped, tracking not updated yet, but it says 2day so should have it by the end of week!
Mind sharing some pics when it arrives? I’ll be living vicariously through this thread for a while ha.
 
tlp5002,

SquirrelMaster

Well-Known Member
Yep and mine has already been marked as shipped, tracking not updated yet, but it says 2day so should have it by the end of week!
Nice! I ordered on Nov. 15 as well so mine should be shipping asap (nothing marked in my order info yet). Shipping to Canada will be much longer so I'll live vicariously through your pics until then :lol:.
 

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
So sorry guys, kept putting off making this long post! Mine shipped super quick and arrived before noon today, pretty cool to say the least... Here is unboxing (spare kief screen and sticker in between foam and side btw) along with breakdown of everything included, photos of the different sides:


Simple yet sufficient packaging, the tool helps you remove the kief tray screen and the aluminum plate, which I did (honestly have no intention of using it and was never a particularly interested in it, adding those little aluminum lips into the holes, when I am just going to turn upside down anyway to grind to whatever degree) though it is a nice inclusion with plenty of spare screws, and spare screws for the bottom tray connector pegs... Yeah I suppose with this design he could make any attachment plates, eventually in steel as well, this one is pretty nice though as it is for those that need it.

The kief tray is easy to remove, I like the blue aluminum better than the gold of the plate, and it is very lightweight. It also seems like the little brass or whatever material it is scooper design has changed, it's pretty compact and cute, I think easier to hold with this design although a different type of scoop, honestly I don't have much use for it myself... Unfortunately it ships completely put together, so I guess the little scoop bounces around a lot in the chamber, not a problem for the steel dish bottom tray of course, however it definitely did make noticeable marks on the underside of my blue aluminum kief tray... I don't really plan on using this part, so I don't care personally!

All right now that we've got down to the bare bones three piece grinder that I wanted, let me start off by saying the bead blasted stainless steel is extremely nice... Very smooth and solid, heavy of course, and I like the color in person too! I really like the bottom with the tree, the top is a bit too busy for my taste but the cuts are very grippy although a bit rough in some spots, however there is such a cool effect when the light hits these etchings that you can kind of catch a glimpse of in some photos, but yeah you can only appreciate in person it is just simply incredible and so entrancing, worth it!

On the sides there is softer grip in the lid, while the midsection has a indent all around perfect to fit your fingers and pull the grinder apart. The bottom tray however comes apart by twisting, so you move the mid plate around the pegs and away from the magnets to release. You could also pull the bottom tray off, but it takes a bit of force, and the lower tray piece has such a narrow space for you to grip... Actually because of that it is almost impossible to remove the top grinder portion from the bottom tray without picking the grinder up off the table, to hold it with both hands so you can do the turn release for the magnets... Also I must say it can be difficult to put the top grinder portion back on top of the bottom tray, because you have to line up the three pegs with the three holes so it can take a bit of turning it around instead of simply placing it on every time.

The teeth in the lid are sharp at the tips but not painfully so, thin enough to slice through sticky nugs. The bottom teeth are more uniformed with smaller points, while the holes beneath them are fairly large yet spaced apart except for the middle. The bottom tray is large and smooth, the finish is great like I said, rounded off edges without the kief tray are perfect. Despite the noise, it does turn smooth enough without a gasket, at least with nothing loaded... The wider size (only 2.5in but larger than BCG and FM I am using) and low profile reminds me of SLX form factor for better and for worse!

Okay, I think that covers all the superficial points I could think of for now, let's get into the first impressions with my first usages!

PXL-20210326-214807562.jpg

^Love this Willy Wonka strain, trying to savor it so only using a little, many more to try!

PXL-20210326-215504852.jpg

^Loaded up carefully with fairly small nugs, stems removed, certainly room for more...

