Rosin Technique....Easy DIY Solventless

[Bloby]

Bloby, send me a PM and will explain in better detail what is needed to make a functioning AND reliable Rosin Press. If you are in the GTA area (Greater Toronto Area) I would be more than happy to let you press some flowerand see what results you get with variable parameters such as time and temp. Let me know or start a new thread and I will add to it and we can start a new discussion. No one is wrong, we all just have our own methods that work best for our tastes. Yes, some may be bias, but who really isn't these days? Kinda like asking the chef, "what tastes better?"

I will answer your questions to the best of my ability and hope I can add my 15+ years experience in electronics/design and see where it goes! One of my philosophies is spend the money and get what you pay for. More times than not this is true. Rosin press applies to this philosophy IMO.

Very kind offer but I don't think I'll be in that area for a while, Id still like fire a few questions if thats cool though.

The main thing I'm thinking about at the moment is how to mount my plates onto the bottle jack since the top has quite a small surface area. I've bought a 9x3x3/4 inch aluminium bar which I'm going to cut into pieces later on today to make 4x3inch plates. Ideally id like the plates to be removable and not permanently attached.

A couple of ideas I had are that I could get a second, thinner plate that has a kind of indent drilled into it, then stick a lump of metal, or maybe even a magnet, onto the bottle jack top so that I would be able to basically slot the plate onto the jack. Then attach that plate to my heated plates with JB weld or something.

I could attach a short tube to the back of the plate to slot it over the top of the jack.

Or I could simply glue the plate to the jack, but this would have the drawback of being permanent.

Just one other question for now, I have bought two cartridge heaters measuring 10x90mm, 4 inches is 100mm and 3/4inches is 19mm. I am a little concerned that the size of these heaters will affect the strength of the plates if I am to run them straight through the middle. What do you think?

I may make a separate thread once I've got a few pics an useful info to share.

Cheers!

 

[shredder]

Thanx bro I'm trying to get a consensus of temps people use so I can fine tune my Press results. I know it all depends on the material but it seems between 180F - 220F seems to be the sweet spot. I've been fortunate to get 1/8's for $35 and usually between 24.8% - 26% THC.

Remember that yields probably won't t equal dispensary listed thc %. Despite the internet claims, im thinking 12-17% is much more common and doable.

On herb from the same plant, I've had yields of 12-20%. And a average of 17%.

And you can still do an alcohol wash on spent pucks. Recently I rain a quart jar of pressed pucks and got back 7 grams of hash oil from them.

 

[miguelovic]

Remember that yields probably won't t equal dispensary listed thc %. Despite the internet claims, im thinking 12-17% is much more common and doable.

On herb from the same plant, I've had yields of 12-20%. And a average of 17%.

And you can still do an alcohol wash on spent pucks. Recently I rain a quart jar of pressed pucks and got back 7 grams of hash oil from them.

Guesstimate on the weight in the jar?

 

[shredder]

Guesstimate on the weight in the jar?

I have no idea what it weighed, and due to the shape of folded in half pucks they don't stack tightly.

My wild ass guess would be over an ounce. Maybe as much as 2, but it's a guess.

 

[matthend]

I have no idea what it weighed, and due to the shape of folded in half pucks they don't stack tightly.

My wild ass guess would be over an ounce. Maybe as much as 2, but it's a guess.

Really? Wow, I need to do a wash of my next build up of single pressers then! 7 grams? Damn! How was the taste?

 

[shredder]

Really? Wow, I need to do a wash of my next build up of single pressers then! 7 grams? Damn! How was the taste?

The effects of a dab of the oil were great. Although a bit sedating. The taste was absent. Almost no taste.

I washed the pucks with 99% iso, rendered that down with an essential oil distiller, then winterized with ethanol.

I did dab one time but we use that oil for cannacaps.

 

[dabsonthemountain]

The effects of a dab of the oil were great. Although a bit sedating. The taste was absent. Almost no taste.

I washed the pucks with 99% iso, rendered that down with an essential oil distiller, then winterized with ethanol.

I did dab one time but we use that oil for cannacaps.

I did this once and it was a real nasty taste, full of chlorophyll even after i winterized. I don't remember my yields at all, but it wasn't much. How long did you freeze for? And did you do a second decarb? Mine weren't activated enough, i remember eating a few caps that did basically nothing...

