Steve2md
Well-Known Member
I thought there should be a thread of peoples' home built tools and such. to start it off here is a 5 minute cigar press I made out of an old 2x4. I know it is not ideal, but here are a few reasons why I chose to build it like this.
1. Cheap....(read free) need I say more?
2. easy to do....all you need is a drill and a saw.
3. the pine allows you to use very wet tobacco without problems (ie. mold) although cedar might be better
I use this to keep my cigars even in size and tightness. I bundle my filler strips and insert them into one half of the press/mold. I estimate 3/4 full and fit the top half back on and throw on a few rubber bands. in about 5-10 minutes, the pine has sucked much of the moisture from the tobacco, while letting the filler swell to the size of the mold. i then remove my filler (which now stays pretty much in its shape) and wrap with my binder. Back into the mold for 5 minutes or so to ensure smoothness and it's ready for a tissue thin wrapper. I know I can do it all without the mold, and probably faster too, but I like playing with wood and gadgets so I thought I'd give it a shot.
To make it, i chose the drill size I wanted (5/8") zipped a hole through the 2x4 chunk, cut the wood in half along the drill hole, sanded the troughs and....done! took 5 min to make and i kinda like the consistency I get using it. maybe some day I'll buy a real mold with multiple cavities, but for now, this was free and my ex is getting all of my cash flow, so.....
Please post your creations here! don't forget pictures! my next project is a guillotine cigar cutter that looks like a French guillotine and operates like one too. why you may ask? Why not I say! build on brothers!
1. Cheap....(read free) need I say more?
2. easy to do....all you need is a drill and a saw.
3. the pine allows you to use very wet tobacco without problems (ie. mold) although cedar might be better
I use this to keep my cigars even in size and tightness. I bundle my filler strips and insert them into one half of the press/mold. I estimate 3/4 full and fit the top half back on and throw on a few rubber bands. in about 5-10 minutes, the pine has sucked much of the moisture from the tobacco, while letting the filler swell to the size of the mold. i then remove my filler (which now stays pretty much in its shape) and wrap with my binder. Back into the mold for 5 minutes or so to ensure smoothness and it's ready for a tissue thin wrapper. I know I can do it all without the mold, and probably faster too, but I like playing with wood and gadgets so I thought I'd give it a shot.
To make it, i chose the drill size I wanted (5/8") zipped a hole through the 2x4 chunk, cut the wood in half along the drill hole, sanded the troughs and....done! took 5 min to make and i kinda like the consistency I get using it. maybe some day I'll buy a real mold with multiple cavities, but for now, this was free and my ex is getting all of my cash flow, so.....
Please post your creations here! don't forget pictures! my next project is a guillotine cigar cutter that looks like a French guillotine and operates like one too. why you may ask? Why not I say! build on brothers!