PXL-20210326-215930847.jpg

^So I ground upside down for a little while, didn't count, because I wanted a consistent medium grind. As such there's going to be more material stuck in the teeth and sides, I use a toothpick to poke any other bits free and knock the top pieces together (makes a totally different noise being steel haha)

PXL-20210326-221716557.jpg


Not too bad for a first run, I'd say this grind isn't super consistent, and it wasn't super easy to achieve, but I have many more strains to try and plenty of testing to do of course... Also this batch did serve me quite well in the tinymight and tafée bowle and vapbong bandit! Now for round 2, indica...
 
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Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
Oh forgot to mention that I cleaned it with iso rinse and qtip scrub too, there was a little dirt on the cotton though not much...

Anyway onto my second use, grinding some dank indica moist dense cake mix nugs specifically for my vapbong (so not upside down at all, since I wanted it chunky coarse) Look at UMG lid next to the jar, smiling all happy and excited to chew these weeds:

PXL-20210327-063802854.jpg


This time I tried loading a little more into the edges, which I normally do not do, tend to keep nugs more centered, but since this lid is the go over the top design I figured I'd try:

PXL-20210327-064248476.jpg


However possibly because of how fresh and sticky this bud is, this was not the way to go because it was quite difficult to get it to grind properly, It was turning okay but I could feel there was still plenty in the lid, which became clear why when I opened it up:

PXL-20210327-065450458-MP.jpg


So I took those two big nugs on the sides and moved them towards the center, then I was able to continue actually grinding lol

PXL-20210327-065634465.jpg


Finished result pretty good, not that much left in the chamber, although I did have to work for it... I am finding it difficult to grip and turn the grinder, since it is so flat shallow, like it would be helpful if the midsection was taller? Also if you turn it to the left with the bottom firmly grip, you could turn the midsection from the bottom tray pegs disengaging the magnets, which is also a little inconvenient... And while the scraping sound isn't too bad, the feel of it happening in my hands is not so pleasant...

However I just loaded the bowl and took a hit in my plum jelly bandit, now I must say I think this is actually a pretty nice coarse grind! Also there is a lot of new here that I still need to get used to of course, I mean I haven't even had it for 24 hours yet!
 
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Weedaholic

Well-Known Member
I got a shipping email in what seemed like minutes after I posted lol. Now for the trip north which should take a week I think.

Nice write up @Shit Snacks
Haha, the same thing happened too me when you asked. When i checked on any updates there was nothing.
Two minutes later i get an email that it's shipped.

@Shit Snacks I must say that was a good write up and thank you for the pictures
 

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
Thank you all for the kind words, just trying my best to do my part while the rest of you are waiting or trying to decide whether or not you want to jump in and pre order one too!

PXL-20210329-061249049.jpg


Finishing off the cake mix in Tafée Bowle tonight ;) (love these Rogue/Delta3D tools)
 

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
My pleasure of course!

Back to sativa for my third round, some nice Blueberry Faygo nugs, not too moist or too dry, not as crazy dense either... You know who is always excited to munch it up!

PXL-20210329-224059522.jpg


Still not loading that much at once, small nugs carefully placed... this time I actually decided to load in the lid, after I was studying the teeth and how they move, while stoned last night... I thought this could be better for my grinding upside down in particular, as there seem to be more natural spots to put different shape and size nugs in the lid between teeth. Just need to be even more careful about leaving room on the sides this way probably?

PXL-20210329-224925960.jpg


Off the bat it seemed easier to put the two pieces together and begin grinding this way, though it did still take some effort on my part, I think I held it in a better way now and could get it going quicker... I kept turning as I could feel the resistance inside, it did not get stuck in the way that it happened on the last one when I had some nugs too close to the edges, so I was able to keep turning and turning despite modest struggle... I tried to turn it back the other direction a few times and was able to successfully a bit, but it really does want to be turned clockwise only I think. Based on feel and how long I had been turning it, I then decided to flip it over and continue turning until I felt that the resistance had subsided.

