Custom Copper Nickel Vise and Arbor Jaws For Rosin Tech.

[Oneiric]

So here is the update after getting the new irons from @Joel W. shown below:

Only a few minor differences in the way they look. Plugging them in and inserting with lowest settings got me to about 150F. I turned them up to 275C and my plates settled to around 205F. Looks like my first two irons, which are different, just run much hotter.

Did some squishing:
1.67g Super Silver Haze (Sativa), rolled up by hand into 3 small balls.

Straight from dispensary. The rest of it i'll let cure overnight with a boveda pack. I only got a 15.5% yield with .26g after 2 squishes each from the 3 pucks.

Things got funky on this session of squishing, which is only my second on this setup. My Bolton Vise is bent out of shape and my plates no longer match evenly when they're pressed together. The thin plate on the bottom of my vise that is supposed to guide it along the metal track has been bent from the pressure of my torque wrench.

The plate has been force up, making this plate slide upwards while the puck is getting squished. This leaves less of an area where my puck can get squished, but it also adds more tension on the parchment paper because of the sliding.

I'm thinking i'll contact bolton and see about getting a replacement. My torque wrench was only set to 35 foot-pounds.

Any ideas?

-Alex

 

[Joel W.]

I'm thinking i'll contact bolton and see about getting a replacement. My torque wrench was only set to 35 foot-pounds.

Any ideas?

Well I am glad the new irons fixed your heating issue.

As for the bolton vise guide rails, wow, that is definitely not right.

This is the first time I have seen or heard about this problem with the bolton vise.

Are the rails/screws loose?

Please let me know what bolton has to say about it. Hopefully they get you straightened out.

I'd say you could unscrew the rails and straighten them back out with a hammer, but I would wait to see what bolton says first.

 

[Oneiric]

The screws and rails are still tightly secured. Its just bent out of shape from clamping down too hard.

I sent an email through amazon about the issue. I'll update when I hear back from Bolton.

-Alex

 

[grokit]

Any ideas?

I'm glad the second irons worked out, I believe mine are the same ones. I haven't set my bolton up yet, but I know it took a beating during shipping. So I was thinking that shipping damage may be your issue.

 

[Joel W.]

The screws and rails are still tightly secured. Its just bent out of shape from clamping down too hard.

I sent an email through amazon about the issue. I'll update when I hear back from Bolton.

-Alex

One thought, as I mentioned in a pm, I have advised in the past to keep the movable jaw bolts slightly loose to let it "seat" to the solid jaw better. This has helped with a few uneven pressure issues, but I am not sure what could be causing so much uplift from the movable jaw in your case?

We may need to check out your jaws next, to rule them out. I bet they are ok though.

 

[Oneiric]

I took off the guard rails, straightened them out as best as I could using an arbor press (best I could find to work with ). Unfortunately the guard rails are designed such that you can't rotate them around or switch sides.

I also added some flimsy washers to the two screws up front to help with force distribution and also to protect the screws if the plates got bent again.

I did another round of squishing, setting the irons to 350C today got my irons around 190F. Put in 1.67g, squished several pucks twice each, got out .27g (16.4%). I'm ordering a new scale with better accuracy since I like doing smaller squishes and I don't trust my scale at these small numbers.

Checking the vise after the session, the plates have bent a little bit, but I think it might have only bent enough for the plates to line up. The amount of play the bends have caused is acceptable for me to keep using it.

I'm also changing up how I use my torque wrench. Previously, I was cranking downwards with force, with the wrench being in the 12-3 clock positions. I think this may have contributed to the bending of the guard rails, but I'm not entirely sure.

I remember reading before about leaving the movable plate a little loose to allow for the plates to line up, and I left that jaw a little loose. I'll try lossening a little more.
-Alex

 

[Joel W.]

Good job at fixing your rails @Oneiric .

I think @grokit was right that the damage may have happened in shipping the vise? I guess time will tell here, if it happens again. So glad you are up and running already.

 

[Oneiric]

Some notes to add to my previous post:
I removed the tips from the irons, and plugged the ends with some aluminum. I thought this would help with heating up the plates, but found that it made it worse. I think the direct contact with the metal from the tip helps distribute the heat more.

Now for my next squish report:

I added the tips back in, set the irons to 350C, and this time it steadied around 210F.
I squished 3.31g of Blue Chip Brain Candy (Hybrid - sorry, forgot to take a before pic).
Cured 24 hours with a boveda 62 pack.
This time I left the nugs mostly intact instead of separating chunks off of the stems and then tightly packing them into balls.
I had 4 pucks, varying from .5g to 1.15g.
Squished 2 times for each puck with 60 foot-pounds of torque on the wrench, didn't time them but about 30s each press.
I got 0.78g of a nice clear rosin; which comes out to an amazing 23.6% yield!

The presses were also "cleaner" this session, resulting in a lot less contaminants in the final collection, as evidenced by the pic above compared to my previous collections. Not sure what exactly caused this, as I've pressed this strain before (this is only my 5th rosin squishing session *ever*, not just with this setup), but I would lean towards the pre-packing method difference?

Inspecting the vise, the guard rails do not appear to have warped any further from the last session, which i'll take as a good sign. I'll keep an eye on this as I keep pressing, and I'm also still looking for a reply from Bolton about it.

About to take a dab of this, but the last time i pressed this strain I was higher than I had been in a LONG time. Shout out to @Joel W. for the awesome plates! Again, I can't stress enough how easy this is for a newbie using his plates and recommended setup.

-Alex

*Edit - yep, feeling extremely baked again... loving this strain!

 

[Joel W.]

Nice yields @Oneiric .

