Box Press super easy mold!

[Gdaddy]

Thanks.

I don't consider the wedges optional.

Going out of town tomorrow for a few days then will hit Home Despot. Did you notice any "square dowels" narrower than 3/4? Like 5/8?

Yes! I think they're 5/8" and I thought of you when I saw them. This should give you around a 39 ring gauge equivalent. I'm going to make one of them also to get some nice boxed lanceros/panatelas.

 

[Gdaddy]

Guess what this 28 year old cigar box is going to become, with the help of a few shims.

Bob

Perfect!

 

[charlie G.]

It looks like your going to use it as a coffin for the flys you kill with that fly swatter. I just flush mine.

Well I gave the press a first go round or should I say square. I'm not all that happy with the edges so I'm putting it back in the press for longer till the wrapper is dry.
I installed some wedges in the one end after I did this first cigar but yet to try the mold with them installed. I'm going to give it another try tomorrow, and tweak the mold some.



I put this one back in the press, the edges weren't as sharp as I wanted and the wrapper was still damp so it should come out better when the wrapper & bunch dries more.

 

[Gdaddy]

Nice work!! For the first one that looks super already.

After a few experiments you'll be producing some fine looking cigars.

See how simple the design is? Nice job on the wedges.

 

[deluxestogie]

General Humor with a Box Press

I experimented with my Cuba Aliados "General" cigar box as a box press mold. The box, when given to me by my brother in St. Louis, contained a single "General" size cigar. (At the time, I was driving back to Virginia from a trip to the Grand Canyon. I lit the cigar as I departed St. Louis, and it lasted well into West Virginia.)

Not wanting to damage the unusual box, in order to use it as a box press mold, I rummaged through my spacious humidor, and identified a number of blocks and shims that are frequently packaged into cigar boxes.

I placed one shim inside on each side of the General. A freshly rolled cigar (not intended as a guinea pig) was placed into the General, between the shims. Then several Spanish cedar blocks were added on top--enough to allow the swing-arm press piston to easily apply pressure.

The press arm is simply attached to a hinge mounted against the wall, and has several notches at different distances from the fulcrum (the hinge). The piston is just a free block of wood that is pointed at the end, and can be positioned beneath any of the notches.

At the time I built the simple press (for cheese), I calculated the applied weight for a given suspended weight (like a quart or gallon jug of water), and a given lever arm notch. A gallon (8 pounds) hanging, while placing the piston in the closest notch to the wall, applies ~50 pounds of weight. So, my gallon of water, together with the piston position and the surface dimension being pressed yields ~11 psi--way too high, in retrospect.

I removed the cigar after 30 minutes of pressing. Removal was a breeze, since all I had to do was remove a shim.

This actually produced a very nice pressing, though it would certainly not hold its shape unless allowed to dry more inside the mold. Unfortunately, what it made was one of Nat Sherman's famous Matzah cigars.

The cigar smokes beautifully, and is remarkably comfortable in my mouth, but it's not exactly what I had in mind.

The mold required zero construction time since it's just a re-purposed cigar box. Setup time for pressing a cigar is about 30 seconds. By adding one more shims to an interior side, it will press a more conventional, rectangular box press. Probably about 1/3 the psi would be about right. Since the interior dimensions of the mold are variable, it will accommodate any cigar, up to ring 62 or more, just by changing the shimming, and identifying a block of the correct width to press directly against the cigar.

By pressing a finished cigar, the shoulders of the slightly tapered head were preserved.

Bob

 

[charlie G.]

Looks good Bob I like the knotted pigtail on the end.
Won't you miss those big old cone shaped cigars you usually smoke tho ?
By the look of the press you are part mechanical engineer.

 

[charlie G.]

I gave the box press another try today with using the wedges. I like how it comes out with them.
I must say getting the bunch size just right is key. It will take me a few more to get my bunch just right.
This is my best so far.

 

[AmaxB]

I like the classy square

 

[BAGraphics]

I have to give this a try! I love the feel of a box press and I think I already have a box to repurpose. If not, I have a Home Depot gift card I will put to good use.

