Rosin Technique....Easy DIY Solventless

[farscaper]

had some free time and decided to throw a bench vice press together. gotta say its way more efficient and much less cumbersome to use over a tshirt type press. and all I needed was
jbweld
a small bench vice
a hair iron

I just gutted the iron cause the shell was already broken and jbwelded the heater plates to either side of the vice jaws.

was pressing at 220°F with great success right off the bat! the thing I like best is that with the thin width plates the rosin travels and pools outside the heater plates. the tshirt press doesnt work quite this way because to get the best pressure you have to place the bud close to the center and so its surrounded by heater all around.
another added benefit seemed to be that I could fully watch the activity so that I was no longer bound by time at all. rather I just left the bud under max pressure until no more movement was visible.

 

[Monsoon]

I don't have the skills/tools to make this myself, but could a design like this be modified with heating plates for rosin use? Seems like it wouldn't be too hard or expensive to put together and isn't terribly large or heavy.

There seems to be a ton of presses or DIY setups already that could be used for rosin, the main stumbling block seems to be the heating plates. It would be cool if someone started selling a reasonably priced PID controlled heating plate that could be adapted to different press setups. Using e-nail coils is a nice but expensive step in that direction, I saw a metal plate designed around a Revlon that would be more universal and low cost.

Also the subreddit /r/rosin has been a bit more active lately and worth checking out if you haven't been.

 

[weenstoned]

I dunno to me the best easy heating plate solution I have seen was the dude who just put metal plates on an induction cooktop and then put those plates in a press with a hot glove. Kind of clunky I guess but should be easy to do. Probably will get a set up like this going eventually as I have been meaning to get a portable induction cooktop anyways so I could deep fry on my balcony.

 

[Monsoon]

I dunno to me the best easy heating plate solution I have seen was the dude who just put metal plates on an induction cooktop and then put those plates in a press with a hot glove. Kind of clunky I guess but should be easy to do. Probably will get a set up like this going eventually as I have been meaning to get a portable induction cooktop anyways so I could deep fry on my balcony.

Here's a crazy idea: mount the plates directly onto whatever press you're using (arbor, clamp, etc) and mount/hold the cooktop up against them to heat it up just prior to pressing. Again it's not perfect but this way you lose less time between heating up and pressing.

 

[weenstoned]

Unfortunately most induction cooktops are kinda clunky so that would probably be pretty awkward as well as most likely requiring two cooktops. Pretty sure the time moving those out of the way would probably be about the same as just heating the plates and then putting them on the press. There might be some tinier induction cooktops I am not aware of though.

 

[shark sandwich]

I tried a 50 watt silicone heat pad that will reach over 300F on its own, but it didn't have enough power to get my blocks up to temp. I currently use a lab hot plate and it works fast, but does require moving hot blocks back and forth with the oven glove.

I'm going to try pulling apart a straightener to make the heat plates face outwards, and use them to heat the blocks in place in the press. Straighteners should have enough wattage to do the job, and built in temp control is nice too.

 

[farscaper]

rosin shatter for the morning.

 

[farscaper]

I tried a 50 watt silicone heat pad that will reach over 300F on its own, but it didn't have enough power to get my blocks up to temp. I currently use a lab hot plate and it works fast, but does require moving hot blocks back and forth with the oven glove.

I'm going to try pulling apart a straightener to make the heat plates face outwards, and use them to heat the blocks in place in the press. Straighteners should have enough wattage to do the job, and built in temp control is nice too.

didn't see this earlier so ill back to back reply. the little heaters from the hair iron I took apart eventually make the vice I attached them to to hot to handle without oven mits, I have no doubt you could get them to work.

 

[Joel W.]

I was playing with my 3" x 6" x 1/2" thick SS plates that have the 1/4" holes drilled through the 3' side in the middle. This time I just stuck two 60w soldering irons (exposed creamic rod) in each holes on full and waited.

In about 45 minutes there was a 1" sweet spot area that was maintaining about 215-220f with the outer edges of the plate only reaching 130 tops. No PID at all and very close to ideal flower temps when loose.. I think this may work without a PID and with smaller plates or less thermal mass with still having full adjustment on the soldering irons.

Not sure how 90/10 copper nickel plates will change things when mounted in a vice but I guess I will find out.

 

[shark sandwich]

@farscaper

I have a 3 ton arbor press which is quite large. I can press for an hour before the base starts to get slightly warm, and I can't see heat transfer ever being a problem with this setup. For people who do have to worry more about heat transfer, I think wood spacers between the plates and press/vise would be about the best insulation you could get.


@Joel W.

I'm excited to see what you put together. I've worked in a machine shop, and wish I had access to those tools now. I think the copper alloy will give you far more even temperatures across the pressing surface, and increase the efficiency of your pressings in general.

It's the same principal as the sic nail- as soon as the surface comes into contact with the hash (or flower) the surface will lose heat energy. That localized loss can be minimized by making the surface out of something with better thermal conductivity, which allows the use of lower temperatures because there's less need to compensate for thermal "lag" or "sag". You'll get more consistent temperatures from beginning to end, as well as from front to back and side to side.

 

[Joel W.]

New Cuni vice jaws!

 

[Joel W.]

Can't edit so b2b it is.