If you have a set of wire cutters or a hacksaw, you can shorten the tips (soft metal) about a half an inch and it will keep the hot tip inside the jaws so you don't accidentally touch them. Also, If you pull the irons out about a half inch, it puts the heat more in the center instead of off to one side. It does not really seem to change anything with this cuni though.

 

[Oneiric]

@Joel W. I thought I remembered seeing some math on foot-pounds conversion to psi, but couldn't find it after some searching. Do you have that info on hand somewhere? I'm just looking to fine-tune the squishing.

Thanks for the tip about the irons; any solutions for keeping them in place? I'm terrified I'm going to get something hooked onto a cord and yank it out - burning my carpet and whatever else it touches!

-Alex

 

[Joel W.]

@Oneiric These are from a similar type vise and I really have not found any specs specific to the bolton vise, but I bet they are close.

I am only guestimating that this info, from Kurt's vise website, is pretty universal when it comes to milling vises.

• MANUAL VISE CLAMPING FORCE-LBS.
  Torque Ft.-Lbs.
  
• 10 - 1129
  
• 20 - 2242
• 30 - 3337
• 40 - 4148
• 50 - 5379
  
• 60 - 6310
• 70 - 6977
• 80 - 7968

Also, If you run the cord back under the jaws (out of the pinch), in the direction of the tip, if the cord gets pulled by accident, it will pull the irons into the jaw, instead of out.

 

[Oneiric]

Ah, that's right. I remember reading that tip about the cords now. I'll do that to be safe!

For the table above: the numbers on the right are PSI? or is that already x/3.14 for your plates?
Thanks for reposting that!
-Alex

 

[Joel W.]

For the table above: the numbers on the right are PSI? or is that already x/3.14 for your plates?
Thanks for reposting that!
-Alex

Yes, the right column would be psi and not yet calculated for the 2' plate size or puck diameter which would be the actual psi. Most of my pucks are smaller than my jaws by a half inch or so.

 

[Joel W.]

I am getting a report back saying the Amazon 5/8th 8pt socket link in my signature is too small and does not fit the Bolton vise. He said he needed to use an 11/16th 8pt socket instead.

Has anyone else ran across this issue?

 

[Oneiric]

The socket I used in your link has worked perfectly for me.

An update on the Bolton Vise: Bolton contacted me and said they would issue a replacement, but didn't address anything about what the problem might have been. Since the item is FBA(fulfilled by amazon), I had to get on the phone with Amazon to have the item refunded and returned. I then had to place another order for a new vise. *NOTE* since ordering the vise 2 weeks ago, the price has jumped to $111 now. I was able to get a credit for that amount on this new order. Checking the ebay link now shows $110 as well.

I should be getting the new vise on Tuesday next week, and will report back on what I find. I'll be keeping the old vise until I get the new one before returning it, so I can do a thorough comparison.

-oneiric

 

[Joel W.]

Looks like a price jump on both eBay and Amazon and Bolton tools. Bolton tools site lists it for $86.90 now plus $20 shipping.

http://boltontool.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=871&search=+vise

 

[mixchu69]

Can someone please list the latest equipment needed to make rosin using @Joel W. Plates. it looks like I need the Bolton tool listed in the post above. if someone can list a proper setup (looking only to squish .1-.2g nugs). Need it to fit in my room (ideally the dimensions or size of a microwave). Thanks in advance

 

[Joel W.]

The links in my signature are current.

The vise
http://m.ebay.com/itm/381315031199?_mwBanner=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1CBY4PSCQFZ69D53JFYW

The irons
http://m.ebay.com/itm/181935171348?_mwBanner=1

The socket
http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-J5420S-2-Inch-Socket-8-Inch/dp/B002GKDVHQ/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1445091004&sr=8-20&keywords=5/8"+square+socket

Most people already have a 1/2" ratchet or torque wrench but I can provide links if needed.

 

[mixchu69]

The links in my signature are current.

The vise

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1CBY4PSCQFZ69D53JFYW

The irons
http://m.ebay.com/itm/181935171348?_mwBanner=1

The socket
http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-J5420S-2-Inch-Socket-8-Inch/dp/B002GKDVHQ/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1445091004&sr=8-20&keywords=5/8"+square+socket

Most people already have a 1/2" ratchet or torque wrench but I can provide links if needed.

Thanks for the help. Excited to press out some rosin.

 

[1DMF]

What pressure does the vice tighten too?

Edit, just seen that above. which equates to 38 tonnes, I saw the vid stress testing up to 10 tonnes.

So is a vice the only way to get the pressure without hardcore machinery?

And can the plates handle 38 tonnes?

 

[Joel W.]

What pressure does the vice tighten too?

The manufacturer does not list the clamping pressure of the Bolton vise but using a torque wrench and a chart provided from a similar vise, I can guess it could be capable of 4-5 tons max.

 

[1DMF]

80 - 7968

I assumed that was what the vice could do which according to an online converter 7968 ft lbs = 38.9 tonnes.

Man I came into this thinking hair straightners and some parchment paper and I can make some rosin and dab it.

Now it seems I need a degree in mechanical engineering, understand thermodynamics, and own some hardcore machinery!

 

[Joel W.]

The first 80# is ft pounds of torque on the vise handle using a torque wrench and the 7968 # would be the clamping pressure in pounds per square inch applied.

 

[1DMF]

awesome, I read that as ft lbs = 38 tonnes it's 5.6

Are you still making the plates?

 

[Joel W.]

awesome, I read that as ft lbs = 38 tonnes it's 5.6

Are you still making the plates?

Yes, they are 150 plus actual shipping costs outside of USA.

PM me your mailing city and zip code and I can give you a quote for express international.

Man I came into this thinking hair straightners and some parchment paper and I can make some rosin and dab it.

Now it seems I need a degree in mechanical engineering, understand thermodynamics, and own some hardcore machinery!

A hairpress does work. I went through 5 though. Lol