 

[shredder]

I did this once and it was a real nasty taste, full of chlorophyll even after i winterized. I don't remember my yields at all, but it wasn't much. How long did you freeze for? And did you do a second decarb? Mine weren't activated enough, i remember eating a few caps that did basically nothing...

The iso wash was a quick couple minutes. Both the iso and pucks spent two days froze, then refiltered.

You don't want a long iso wash. Iso is a great solvent, almost too great. Quick washes pick up less junk. After the wash the iso was light yellowish with a slight green tint.

When I render that down I use an essential oil distiller. That process also decarbs the oil. And an ethanol wash followed by winterizing, eliminates most of any other nasties.

The oil itself after completing is liquidy and Amber colored. Thick but liquid. I store it in syringes until use.

 

[herbivore21]

The iso wash was a quick couple minutes. Both the iso and pucks spent two days froze, then refiltered.

You don't want a long iso wash. Iso is a great solvent, almost too great. Quick washes pick up less junk. After the wash the iso was light yellowish with a slight green tint.

That slight green tint you mention there is because your wash was too long. I've said it many times before that QWISO washes with dried frozen unpressed nugs should be no more than 30 seconds. When we consider that you used nugs that are already squished, your wash should be much smaller still. Remember, nugs that have been pressed have had the resin expressed from inside the calyx to the surface of the flower. If you look at your squished buds, you can visibly see any small remaining deposits of resin (these show up as shiny parts on the surface of the squished bud). This means that the resin is already on the outer surfaces of the pressed nugs and more readily going to dissolve in the iso than in an unpressed nug, as in the latter case, the resin is still inside the glands and distributed among small fibres of plant material. I recommend 10-20 seconds as a wash time for pressed nugs. That should get you clear shatter without any green if you don't decarb.

 

[MileHighHuman]

What material does FC reccommend for pressing rosin?

Parchment Paper?
PTFE?
Or what about the Oil Slick products?


There was already some small discussion on this topic in March, but i wanted to bring it back up and get more into detail

 

[matthend]

I was a participant in the conversation back then as I ordered some slick paper, but had issues with it because my pucks would slide around mid squish. This was resulting in blowing out a crease or the edge of the puck sliding out of the straightener jaws. It also seems like the slick paper allows the puck to expand outward a little more, resulting in a larger diameter pressed puck. These were the reasons I have gone back to my old faithful generic 'meijer' brand parchment paper for pressing, but store my resin in the slick paper exclusively.
After a little more experimentation with the slick paper, I think the root cause of my issue is the fact that I don't get properly even pressure when using the straightener and c-clamp. I would love to hear an opinion on slick paper from someone with a press, and when this straightener finally dies I will be able to provide one myself.

 

[Bloby]

If I was to squish just a .5 nug using an 8 tons of pressure, assuming the nug flattens to about 1x1inch, there would be 16000 psi of pressure on the nug. Is there a point where more pressure sees worse results or should i just keep cranking it up?

The iso wash was a quick couple minutes. Both the iso and pucks spent two days froze, then refiltered.

I don't have a lot of experience with ISO but when I've done it in the past I would grind up the herb, place in inside a tea strainer/small sieve then freeze it along with the ISO. Once its fully chilled I'd put the tea strainer above a coffee filter then pour the ISO over the herb rather than actually soak it. This gave a pretty high quality product.

 

[shredder]

That slight green tint you mention there is because your wash was too long. I've said it many times before that QWISO washes with dried frozen unpressed nugs should be no more than 30 seconds. When we consider that you used nugs that are already squished, your wash should be much smaller still. Remember, nugs that have been pressed have had the resin expressed from inside the calyx to the surface of the flower. If you look at your squished buds, you can visibly see any small remaining deposits of resin (these show up as shiny parts on the surface of the squished bud). This means that the resin is already on the outer surfaces of the pressed nugs and more readily going to dissolve in the iso than in an unpressed nug, as in the latter case, the resin is still inside the glands and distributed among small fibres of plant material. I recommend 10-20 seconds as a wash time for pressed nugs. That should get you clear shatter without any green if you don't decarb.

While I don't disagree, this oil was for cannacaps, not vaping, and was further winterized. And so by the end of processing it was very much acceptable.

Note it wasn't qwiso, and while I did try one dab of it, it is now mixed with coconut oil and in gel caps.

If fact compared to iso washes of buds, it may have been cleaner due in part to the pressed nature of the pucks not releasing tiny amounts of plant material s.

