Rosin Technique....Easy DIY Solventless

[Vapetologist]

Only been pressing rosin for a couple of weeks now
Have only done Lebanese pollom and Nepalese black but I have got 37% return from the pollom and 35% from the black
Happy days

That's crazily close to the world record! Maybe once or twice a flower has tested that high. Someone call Guinness asap.

Still, I'm dubious.

 

[peterpiper]

Not flower, solid
See my avatar
That's 1g Nepalese black

 

[dabsonthemountain]

A pressure gauge is the only way to know. Hopefully manufacturers are hedging the numbers, so a 2 ton jack in reality can produce 2.1 tons...but they list it as 2 to ensure you can get there.

So then once the plates make contact, do i just keep pushing the lever until I can't anymore to get the pressure i'm after? And with a 2 ton jack, would that be near 2 tons of force when the lev er just dosn't want to move anymore? Or will I be overpushing the jack, have it blow up, and then have hydraulic fluid all up in my carpet?

Or is an 8 ton jack a better bet, so i'm not overpushing the jack? And really just let the plates meet basically, and after just one or two extra pushes its at maybe 3-4 tons?

Incase you can't tell, I've never owned a bottle jack before. The answers to my questions probably lie with me buying one and experimenting. With our little cars the scissor jacks were always enough, i gotta figure these things out.

 

[Cannabis-Hardware-Ed]

Once you can't push it anymore, you're probably at the max pressure. Probably. Can you put a longer bar on to get more pressure? Definitely. But as you said, you do risk blowing your seals. Its probably not going explode on you, but you could definitely push it beyond what the mfr spec'd it to.

An 8 ton jack will give you much more flexibility. I like this, and this, but budgets get blown out quickly as pressure rises. Harbor Freight has a coupon code and will ship the 6 ton for $7 which is insane. For ~$80 you can have it at your door.

The major concern with jacks is heat from the press plates. The heat can travel to the jack pretty easily, depending on the jack. Trust me, we've blown out seals in our testing. The jacks we're all looking at weren't designed to deal with heat in any way. Commercial jacks can deal with heat, but you'd need to take out another mortgage...

The arbor presses are pretty foolproof...as there are no seals or hydraulics to blow out. But with a 2 ton limit you just won't get maximum extraction. Not even close.

 

[dabsonthemountain]

Once you can't push it anymore, you're probably at the max pressure. Probably. Can you put a longer bar on to get more pressure? Definitely. But as you said, you do risk blowing your seals. Its probably not going explode on you, but you could definitely push it beyond what the mfr spec'd it to.

An 8 ton jack will give you much more flexibility. I like this, and this, but budgets get blown out quickly as pressure rises. Harbor Freight has a coupon code and will ship the 6 ton for $7 which is insane. For ~$80 you can have it at your door.

The major concern with jacks is heat from the press plates. The heat can travel to the jack pretty easily, depending on the jack. Trust me, we've blown out seals in our testing. The jacks we're all looking at weren't designed to deal with heat in any way. Commercial jacks can deal with heat, but you'd need to take out another mortgage...

The arbor presses are pretty foolproof...as there are no seals or hydraulics to blow out. But with a 2 ton limit you just won't get maximum extraction. Not even close.

Thank you for this. I never considered the heat to much. Wood can't be a good insulator under that much pressure too then. Has anyone found any varieties of plexiglass that can handle the heat? I found it can go to 10000 psi, but melts around 2 something. There have to be kinds that can handle more heat. It's just so easy to work with it's the first thing I thought of.

I'm definitely not going for an arbor press, the whole point is to make it easier to get the pressure. I was going to try to build my own press, the harbor freight ones seem huge. I figured I could have an 8 ton press under 20 inches on a table, I'm definitely considering just getting one in a box now... Less chance of failure all around. I figured with the plates I have now, by building it, it could run under $70 alltogether. But now I question my plates size and also durability under pressure too, is 2"x2" plates enough to keep a .5-.7g puck under them under 3-4 tons of pressure? Will it flatten to paper and come out the sides?

Theres so much to consider when going to hydraulics...

 

[Joel W.]

Wood can't be a good insulator under that much pressure too then

Wood is actually an excellent insulator. Wood that has been reinforced with steel is very hard to crush and transfers very little heat to the press ram or or vise, in my setups.