PXL-20210329-225245773.jpg


So as you can see, pretty good, not too much residual left in the grinding chamber, though some was stuck to the sides or top of teeth, I considered this pretty good for the upside down grinding, although it is starting to get more noticeably dirty after only these three uses? Not too bad with the toothpick to poke the bits out afterwards and add them to the tray, but I think maybe these teeth do seem to attract more herb sticking to them like this... This grind is a more medium fine, better consistency though still not so great? Parts are fine enough to use in my FW7 for a bowl right now, I'll put the chunkier stuff with the rest in TB or TM probably... While this still took a bit of work to achieve, it was less of a struggle than the past two, though the herbs are a big factor in that of course. I am also getting more used to it, finding ways to hold it and use it that work well for me, I do think I will continue to load the lid this way, especially if I want a more versatile grind. Regardless I will likely always want to start grinding upside down and continue loading this way, even for a chunkier coarse grind, I would just flip it over sooner if not instantly to grind the herbs in that case...

It is fun to have and to hold, the industrial design is impressive, just so solid and simple as a three-piece, like I said before very nice bead blasted stainless steel finish, the look and feel is very nice, yes I even like the color in person! Sure it seems that I am not exactly in love with it, but I certainly am not mad at it either ;):D
 

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
You guys clean yours before use? if so, how?
Yes, I mentioned it at the top of my second post above after I received it, I rinsed it (the three main pieces since I wasn't using the aluminum parts) in iso and scrubbed with a qtip, rinsed with water and used a hair dryer afterwards so I could use it sooner. Very quick and easy process, definitely worth doing before use because there was some dirtiness showing up on the qtip cotton...

Third use last night with some lovely indica Wedding Pie (dense but a bit dry now) for a coarse grind used in my vapbong bandit:
PXL-20210330-075632342.jpg

PXL-20210330-080343874.jpg


Getting the hang of it, loading in the lid like this, gripping and grinding, still a bit of work compared to BCG or FM at least though...

Now I just ground up some sativa Apple Fritter (good balance of not too dense not too moist) and I loaded pretty full this time:
PXL-20210330-230225191.jpg

PXL-20210330-231707817.jpg


^Went for a consistent pretty fine grind as well, with a lot of upside down turning, in both directions, not too bad... You will notice the grinding parts are getting much dirtier now though, typical when you grind upside down, but after only four uses there is substantial buildup on the sides that may affect its ability to turn smooth before long.
 
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disruptxd

Well-Known Member
Yes, I mentioned it at the top of my second post above after I received it, I rinsed it (the three main pieces since I wasn't using the aluminum parts) in iso and scrubbed with a qtip, rinsed with water and used a hair dryer afterwards so I could use it sooner. Very quick and easy process, definitely worth doing because there was some dirtiness showing up on the qtip cotton...

Third use last night with some lovely indica Wedding Pie (dense but a bit dry now) for a coarse grind used in my vapbong bandit:
PXL-20210330-075632342.jpg

PXL-20210330-080343874.jpg


Getting the hang of it, loading in the lid like this, gripping and grinding, still a bit of work compared to BCG or FM at least though...

Now I just ground up some sativa Apple Fritter (good balance of not too dense not too moist) and I loaded pretty full this time:
PXL-20210330-230225191.jpg

PXL-20210330-231707817.jpg


^Went for a pretty fine grind as well, with a lot of upside down turning, in both directions, not too bad... You will notice the grinding parts are getting much dirtier now though, typical when you grind upside down, but after only four uses there is substantial buildup on the sides that will surely affect its ability to turn smooth enough before long...
Gotcha thanks you mentioned the three main pieces and not using the aluminum parts - which parts are aluminum?
 

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
Gotcha thanks you mentioned the three main pieces and not using the aluminum parts - which parts are aluminum?

The gold colored plate underneath the midsection, that is screwed to it in the middle, is aluminum as well as the blue kief filter tray... The little scooper I believe is brass? That part I did clean too, though I have not used it... I presume the mesh filter screens are stainless steel, though I'm not bothering with those either of course...
 
