Concept for Square-Press Mold

[deluxestogie]

After studying the video on the making of the Obelisco cigar (http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/5947-Rolling-An-Obelisco-Cigar), in which a square-press mold is used, I pondered simple ways to make such a mold--not with the fancy tapers, but just a mold for simple, square-pressed sticks.

The simplest approach would be to use strips of triangular molding, similar to quarter-round, but just flat. Unfortunately, nobody seems to make that.

Square-press mold made from triangular molding strips glued to plywood.

Carving the individual cigar shapes from a block, with a 'V' gouge, might do the job. If the head of a cigar bunch is rolled with a taper, then it would come out of such a mold unaffected by compression.

Suggestions and comments welcome.

Bob

 

[bonehead]

someone you know must have a old fashioned bridgeport and you would just have to turn the head on 45 degrees and mill the slots with a regular endmill. it would be less than a 1/2 hour job for a ten cigar mold.

 

[deluxestogie]

Don't nobody know nobody got a bridgeport.

I gather that you're suggesting milling the 'V' cuts as well as the vertical divider slots from a single block for the multi-cigar mold.

Bob

 

[bonehead]

would a v shaped router bit work? i know cheap chinese v bits are under 20$. you could clamp on wood strips to use as guides then cut the board through the groves in half to be sure the slots lined up perfectly.

 

[jojjas]

I think an even easier method is , doing what they do in the video http://www.cigaraficionado.com/blogs/show/id/17571

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm sure that a mold with any regular shape could be milled or routed. As I tried to fall asleep last night, I was kept awake considering simpler ways (e.g. gluing molding strips). Something anybody could do without complex tools.

Bob

EDIT: Yes, jojjas, that's the traditional method, but it requires cigars that have already been molded to identical round form in a standard mold. I suppose it would make sense to try that with a tray that is designed to hold fewer cigars. Using that method, the corners of the pressed cigar are rounder than the cigars pressed in individual slots. Maybe the tray method is the only simple way to do it.

 

[jojjas]

A another idea that popp up in my brain , how about 3d-printed mold , it should be do-able if any one got access one of that gizmos , i could do the solid modell in my cad-program but i dont have access to a 3d-printer

 

[rainmax]

Bob, I like your simple way and maybe I would try some day... and you don't need ay special tools.
If you have L profile wood you can just cut outer side of angle at 45 deg. and glue it on plywood.

 

[charlie G.]

I did talk with Bobalu's cigars today and I was told they only have 10 of those boxpressed shaped molds for use in their cigar production. They ordered them as a 1 off for that new cigar they are making.
The cigar retails for $39.95 a cigar. I guess they are trying to recoup the cost of the presses with the new cigars.
I also was told by the person he didn't know the name of the manufacturer of the mold. Trade secret I think.

 

[USHOG]

3d printers allow for any shape or size to be made easily and you can even add a taper to the box press.

 

[webmost]

Why?

What do you get out of a diamond cross-section cigar that you can't get out of a round one?

 

[LewZephyr]

I am sure it is primarily the novelty of the box shape, though I have seen some discussions in other forums touting the shape felt better in the mouth... that the box shape allows more flex on the head.

 

[deluxestogie]

The square cross-section alters the flow within the cigar, with slower, cooler smoke along the corners. The rumor (from Lew Rothman) is that it makes a strong blend not as harsh. I don't know if the stated result is true.

Bob

EDIT: Many of the earliest Habanos that I came across were square-pressed.

 

[webmost]

The square cross-section alters the flow within the cigar, with slower, cooler smoke along the corners. The rumor (from Lew Rothman) is that it makes a strong blend not as harsh. I don't know if the stated result is true.

Bob

EDIT: Many of the earliest Habanos that I came across were square-pressed.

I've had many box-pressed cigars; but they weren't made in a diamond mold, AFAIK. They were stuffed tight in a box after they'd been made round. The edges were still round. I've had box pressed blends I admired, like the Nestor 2000 Reserve. But I think it's the blend I admired, not the shape. I'm willing to bet the shape was originally so they could get more cigars into a given space, for cheaper shipping. Prolly paying so much per crate shipped on a schooner from Cuba to wherever... put more cigars in the same crate.

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm willing to bet the shape was originally so they could get more cigars into a given space, for cheaper shipping. Prolly paying so much per crate shipped on a schooner from Cuba to wherever... put more cigars in the same crate.

Well...that may be true.

Another possibility is that they desired to have the cigars resting skin-to-skin. Square packing increases the contact surface. Until recently, most premium cigars were not enclosed in cellophane.

A third possibility is the potential to use less wood per box. A few decades ago, Flamenco cigars (made in the Canaries) came squished into a box of 50, and were definitely pressed within the cigar box itself, as a pile of cigars. Some were triangular, some were hexagonal. They were all good, but their appearance was odd.

My interest in the diamond shape individual molds is that a cigar will lift out of it much more easily than if the bottom, top and sides were flat vs rotating the square 45º. A mold for 1, 2 or 3 cigars would suit my minimal mold needs. And it's certainly true that a tray (with a ribbon beneath the cigars) and floating wood dividers is a whole lot easier to make, although it then requires you to always roll the required number of cigars to fill the tray. I guess one could also make up a number of wooden dummy cigars to fill the tray.

Creating round cigars does not require a mold at all, unless you need to mass produce identical sticks. I can't hand-roll a square cigar.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

EDIT: Many of the earliest Habanos that I came across were square-pressed.

What is the definition of a Habano? I see it in Don's description of his Nicaraguan filler and know it is used in the name of a wrapper variety (Habano 2000). Aside from that, I have no idea.

 

[MarcL]

What is the definition of a Habano? I see it in Don's description of his Nicaraguan filler and know it is used in the name of a wrapper variety (Habano 2000). Aside from that, I have no idea.

Habanos

 

[MarcL]

I heard somewhere, truck drivers wanted a cigar that didn't roll off the dashboard.

 

[Birage]

Personally, other than the concept of the cigar smoking cooler and slower, I don't care for a box pressed cigar. Psychologically, it doesn't feel like a cigar in hand or mouth, but rather a piece of square wood. I have smoked many, but frankly haven't found that they were so good that I only seek out box pressed to smoke. I don't mind when they are slightly box pressed and still have a bit of roundness to them, but those that have the ninety degree angles, nah. They may have their legitimate purpose, but they still feel like novelty to me. Of course, if I were a truck driver I may really like them!!

 

[deluxestogie]

What is the definition of a Habano? I see it in Don's description of his Nicaraguan filler and know it is used in the name of a wrapper variety (Habano 2000). Aside from that, I have no idea.

Sorry. I meant Cigars from Havana--Cuban cigars.

Bob