Edit: I think boogerman said his ram temperature was at 110f when fully warm and my vise never goes over 95f. Both wood blocks are over 6 months old and still functioning as designed.

 

[dabsonthemountain]

Wood is actually an excellent insulator. Wood that has been reinforced with steel is very hard to crush and transfers very little heat to the press ram or or vise, in my setups.

Edit: I think boogerman said his ram temperature was at 110f when fully warm and my vise never goes over 95f. Both wood blocks are over 6 months old and still functioning as designed.

Dosn't it absord much of the pressure in the beginning? That seemed to be the problem on my vise. I felt I was crushing the wood more than the buds.

I'm noticing now the whole steel reinforcement. This just makes things more complicated but the ideas are flowin...

And I may be pming you in a few months for plates, if you're still making them and working through here.

 

[Joel W.]

It's not really complicated. I have not used anything other than these type of 1/2" plywood blocks with a hole in the center for a small chunk of 3/8th's bolt that is the thickness of the plywood. The only metal touching the ram is the 4 connecting bolt tips and the metal seen inside the wood blocks.

I should still be here..

 

[dabsonthemountain]

It's not really complicated. I have not used anything other than these type of 1/2" plywood blocks with a hole in the center for a small chunk of 3/8th's bolt that is the thickness of the plywood. The only metal touching the ram is the 4 connecting bolt tips and the metal seen inside the wood blocks.

I should still be here..

I was imagining it a lot more complicated than that, thats less reinforcement than I thought it'd need. With my plate size and shape i might need two, but this makes things a lot clearer. I may be over building this press after all... I'd rather it was sturdy though. Better safe than sorry.

 

[tepictoton]

So I am back with some more stones to add to this basket.

I notice that there is only one thread about pressing rosin, but after much experimenting I feel there should be two.

The art of pressing rosing from resin aka hash seems to be a completely different game then pressing bud. I have had amazing results with pressing hash. The fresher it gets the better. It will come out lighter golden coloured depending on it´s age? I also noticed that hash that has not been pressed too much and or heated seems to give the best results for me personally in the department of how it looks and how it tastes. More ´processed´ means a darker colour.

I am using SS 25micron screens for pressing hash. Apart from the accidental blow out because I put too much in the screen this has been working great for me.

Getting up to and over 50% return is not bad I think. Especially considering this is done with a 30euro hair iron mointed to a simple bench wrench (uh, hope this is what I mean lol, you know, one of these things used to hold things you are trying to work on in place).

But pressing bud...in one way I cannot complain and can speak of good results too, I only cannot get myself to dab it because it always has plant material in it.

I tried using the SS screens, but they just soak up the little oil that get pressed form the buds. Pressing 1gram max at a time.

Any suggestions on how to get less particles in my oil, and or how to possibly clean it after pressing would be highly appreciated.

I wonder if upgrading to a stronger press and some of those round 2"plates might make a difference?

And another question that is connected to the previous one: if one can get good quality dry sift(from distinct genetics, one can really smell the specific plant/strain it came from) at the same price as good buds, would I not be better of focusing on that? I had a little of that to play arround with yesterday and pressed 1,2grams of nice golden perfumy oil from two grams of that...

Still it would be nice to now and then press buds, but I really want to get my tek up a notch for that. I am just not getting consistent results with pressing buds...And i really think I am not the only one. Maybe someone who used to have these inconsistent results before and upgraded to a heavier press and as such eliminated those inconsistent results could chime in?

 

[shark sandwich]

I think using a heavy duty press is a big help in getting consistent results with flower. It makes it easier to fine tune your technique, and find what works best for you.

If you are getting particulate mixed with your rosin, the starting material is probably too dry. Using boveda 62% bags is the best way to resolve that. Proper moisture content is necessary for strong and consistent results from flower.

I agree that dry sift would be a better deal than flower, all else being equal. That said, I find flower rosin to be much more aromatic than hash rosin. That's reason enough to press some, even if it's not the best deal.

 

[dabsonthemountain]

So I am back with some more stones to add to this basket.

I notice that there is only one thread about pressing rosin, but after much experimenting I feel there should be two.