Shit Snacks,
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Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
Welp no one else posting, despite some of you receiving yours? Yeah so I have no choice but to go back to back yet again!

Some dryer yet sticky dense Strawberry Mimosa this time with some nice Strawberry Cake cbd as well, another fairly full lid load:
PXL-20210402-202939215.jpg


Did not plan to grind it as fine this time, so I flipped it over a little sooner than I did with the apple fritter, still plenty of upside down time though for the consistency, however a little bit more got stuck in the sides again:
PXL-20210402-203442951.jpg


Not too bad to poke it a bit and continue a little more grinding, empty it on the table so you could see more of the consistency:
PXL-20210402-204144105.jpg


Not too fine, not too coarse, though not that consistent either, but a decent enough medium grind I would say! Some bits fine enough if sifted through (which I did with what was on the table, to load into FW7, the rest will probably be in TB, TM, VB) However it really is a bit of a struggle for me to use this thing ergonomically, and I think turning it is just not so smooth with this design... I may end up relegating it to more chunky coarse grinds instead of trying for my upside down consistency, we shall see as time goes by what kind of groove I settle into with my UMG. Still nice to have and to hold lol
 

Kinick23

Well-Known Member
Happy Saturday FC!

I got on Monday and have been rotating in with other grinders so hasn’t seen a ton of use yet but here are my initial impressions

the craftsmanship and build/finish on this grinder is great, def the best I’ve seen so far. I have an Herb Ripper (2nd gen though haven’t tried latest versions) and while it’s nice SS I don’t think it’s on the same level as this truly functional piece of art. I can see an enthusiast just wanting this for their collection irrespective of how it performs to a degree.

functionally you have to work more with this one more than a BCG or FM for example both of which I would say win in the ease of grind category over UMG. I kept the aluminum plate attached to the mid section and have consistently gotten a fine/even grind with it so far. There aren’t additional plates offered yet so if you prefer a med grind suggest taking off the plate like @Shit Snacks did. If you prefer a course/chunky grind you’re prob best served waiting for said future plate options or go w a diff grinder.

Magnets are welcomed and appreciated. The bottom magnets took a lil getting used to as there are 3 pins that essentially lock it into place (hard to describe) but this is the reason when grinding back and forth and the grinder starts to jam a bit with sticky herb the magnet pins can quickly move to the unlocked position. The grip on this one is interesting as well bc it is a bit more low profile, whereas usually I palm my grinders I’ve been trying to just use fingers and grind left to right in a quick/continuous motion instead of full 360 degree turns. With my BCG I do grind upside down for the first couple turns but find with this one that really isn’t necessary bc the grind is fine in nature.

jury is still out on how to improve from here but main area would be figuring out a smoother/faster grind experience for the user. I’m not a huge fan of the tooth design on the top plate but also can’t knock it bc the grind has been good thus far If you like fine.

Note 2nd pic from bottom was after grinding prob 10 seconds or so and you can see there is herb still left in the mid section and some bits in the hole tho that pushed through very easily with a poker tool.


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Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
Well I tried using it again last night, with some meh quality greenhouse grown purple punch, still reasonably moist and dense, but not too much so, so should be fine I thought to load full... Should I have known by now?

PXL-20210405-080012863.jpg


^I like these smiley photos lol

PXL-20210405-080626721.jpg


^Loaded the body like normal again

PXL-20210405-081208735.jpg


^This was after a lot of struggle, and then a lot of turning once it got going, finally it was able to turn a little more freely in the correct direction (for some reason I could get it to turn the opposite direction easier than the correct direction for a while) So I thought why don't I take a look and this is what I found... if I hadn't opened it to rearrange with a toothpick then I don't think It would have actually been able to finish grinding...

