My first kit from WLT came today. Man do they really hook you up. Well packaged, so many extras can't wait to give this a go. I am missing two things as far as I can tell. A cap cutter, mold and a tiny container for the glue. Cap cutter I'm going to run to the hardware store and get a pipe fitting, mold is currently printing on my ender 3 but idk what to use small enough for the glue. Any suggestions are appreciated
I just recently started rolling, too, and I got my start from one of their leaf kits. I had an ulu that I used for a chaveta, then started using a pizza wheelie cutter. Now I am using this cutter:
I have an 80 ring gauge flat cutter that I use in lieu of a tuck cutter. That ought to handle anything I can throw at it. A raggedy foot slips right in there without hanging up and pulling on the wrapper. My tableta is 24" x 24", 1/4" thick acrylic. I like how a wet wrapper leaf clings to it when I stretch it out. I initially used a piece of copper tubing to cut caps but now I just leave a bit of extra wrapper and give it a twist. Gonna cut it off anyway, before smoking, right? Still experimenting to find what I like best for glue. I started out with some blunt glue but it wasn't tacky enough. Didn't try pectin cause I read it gives a taste that some find objectionable. Tried gum arabic and it works nice. I just mixed up some xanthan gum and I used a dab to repair a cigar and it looks good, so I will use it next time I roll. I have some Bermacoll coming with my next bakky order. The blunt glue came in a little glass jar and I reuse that as my rolling glue container. I don't have a mold and I was gonna make a wooden one with my router, but decided I don't need it. The problem I see with a mold is you are making a bundle already bundled and bindered, conform to a precise shape and size, for no good reason. I prefer to let the bundle dictate its own size according to how much leaf is there and how tight or loose it is rolled. Even the shape. If it comes out a little like a pyramid or a perfecto, then so be it. If there is an empty spot near the end, well, that gets chopped off. Once I have my seco filler around my slower burning stuff, I really don't like to open it back up and disturb things unless I have to. Anyway, no molds for me.
Molds do help to smooth the surface of a cigar, but you can get the same effect by rolling up the bundle in some stiff paper. Or by using a DIY or store bought rolling/bundling machine. I just put a little tension on the belt and leave a weight holding the roller down for a few minutes, then roll it a quarter turn or so and repeat, then twice again if I am picky. A super smooth surface looks nice but it doesn't have a termendous effect on the burn, so I don't worry my brains too much about how purty it is. The main thing is a good draw and a good burn. The pretty ones get smoked and sometimes offered in public. Home smokes don't have to look like $30 sticks.
Some guys use the plastic bags from WLT orders as rolling mats by duck taping the end to the bench, and using a dowel or plastic pipe for the roller. This works surprisingly well, because it is so easy to feel for the soft spots in the bundle. A bundling mat or machine is really nice for rolling all your scraps into a cigar. Bits and ends of leaf can be hard to keep rounded up and herded together, when bundling totally by hand.
One of my first mistakes was moistening the filler too much. There is a big difference between leaves making a rustling sound (that's good) and crackling sound. (that's bad.) Also keeping wrapper too wet for too long. Now I damp it down enough to make it pliable the day before, and on rolling day I wet it down some more to where it will stretch a bit, an hour before I start to roll. If I don't use all the most wrapper and binder that day, it is usually fine for rolling the next day. However, after 3 or 4 days I found my wrappers were getting little spots of mold. I washed them off under the faucet and blotted them dry with paper towels and used them right away.
Here in New Orleans, cigars dry slowly. I don't even bother with them at all until they are 3 or 4 days out on the bench.
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