The art of pressing rosing from resin aka hash seems to be a completely different game then pressing bud. I have had amazing results with pressing hash. The fresher it gets the better. It will come out lighter golden coloured depending on it´s age? I also noticed that hash that has not been pressed too much and or heated seems to give the best results for me personally in the department of how it looks and how it tastes. More ´processed´ means a darker colour.

I am using SS 25micron screens for pressing hash. Apart from the accidental blow out because I put too much in the screen this has been working great for me.

Getting up to and over 50% return is not bad I think. Especially considering this is done with a 30euro hair iron mointed to a simple bench wrench (uh, hope this is what I mean lol, you know, one of these things used to hold things you are trying to work on in place).

But pressing bud...in one way I cannot complain and can speak of good results too, I only cannot get myself to dab it because it always has plant material in it.

I tried using the SS screens, but they just soak up the little oil that get pressed form the buds. Pressing 1gram max at a time.

Any suggestions on how to get less particles in my oil, and or how to possibly clean it after pressing would be highly appreciated.

I wonder if upgrading to a stronger press and some of those round 2"plates might make a difference?

And another question that is connected to the previous one: if one can get good quality dry sift(from distinct genetics, one can really smell the specific plant/strain it came from) at the same price as good buds, would I not be better of focusing on that? I had a little of that to play arround with yesterday and pressed 1,2grams of nice golden perfumy oil from two grams of that...

Still it would be nice to now and then press buds, but I really want to get my tek up a notch for that. I am just not getting consistent results with pressing buds...And i really think I am not the only one. Maybe someone who used to have these inconsistent results before and upgraded to a heavier press and as such eliminated those inconsistent results could chime in?

Whatever situation youre in that you can get dry sift for the same price as buds, roll with it and press the sift. When I used to make qwiso I could get import hash for the same price as buds. so I ran the hash. It always came out tasting like straight dirt. Like a fall morning, rotting vegetation sort of, extreme earthy taste. I loved it. I wish this could still happen, import hash in general. Those days seem to be long gone.
And for flower rosin, It comes down to the bud, all of it is different. Moisture and pre-pucking seemed to be the turning point for me with increasing yields and cleaning it up good.

 

[Been Vapin]

Award winning

 

[matthend]

Oh please elaborate on the above, very interested

 

[Foamform]

super simple and effective aluminum plates using aluminum squares as spacers and making sure to keep an aluminum square (aluminum round in this picture) in the center of the coil to keep the center force from buckling the plates. I think buckling is the right word? Either way it's worked very well for me so far. I am using a dual controller

 

[Doobii]

Award winning

Awesome, I can imagine the giddy feeling while scooping that product up into a slab. Kudos. Hash? Type?

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Awesome, I can imagine the giddy feeling while scooping that product up into a slab. Kudos. Hash? Type?

With a yield like that I would imagine it's good hash or bubble hash that he's squishing. You would need a LOT of flower to get that amount of rosin. I wanna see an up-close

 

[vezj420]

^ holy sh!t! That's a beautiful sight...

Just a quick update from my side -
I am now using SS (25 micron) screens (316T wholesale) along with small-size silicone baking mats (DHgate). I can't comment on their usability with y'all's pneumatic/hydraulic presses, but for the small amounts of manual pressing I do (straightener+clamp/vise), these media are ideal and have done wonders for my yield! Basically, in two ways:

a) Silicone seems to be the ideal material for collecting from - it prevents the rosin from becoming too sappy and/or sticking to the medium. I find that even higher temp or even overly-hydrated presses can easily be collected off silicone. And the next best thing? The mats are re-usable and washable with iso!

b) SS screens are soooo much better than tea/coffee filters for bubble/traditional hash (which is the only starting material I have access to). Can't comment on their usability for buds. Re-usable and washable, with seams that seem (SWIDT?? ) like they can stand up to high-impact pressing also.

Notes:
- One of my previous mistakes was to use parchment paper that claimed to be 100% cellulose, but probably had quilon/other additives in it that prevented easy collection. I lost so much yield due to sappy oil I almost gave up on rosin pressing altogether! With silicone, this is no longer the case.
- Silicone mats can be cut up to different sizes, but I have no experience in using them for a high-impact press. Anyone care to comment on how well they hold up under 1 Ton+ pressure?
- Due to the thickness of the silicone mats, I find I need to up the press temp a bit to get the heat to transfer to the filtered puck. Where I was using 100-110 deg. C earlier (with parchment), I now need to use 130-150 deg. C.

