Rolling big ones

[Easydoesit]

I am finding my bigger cigars not only mushy in spots but often don’t draw well. Adding leaves to firm it up will seemingly make it draw worse.. my one thought is perhaps the filler must be drier? Or maybe I’m not letting it set long enough before wrapping, usually a day.

 

[deluxestogie]

Apply more compression with the binder. Then snug that slightly more with the wrapper. You can also control the draw to some extent while rolling the head. It comes down to developing "fingertip memory" of what a good draw feels like as you roll it. Filler should be in low case (dry but not crumbly). Roll one cigar, then smoke that cigar, prior to rolling another. Your fingers will learn faster that way. Don't worry at all about appearance, until you are getting reliably good drawing cigars.

Bob

 

[Mathaious12]

What do you mean when you say doesn't draw well, is it to tight or to loose? If the draw is to loose, what @deluxestogie wrote he helped me through that issue. If it's to tight a draw your filler case is most likely to high and your binding it to tight.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Are there hard spots? If it's too unevenly filled, you might have a blockage in one part of the cigar.

 

[Easydoesit]

Thanks for the response. I have developed somewhat of a feel for the smaller ones I roll and use a 42x5 mold with. They’re pretty consistent but I’ve yet to get the feel for the bigger ones which I use a plastic 48x8 mold with. I’m guessing you can get away with a higher case on the smaller cigars for some reason but I guess the greater volume of tobacco in large gauges makes it easier to cut off airways. I find I have add more scrap to the larger gauge in order to balance and even the feel. Maybe that’s clogging the pipes? Do you guys try to only use full leaves on larger cigars or do you stuff a lot of spare pieces in to make up for soft spots?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Thanks for the response. I have developed somewhat of a feel for the smaller ones I roll and use a 42x5 mold with. They’re pretty consistent but I’ve yet to get the feel for the bigger ones which I use a plastic 48x8 mold with. I’m guessing you can get away with a higher case on the smaller cigars for some reason but I guess the greater volume of tobacco in large gauges makes it easier to cut off airways. I find I have add more scrap to the larger gauge in order to balance and even the feel. Maybe that’s clogging the pipes? Do you guys try to only use full leaves on larger cigars or do you stuff a lot of spare pieces in to make up for soft spots?

That's probably it. You go to fill a low spot and you end up compressing the longer leaves that supply the necessary air channels. So even if it feels equal, you've got a lump and a bunch of squished tubes.

I use long fill or use short fill. I don't use them simultaneously.

 

[deluxestogie]

I agree with @ChinaVoodoo.

Larger gauge cigars are far less prone to tight draw and over-compression than narrow gauge cigars. That's just the physics of it. Fitting cigars into a mold is a completely separate skill and feel from learning to roll a cigar that will draw well. Try putting the mold aside, and just working on the proper feel of rolling a larger cigar. Then, on later cigars, get a sense of just how fat it needs to be for the specific mold size.

Bob

 

[Mathaious12]

I've seen people suggest you roll about 50 cigars by hand before starting to use a mold, to get the feel for what different pressure levels do to the draw.

 

[Easydoesit]

I’ll try rolling some bigger cigars with no mold and try not to add so much scrap. Thanks guys!