 

[deluxestogie]

I made a second attempt (after the matzah cigar), to square press inside The General. The cigar, as rolled, including wrapper, was about 52 ring. The wrapper is my CT Broadleaf maduro. This time, I inserted an additional shim to one side, outside of the shim that was against the cigar. This was quite snug. The blocks were also snug, but able to move. The effective weight was about 12 pounds. I kept the cigar inside the mold, under pressure, for 14 hours.

This was ideal. Because the head was already tapered, it came out of the mold with rounded shoulders. The foot also had a very slight taper (I just habitually roll cigars that way.), so the corners at the foot are not crisp.

The square pressing does seem to have an effect on how the cigar smokes. It burned cooler and smoother than its round counterpart. The cigar felt very solid, but had an easy draw. Filler was Little Dutch, Iztepeque (Costa Rica 589) and Brasil Dunkel.

Despite the easy setup of this mold and press, it seems like a lot of bother for one cigar. I may use it again if I need a presentation cigar.

Bob

 

[Gdaddy]

That's a good looking cigar! I haven't smoked one of mine yet but it's encouraging to hear the burn was cooler and smoother.

My experience is a bit different. The edges of the press box I made are sharp edged and fit perfectly snug in the box. If I leave the bunch in the mold over night it comes out like a perfectly shaped rectangular block, totally dry and the edges are too sharp and perfect. I prefer a little softer edge like a Milky Way candy bar much like your cigar came out in the bottom picture.

The solution I ended up with is... an hour or two of press time for the bunch. Then apply the wrapper and back for a final press for another hour or so. At this point the 'molding time' is the same as when using my round mold. Once removed from the mold the cigar relaxes into a lovely soft box press. In the past few days since the first one was rolled I've rolled half a box. I did make a second mold in a smaller ring size (5/8" Delightful looking Lancero's) so I make them two at a time so 4 cigars a day is pretty easy.

I can't wait to smoke one and today... one gets burned.

 

[deluxestogie]

My last box pressed cigar was still in low case after sitting in the press overnight. But the wrapper started out as thick, high-case CT Broadleaf, so it required a bit of drying (in the mold) just to be smokable.

Bob

 

[Smokin Buffalo]

Just a quick question on molds in general. Do you have to rotate a cigar 45 degrees in a profession mold that has the male/female top and bottom?

 

[Gdaddy]

Just a quick question on molds in general. Do you have to rotate a cigar 45 degrees in a profession mold that has the male/female top and bottom?

Yes. 45 degrees to get the little seam flattened out. Even when using the finest mold there is an edge.

If it's a box press it doesn't matter. Though I do flip them over 180 degrees to get an even press when using a rectangular box press. A square box press could be rotated any way you want (or not at all).

 

[kullas]

Please excuse the question but what makes a box pressed cigar better than a round cigar?

 

[Gdaddy]

I very much like the mouth feel. Some say it tastes better because when you draw on the cigar a small amount of air leaks in around the side of your mouth and cools the smoke. Not sure I'd agree but some swear by it.

A rectangular box press lancero has quickly become one of my new favorite smokes. Anything that boosts the enjoyment factor is a good thing.

 

[Gdaddy]

Here is a better explanation...

 

[Smokin Buffalo]

Do you know how to make an oval cigar like the San Lotano Oval? I absolutely love how that fits my mouth. Such a natural fit!

 

[Knucklehead]

Do you know how to make an oval cigar like the San Lotano Oval? I absolutely love how that fits my mouth. Such a natural fit!

I think you could lay several cigars side by side on a board, tightly spaced. Then add another board on top and clamp. No special molds or jigs.

 

[Gdaddy]

Do you know how to make an oval cigar like the San Lotano Oval? I absolutely love how that fits my mouth. Such a natural fit!

I'd try Knuckleheads method first.

Another method that would require a little more effort to make would be to take the PVC mold (shown below) that produces a round cigar and cut more of the middle out so it's not round but rather oval to what ever degree you want. Shaping the head by hand should be fairly easy.