I agree iso washes should be brief, and I think I was clear in that. And winterizing with ethanol does clean up the oil very well.

I was a participant in the conversation back then as I ordered some slick paper, but had issues with it because my pucks would slide around mid squish. This was resulting in blowing out a crease or the edge of the puck sliding out of the straightener jaws. It also seems like the slick paper allows the puck to expand outward a little more, resulting in a larger diameter pressed puck. These were the reasons I have gone back to my old faithful generic 'meijer' brand parchment paper for pressing, but store my resin in the slick paper exclusively.
After a little more experimentation with the slick paper, I think the root cause of my issue is the fact that I don't get properly even pressure when using the straightener and c-clamp. I would love to hear an opinion on slick paper from someone with a press, and when this straightener finally dies I will be able to provide one myself.

I had the same problem with slick wrap when pressing buds. But now with a press and using pre pressed slabs and mesh bags, it's not really a problem. And the paper is great to collect from, really a breeze.

I'm also using cage type plates from low temp plates. I don't even get wrinkled paper now. The top plate always comes down square to the bottom plate. This works well, and I havn't got any blow outs so far after pressing 4-5 ounces.

 

[MileHighHuman]

While I don't disagree, this oil was for cannacaps, not vaping, and was further winterized. And so by the end of processing it was very much acceptable.

Note it wasn't qwiso, and while I did try one dab of it, it is now mixed with coconut oil and in gel caps.

If fact compared to iso washes of buds, it may have been cleaner due in part to the pressed nature of the pucks not releasing tiny amounts of plant material s.

I agree iso washes should be brief, and I think I was clear in that. And winterizing with ethanol does clean up the oil very well.



I had the same problem with slick wrap when pressing buds. But now with a press and using pre pressed slabs and mesh bags, it's not really a problem. And the paper is great to collect from, really a breeze.

I'm also using cage type plates from low temp plates. I don't even get wrinkled paper now. The top plate always comes down square to the bottom plate. This works well, and I havn't got any blow outs so far after pressing 4-5 ounces.

Is this the slick wrap material your using? https://www.oilslickstore.com/products/oil-slick-wrap

Any experience with Oil Slick's sheet? https://www.oilslickstore.com/collections/all/products/oil-slick-sheet

Their chart shows that the wrap would not be used with rosin extractions. http://imgur.com/a/ze8cz

Does FC not agree?

 

[shredder]

Is this the slick wrap material your using? https://www.oilslickstore.com/products/oil-slick-wrap

Any experience with Oil Slick's sheet? https://www.oilslickstore.com/collections/all/products/oil-slick-sheet

Their chart shows that the wrap would not be used with rosin extractions. http://imgur.com/a/ze8cz

Does FC not agree?

Im sorry, I should have been more precise, I use slick paper sold in 10x10 sheets, not slick wrap.

 

[MileHighHuman]

Im sorry, I should have been more precise, I use slick paper sold in 10x10 sheets, not slick wrap.

All good.

The reviews also agree. https://www.oilslickstore.com/collections/all/products/oil-slick-paper

Not to mention their sold out. They only have boxes that have been damaged for sale. Lol.

 

[Caelar900]

Anyone here know the process for making coins? I know that its a combination of low temp presses and curing to get the cake batter consistency but I'm not 100% on the process by any means.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Anyone here know the process for making coins? I know that its a combination of low temp presses and curing to get the cake batter consistency but I'm not 100% on the process by any means.

To make a coin you just weigh out how much you want and roll it up into a ball, put it between parchment, and press it with no heat. Squishes it down into coin shapes and when it budders up it becomes solid. You could also make rosin and use some gloves to handle and fold the rosin over and over to help promote air getting into it and starting the nucleation process. Or whipping it too, but doing it by hand makes it faster. Then same deal, weigh out an amount and ball it out and squish it a bit to make it a coin.

 

[Caelar900]

To make a coin you just weigh out how much you want and roll it up into a ball, put it between parchment, and press it with no heat. Squishes it down into coin shapes and when it budders up it becomes solid. You could also make rosin and use some gloves to handle and fold the rosin over and over to help promote air getting into it and starting the nucleation process. Or whipping it too, but doing it by hand makes it faster. Then same deal, weigh out an amount and ball it out and squish it a bit to make it a coin.

Thanks man, always make things out to be harder than they really are

 

[MileHighHuman]

I want to press 14 grams of flowers.

Would it be better to pre press those in a 1.5"x1.5" cube or 1.5"x3.25" rectangle?

