Behold the mighty Shop Fox!

[ShiniKoroshi]

Don't let the wood base fool you, there is a heavy steel frame underneath. Made this a few years ago for pressing relief prints and book binding. The "Shop Fox" clamp was about $55 at the time with well under a hundred spent to make this press. It generally lives in this corner which makes its use convenient for pressing a plug. I estimate its good for 500-700 pounds which is way more than needed to press a puck.

Anyhow, I was about to throw this bunch of tobacco out but then remembered this press in the art room and wondered if a can would fit the foot. It did but it wasn't until I was pressing that the foot bottomed out on the first rib. No worries, just insert a spacer. Went to add a second spacer and noticed a little brown fluid. Figured the objective was achieved and left it at one spacer.

A Campbells soup can will loosely fit this bigger can, so I used the smaller can to form a liner of parchment paper, then inserted it into the larger can (pics on this in a week or so). This is for sanitary reasons and hoping for easy removal from the top. Otherwise Ill have to open the other end and push it through. Cans are cheap though and you get a free meal. Its a hell of a deal!

I started with 100g of a base mix but it only filled the can half way. Inserted a parchment separator and loaded another 98g of base mix that was a bit short on air-cured so I added a little perique. Folded the parchment liner over to close the top and covered it with a wood disc that was a close fit to the can. This was pressed to an estimated height of 2.5" with a diameter of 2.9".

Now we wait.

 

[Chinese explorer]

I think your cylindrical mould is a bit thin. You can try the unconfined compressive strength test mould instead.

 

[Chinese explorer]

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Its a can, not a can't and its working just fine.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

The average steel soup can will burst between 100-200psi which is far beyond the capability of this press. Besides, we only need 5ish psi to make a plug.

 

[deluxestogie]

The Shop Fox is a beautiful press. (It seems awfully clean for a tobacco tool.) We have so many everyday objects that regularly arrive in our homes, like your tin can, that can inspire repurposing.

Bob

 

[highgrave]

That would work well for cigar molds.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Thanks Bob! Yeah, I should make a similar but smaller press for making plugs if I plan to do much of it.
Generally, I already have what I need to make/do whatever comes to mind.

You're right highgrave, now Ill have to make some cigars.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Its been a week so I pulled the plug from the mold. Well, had to beat it out from the other end but out it came. Looks and smells good and its all broken up and drying.
Hopefully I can smoke some tomorrow afternoon.

 

[KroBar]

Drill a hole in the bottom of the can so you can press it out. Very cool

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Ill make a wood mold for the next one.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Smoked some of this to find the first plug is acidic, second is alkaline and together they are just awful.
I don't think a week was enough to do much anyhow. But Ill let it rest in jars for a week and try it again before throwing it in the trash.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

What kind of tobaccos are in the plugs?

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Plug on the left has 36g Red Virginia, 33g Bright, 24g Izmir and 5g of Perique.
Plug on the right has 20g Red, 35g Bright, 25g Maryland and 20g Izmir.
The Virginia has been cased too much in lemon juice, the MD too much molasses and I forget where I put the rum.
Nothing from this batch of tobacco has been any good (intentionally not mentioning source) simply because I didn't know what I was doing.
Im learning though and still don't know what Im doing.

 

[Havok]

Don’t throw it out after a week. Press it for a month or two, then let it rest in low case in jars for 3 months.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Having that much VA tobacco in those blends I would for sure keep them to age. I recently watched a video where a manufacturer was doing six hours in the press and sixty days under a pressure hold before slicing and packaging. Those casings also take time in their functions and they do break down with time as well. Letting it rest is good advice! Don’t forget to do the diligence due to prevent mold growth. Don’t be smoking it all after the months either. Try putting some years on it.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Its dried out and in mason jars and Ill check tomorrow if its still dry. Both of you are right though and it may just need more time to age.
What do they mean by "pressure hold"?

 

[Juxtaposer-]

What do they mean by "pressure hold"?

After pressing, tobacco can spring back. Creating a condition where there is no room for it to do this is what is called a pressure hold. The tobacco will eventually loose its tension over time. Heating will also cause this tension to be lost.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Thank you! Sounds like they pretty much press, lock the mold then continue with pressing the next plug. This could be easily done when pressing between two planks (Bob's bag method) and securing it with screws in the corners. At this point a press isn't needed if lag bolts were used instead. For extra sophistication the torque could be recorded and repeated later.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

"Pressure hold" on two new soup can plugs at approx 500-600 pounds. These are seamless cans that can only be opened on one end. Idea is to make a couple cuts with tin snips then peeling it like a spam can. We will see next month.