I drilled the plate mounting holes and ceramic heater holes, milled .010" off the top to true them up to the bottom, mounted ceramic heaters and powered it up.

It comes up to 220f quickly so I turned both pots down 1/8 turn and it leveled off at 230f in 20 minutes. I think I can go lower now.

Squish on.. .

.51g - first press in the middle, second on the outer edge.

From the above press.

 

[Monsoon]

Can't edit so b2b it is.

I drilled the plate mounting holes and ceramic heater holes, milled .010" off the top to true them up to the bottom, mounted ceramic heaters and powered it up.

It comes up to 220f quickly so I turned both pots down 1/8 turn and it leveled off at 230f in 20 minutes. I think I can go lower now.

Squish on.. .

.51g - first press in the middle, second on the outer edge.

From the above press.

Pretty impressive setup!

 

[Joel W.]

Pretty impressive setup!

Thank you. The best part is, I have not broken it yet! I did turn the dials down another 1/8 and it's down to 210f now, so I am right where I wanted to be and without a PID controller.
It's a simple parts list.

20) 1.75" x 2.5" x .098" thick cuni plates
4) 1.75" x 7.0" x .098" thick cuni plates
2) 60w adjustable soldering irons
2) plywood scraps
1) Vice

An hours work with some TIG welding and drilling.

 

[NorVape]

I enjoy following your work, @Joel W.

So guys, I started thinking. Have anyone tried to rosin other plant matter than cannabis!

I just imagined this is a great way to flavour ejuices instead of those horrid fake sweet flavours.

 

[tepictoton]

Guess it depends on what part of the plant the essential oils are stored in...

 

[shark sandwich]

I've pressed hops and lavender with success. Lavender and cannabis rosin are enjoyable when dabbed together, and it only takes a small fraction of lavender rosin to impart a strong taste and smell. I've dabbed hops rosin as well, but struggle with lower yields and a difficult to collect consistency, so there's definitely more work to do on the hops technique. I'll try more herbs as I'm able, but I'm limited by availability.

 

[farscaper]

I've pressed hops and lavender with success. Lavender and cannabis rosin are enjoyable when dabbed together, and it only takes a small fraction of lavender rosin to impart a strong taste and smell. I've dabbed hops rosin as well, but struggle with lower yields and a difficult to collect consistency, so there's definitely more work to do on the hops technique. I'll try more herbs as I'm able, but I'm limited by availability.

in what state was the lavender you processed? I like lavender terpenes for depression and mood calming. lavender rosin sounds like a dream!

 

[tepictoton]

I did a butane run once with really dry lavender and get about one gram of very strong resin back from it. Used it afterwards to make topicals. Did not feel return was worth it.

With rosin, I guess if the essentiol oils (or part you are after) are typically found in abundance on the outside of the plant material it will give of higher returns. I have no idea where that leaves lavendel, hops or any of the other might be interesting plants (for me personally: damiana, mexican terragon, wild lettuce).

Honestly I think it is one of the biggest misses in the vape world, the more or less sole focus on our precious herb. Nothing wrong with that either though

Please keep us posted about al of your trial and errors

 

[shark sandwich]

Will do!

I used fresh whole lavender leaves, separated and packed tightly into a teabag. I pressed at around 230F for about a half minute. The yield wasn't great, but it's definitely worth it.

I hope people begin to catch on to other herbs. The cannabis world is just now becoming aware of the importance of terpenes, and we're paying close attention to the science, too. There's a lot of herbal/ayurvedic/aromatherapy practice happening out there, but the quality of extracts and delivery methods are lacking. Hash connoisseurs have a taste and nose for quality, a gusto for effective delivery methods, and a scientific rigor that could move terpene therapy forward in a big way.

I know this for sure: a drop of steam distilled lavender oil rubbed on the palms and inhaled (popular aromatherapy practice) is nothing like a dab of quality lavender rosin! That is to say, the rosin dab is so superior it is a wholly different experience.

 

[BoogerMan]

I wonder if mint leaves would work? They are really cheap and I'm thinking about growing some in my garden when I start my veggies. I'd love to add a little fresh mintiness into my cannabis oil if no one tries it, I'll definitely give mint a go once I have my dnail press.

 

[Joel W.]

I tried pressing some at 210-225f and it kinda works but it looks weird and it just won't flow out until I hit 230f.

 

[shark sandwich]

@Joel W.

What was that you pressed out? It looks good!


@BoogerMan

I have at least one variety of mint I can try out. I'll let you know how it goes.

Growing herbs and vegetables for yourself is really rewarding. Homegrown is always the best, and there are a ton of really useful medicinal plants you can grow. Mint is great but there's no reason to stop there!

 

[Joel W.]

What was that you pressed out? It looks good!

It was some loose lower nugs I balled up into a 1/2 gram chunk. Everything I have is all from mystery seeds but this strain is my favorite one to squish by far..

I think I might be better off pressing smaller chunks because it looks to me like as the bud flattens out, it's trying to move the parchment with it.

 

[smokum]

i have organic 'dried' peppermint as well as some lavender and parsley (purchased from a local mom&pop country store)... what would be a useful way to re-hydrate to effectively enable a rosin effect extraction?

Or, would the 'goods' already have been lost in the pre dried form they are currently in?