PXL-20210405-081647408.jpg


^This was for my vapbong bandit so I didn't even turn it upside down at all this time either, I wanted it to be coarse and didn't need it to be super consistent... And yet with a full grinder, of not even super moist dense nugs, this was a total struggle for me to achieve frankly, very hard on my hands...

I may give it one more shot, loading less, but this is a large grinder, if I'm going to load less of something I'd rather use one of my small BCG, so yeah I'm just not sure I am going to have a use for this grinder after all... There are some impressive things here, but the user experience for me, the actual important parts of the design in my opinion, are ultimately awful. Womp Womp :ugh:
 
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Weedaholic

Well-Known Member
Well I tried using it again last night, with some meh quality greenhouse grown purple punch, still reasonably moist and dense, but not too much so, so should be fine I thought to load full... Should I have known by now?

PXL-20210405-080012863.jpg


^I like these smiley photos lol

PXL-20210405-080626721.jpg


^Loaded the body like normal again

PXL-20210405-081208735.jpg


^This was after a lot of struggle, and then a lot of turning once it got going, finally it was able to turn a little more freely in the correct direction (for some reason I could get it to turn the opposite direction easier than the correct direction for a while) So I thought why don't I take a look and this is what I found... if I hadn't opened it to rearrange with a toothpick then I don't think It would have actually been able to finish grinding...

PXL-20210405-081647408.jpg


^This was for my vapbong bandit so I didn't even turn it upside down at all this time either, I wanted it to be coarse and didn't need it to be super consistent... And yet with a full grinder, of not even super moist dense nugs, this was a total struggle for me to achieve frankly, very hard on my hands...

I may give it one more shot, loading less, but this is a large grinder, if I'm going to load less of something I'd rather use one of my small BCG, so yeah I'm just not sure I am going to have a use for this grinder after all... There are some impressive things here, but the user experience for me, the actual important parts of the design in my opinion, are ultimately awful. Womp Womp :ugh:
Well that sucks so..I was looking forward too using it but after reading this, things don't look good.
Reminds me of ex,looks good but performs bad.

I think i will order a large BCG now...Wish there was a stainless steel BCG...I suppose i can wish.
 

SquirrelMaster

Well-Known Member
Well that sucks so..I was looking forward too using it but after reading this, things don't look good.
Reminds me of ex,looks good but performs bad.

I think i will order a large BCG now...Wish there was a stainless steel BCG...I suppose i can wish.
There will be a 10% off for 420 right away unless there's an active code already. I ordered one while I waited for my UMG and they'll arrive within a week of each other I'm thinking.

It sounds like the UMG preforms like my HR XL OG in that it doesn't do well when overloaded and/or with sticky icky bud. The teeth look like they should destroy anything thrown at them so I'm confused as to why it doesn't. I was looking at an IG post that said it was much better than his HR so I really don't know.

Hey @Shit Snacks does it make a difference if you load in the top section? If you load half what you loaded does it preform better? Kind of defeats the purpose but that's what I have to do with the HR.
 

Weedaholic

Well-Known Member
There will be a 10% off for 420 right away unless there's an active code already. I ordered one while I waited for my UMG and they'll arrive within a week of each other I'm thinking.

It sounds like the UMG preforms like my HR XL OG in that it doesn't do well when overloaded and/or with sticky icky bud. The teeth look like they should destroy anything thrown at them so I'm confused as to why it doesn't. I was looking at an IG post that said it was much better than his HR so I really don't know.

Hey @Shit Snacks does it make a difference if you load in the top section? If you load half what you loaded does it preform better? Kind of defeats the purpose but that's what I have to do with the HR.
I got my UMG today i thought you would of got it before me..

I didn't get too use it much but i don't mind using it so far without the aluminium plate
The screen is useless in my opinion if you want kief.. Its not fine enough the kief is nearly green.

I will put it threw hell this week and test it more.

I think if you use the aluminium plate it takes way longer too grind.

Thank you for letting me know about the discount on the BCG.
 
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