- Can anyone suggest any alternate/ideal method of folding for SS screens? It seems like some oil gets trapped in the seams, although it is certainly not as bad as with tea/coffee/muslin filters.

 

[Been Vapin]

Oh please elaborate on the above, very interested

48 micron SS screen with bubble hash in hair iron/c clamp hybrid.

 

[dabsonthemountain]

Yay, I finished my press. It came in at $70. I think it might need some more reinforcement maybe, and it'll get a wood base, but for now, any thoughts?

8 tons. Whoop whoop. The upright beams are the 1/16 inch x 1 3/8th inch, galvanized steel. If i double it up should I be worry free? I feel like it's under way to much tension. Havnt gotten to press anything yet, but soon.

 

[jimfish4130]

Might be a stupid question but is there much difference between the 6" and 12" quick grips for squishing, lasting slightly longer maybe? Just thinking about having to buy less stuff if whatever straighteners I get break and I decide to mount them to the grip. Or is it just to fit the clamp around bigger things?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0...e=UTF8&refRID=BX4TRMCZV7NKNZFRC4C8&th=1&psc=1

 

[1DMF]

awesome sublimation, do tell us more

 

[Cannabis-Hardware-Ed]

Yay, I finished my press. It came in at $70. I think it might need some more reinforcement maybe, and it'll get a wood base, but for now, any thoughts?

8 tons. Whoop whoop. The upright beams are the 1/16 inch x 1 3/8th inch, galvanized steel. If i double it up should I be worry free? I feel like it's under way to much tension. Havnt gotten to press anything yet, but soon.

You're definitely going to need more support in that frame. The weakest point is normally the bolts, but that's when using something like unistrut...I'd seriously rethink that frame...for your safety. Unistrut (P6000) would be the least I would use...and make sure those bolts are grade 8 carbon steel, the hardest you can get. You're still only probably looking at another $30-$50 to radically upgrade the frame.

Anyone care to comment on how well they hold up under 1 Ton+ pressure?

We tried silicone pads, and went straight back to parchment paper.

 

[dabsonthemountain]

You're definitely going to need more support in that frame. The weakest point is normally the bolts, but that's when using something like unistrut...I'd seriously rethink that frame...for your safety. Unistrut (P6000) would be the least I would use...and make sure those bolts are grade 8 carbon steel, the hardest you can get. You're still only probably looking at another $30-$50 to radically upgrade the frame.



We tried silicone pads, and went straight back to parchment paper.

Thank you, I was going to go with all steel flatbar, The ease of use is what made me use this metal. I'm a lazy kid, this is my first build besides a few tables for the house. Nothing deforms under the most pressure I can get, but the upright beams sing if you strum them. Way to much tension... right? Would doubling/trippling do the trick? Or just grab 1/4 x 1 1/2 inch steel flatbar and call it a day? And the bolts are a new issue to me... Never considered more durable bolts... I bought fancy expensive american (i think) ones, i'll tell you that. At first I thought I had big enough ones at home, but of course they were too thin and too long. I had to go back out to a local place to grab the 4 bolts... Cost me nearly $5 + the gas driving out from Nowhere. I did use two long ones for the springs though.

And I'm recalling now I've seen this unistrut stuff at home depot... I bent the channel with my hands... You sure that the stuff I'm looking for? It's channelled bar, perforated back similar to the bar i'm using, but only one side has holes? if yes, that's the bar i bent. That's what seems to come up on google... And wow, they have odd and end connector and every part made for this unistrut stuff... It's like they tried to create their own monopoly with weird shaped bar. Seems extremely useful if I needed to make shelves in a nursery somewhere or something...

I'm on the line of broke for now, so this may go on the backburner until I get more money to throw at crap.

 

[Cannabis-Hardware-Ed]

I bent the channel with my hands... You sure that the stuff I'm looking for?

Yep unislut can't be bent by mere mortals...no way. And you're right they came strong with this stuff considering the connections possible. Its applications are endless. Can't believe you bent it but maybe you aren't mortal!

Some c-channel 8620 steel bars is what we use to build commercial 30 tons presses but its $40/ft...not cheap but built to take a pounding.