(Trying to figure out if there are any potential performance/yield differences)

 

[shredder]

I want to press 14 grams of flowers.

Would it be better to pre press those in a 1.5"x1.5" cube or 1.5"x3.25" rectangle?

(Trying to figure out if there are any potential performance/yield differences)

How big are your plates?

Based on pressing buds. I use 2 x 4 pre pressed pucks in 3 x 5 plates. The pucks are about 9-12 grams before pressing. Naturally half sized pucks would return less. The exact amounts are variable so you just have to experiment.

There may be some advantage in pressing small pucks in efficiency. I didn't see any though and prefer to press bigger pucks, because it's less work, less time and so on.

And one thing to consider is most rosin makers suggest to get the rosin away from the heated plates. Bigger pucks are better in this regard. But you will probably need to pre press. Without a pre press the pucks get huge, and can run into squished rosin. Hope this helps, and remember these are my experiences based on pressing buds.

 

[MileHighHuman]

How big are your plates?

Based on pressing buds. I use 2 x 4 pre pressed pucks in 3 x 5 plates. The pucks are about 9-12 grams before pressing. Naturally half sized pucks would return less. The exact amounts are variable so you just have to experiment.

There may be some advantage in pressing small pucks in efficiency. I didn't see any though and prefer to press bigger pucks, because it's less work, less time and so on.

And one thing to consider is most rosin makers suggest to get the rosin away from the heated plates. Bigger pucks are better in this regard. But you will probably need to pre press. Without a pre press the pucks get huge, and can run into squished rosin. Hope this helps, and remember these are my experiences based on pressing buds.

Mine are also 3x5 size plates

When you say "natural half sized pucks would return less" what do you mean?

Are you saying if you put those 9-12 grams into a 1"x2" sized pre press ,that they would yield less rosin?

(Obviously this is all if using the same starting material etc)

Ill be buying either of the Rosin Evolution pre presses and so heres what I'm debating.

i plan to press 14 grams at a time as like you said its less work.

But I'm wondering if this larger pre press would yield more out of those 14 grams https://rosinevolution.com/product/rosin-pre-press-15x325/

Compared to if i used this size of pre press https://rosinevolution.com/product/pre-press-15x15/

The difference is that the puck will be much thinner if using the larger pre press.

Does the puck being thinner play any part in performance?

Im imagining the rosin having to run thru less plant material, than if using the smaller pre press and your puck will be much more thick.

There would also be more hot surface area contact with the puck and plates. Compared to if using the smaller sized pre press.

 

[shredder]

Natural was a typo, I meant naturally. As in half the herb equals half the rosin.

I bought my pre press mold from Amazon. $57. Three piece machined aluminum. It is slightly less than 2x4, and I like the mesh bags from low temp plates.

I tried other bags from sho bagz and some off amazon ( the name escapes me) and prefer the low temp bags. They catch less rosin, and they haven't blown out for me. Well other than minor blow outs on a second squeeze of folded pucks.

I haven't noticed any difference in puck thicknesses vrs yields. But I only been pressing a few weeks now.

Btw im using a six inch vise for the pre press with the mold

 

[MileHighHuman]

Natural was a typo, I meant naturally. As in half the herb equals half the rosin.

I bought my pre press mold from Amazon. $57. Three piece machined aluminum. It is slightly less than 2x4, and I like the mesh bags from low temp plates.

I tried other bags from sho bagz and some off amazon ( the name escapes me) and prefer the low temp bags. They catch less rosin, and they haven't blown out for me. Well other than minor blow outs on a second squeeze of folded pucks.

I haven't noticed any difference in puck thicknesses vrs yields. But I only been pressing a few weeks now.

Btw im using a six inch vise for the pre press with the mold

Wow thats like half price of Rosin Evolution. I checked it out, but there are no photos on amazon so I'm probably going to go with the Rosin Evolution pre press.

Anyways, putting price aside, I'm really trying to figure out which size would be better. There might not even be a huge performance difference but id still like to think this over and come to a conclusion.

I dont plan to even use any bags.

I think it really just comes down to: will the rosin have to run thru more plant material if using the thicker and smaller sized pre pressed puck? (Compared to the thinner/larger size)

 

[Dangus]

Just ordered this pre press yesterday, pretty reasonable price:

https://domeless.ecwid.com/#!/Pucker-1-Round/p/75292464/category=15474045

I'll report back once I give it a go