Your Best harvesting and triming tips

[merl1n]

"i did not forget just have a job that keeps me very busy."
I was jokin Forget
I think we should all share our ideas.
There might be something in your design that could improve on mine, like those zippy ties.
I like that idea. Might steal it My very first tumbler was stuck together with sticky tape. No joke. The one I primarily use now has the mesh secured with steel straps and rivets, which makes the mesh difficult to remove when needed. Zippy ties would fix this.  
All these little things, little ideas can add up to a nice big success.

Lets share the ideas around

 

Merl1n

[The Hash Nibbler]

Thanks for the post Itchy,

 

 

Thanks for the post Itchy,

 

Due to personal circumstances a while back I had to 'snap dry' my harvest and vac seal it (all except a small amount to keep me going). About 8 months later I was able to access it again, and to my surprise my smoke was as tasty and potent as ever! I dont know how this was possible given the snap drying it was subjected to. My only guess would be that somehow these curing processes can still occur over time albeit very slowly?

 

Anyone have any other ideas?

Heya mate, if you Vac seal in a good quality Vaccuum bag, it can't mould.....mould needs air to live....... The curing process will still take place in the Vac bag-but moisture levels stay constant.

When you open up the bag months later it smells amazing, The worrying part is after you take it outta the vaccuum sealed bag, if it still has a high moisture content inside the bud from the flash dry, it can still mould.

 

As long as the bud wasnt overdried before you vac sealed it it will continue to cure. Too much moisture and it will mould up not enough moisture and it wont improve only degrade. Its a tricky art but sounds like you nailed it for an 8 mth cure. Imagine how nice it would have been with a proper dry to start off with.

Moisture won't mould buds in a vaccuum with no air present, but you are correct about it continueing to cure in the vaccuum.

 

Nibbler

[forgetiwashere]

"i did not forget just have a job that keeps me very busy."

I was jokin Forget

I think we should all share our ideas.

There might be something in your design that could improve on mine, like those zippy ties.

I like that idea. Might steal it My very first tumbler was stuck together with sticky tape. No joke. The one I primarily use now has the mesh secured with steel straps and rivets, which makes the mesh difficult to remove when needed. Zippy ties would fix this.  

All these little things, little ideas can add up to a nice big success.

Lets share the ideas around

 

Merl1n

All good merlin I knew you werent taking a shot at me.

 

I really wanted to get big steel hose clamps that I could tighten or release with a screw driver, plus it would look really industrial and tough.

Also I just got given a brand new bbq and it came with a rotisserie so looks like im building something bigger. I was thinking about using plumbing pipes like yours. Maybe 300mm diameter pipe

Heya mate, if you Vac seal in a good quality Vaccuum bag, it can't mould.....mould needs air to live....... The curing process will still take place in the Vac bag-but moisture levels stay constant.

When you open up the bag months later it smells amazing, The worrying part is after you take it outta the vaccuum sealed bag, if it still has a high moisture content inside the bud from the flash dry, it can still mould.

 

 

Moisture won't mould buds in a vaccuum with no air present, but you are correct about it continueing to cure in the vaccuum.

 

Nibbler

Good to know thanks nibbs

[forgetiwashere]

i did a quick little run with my tumbler today because i was getting low on kief, even a quick run threw out a nice little pile to keep me going

 

[max_headroom]

Hey Forgetiwashere

 

That looks like a pretty good result...I was having a look at your tumbler, which by the looks of your result, works well ...I have an old electric screwdriver that turns at a reasonably slow speed. All I need to do is work out how to attach it to the tumbler but that shouldn't be too hard as there is a "chuck" (on the screwdriver) for holding the driver part on with.

 

I am guessing you don't want anything spinning too fast or does this not matter? Do you know if the 125micron mesh is available from most hardware stores...I am going to see if I can get this to work for me..just got to find the materials now.

[merl1n]

Hey Max,
You'd be correct in '...guessing you don't want anything spinning too fast...' If you spin it too fast the vege matter crumbles and goes to dust. This in turn turns your hash green with vege matter. 30 rpm maximum is, by all reports, about what you are after. Its the rubbing action of the kief over the fabric that removes the hash, not the centrifugal force.
Being 125micron, its a fairly specialised product you are after. I haven't found anything near that refinement at the hardware stores. Personally, I use screen printing fabric, some haberdasheries (Fabric/sewing/hobby stores) stock it. I obtained mine from a screen printing wholesaler. You can use stainless steel mesh ( it can be expensive), but if the mesh gets bound up with hash, it can be a bitch to remove. If it becomes bound up I can remove the fabric, place it in the freezer and then shake the fabric to clean it, much easier. To avoid the mesh from becoming bound up, always freeze the kief before tumbling. Freezing it solidifies the crystals and stops them from sticking together.

 

Good luck with it

Keep us informed of your progress

 

Merl1n

Edited April 3, 2014 by merl1n

[Ferrethead]

Forget scissors. Go to buntings and grab a pair of those flower snippets with a spring back.

 

I'm sure I go crossed 'in the zone' after an hour or so.

 

Another tip,.....Do it yourself if its a personal grow. Mates just can't help but ask when they know what you've got.

[crow]

Hey Crowsange,

I know you were asking Forgetiwashere for plans of his tumbler, maybe he got too stoned and Forgotyouwashere too lol

So here's plans for one (I have 3 different designs) of the ones I've made, go have a look.

https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/topic/58735-bunnings-hash-tumbler/

You could easily substitute the rotisserie motor for your drill.

Good luck with it all, if you get stuck or have troubles, then ask

Merl1n

 

 

 

and thanks for sharing your designs Merl1n - I suppose a rotisserie would go slower than a drill so I will contemplate that option as well.  The screen printing fabric you use, is it silk?  What micron is ideal please?

 

 

i did not forget just have a job that keeps me very busy.

 

here she is, sorry i couldnt get pics of the inside because its full of trim i have been meaning to tumble. i will tumble the trim this weekend and get some pics of it in action and the finished product as well as pics of inside.

 

here she is

 

IMG_7148.JPG

 

its a protein powder bottle, if you are a gym junkie or you know one you should have no trouble finding one of these.

i cut three sections out of the sides leaving three braces that run up and down the bottle, i also made little flaps and bent them in so inside its like a washing machine.

 

i attached the stainless steel mesh buy running zip ties around the top and bottom and then i ran hot glue along any seams, the hot glue works great and hot glue guns are cheap and super handy.

 

in the bottom i drilled a hole which i put a long bolt through with a washer on either side and a simple wingnut to hold it all together. the bolt is small enough that it sits straight into the drill

 

IMG_7150.JPG

 

the plastic of the protein bottle is strong enough to hold its own weight and flexible enough that bending the fins in is easy and it holds its shape after a simple bend.

 

as i said i will post more info on the weekend

 

thanks forgetiwashere, clever. Photos of the inside would definitely help me - I'm not terribly good at this sort of thing!   Do you have issues of the hash being bound up with the mesh as merl1n described?

[merl1n]

Hey Crow,

 

"and thanks for sharing your designs Merl1n - I suppose a rotisserie would go slower than a drill so I will contemplate that option as well. The screen printing fabric you use, is it silk? What micron is ideal please?"

That depends on the drill, I have a drill that is variable speed. With a G-clamp I can keep a constant pressure on the switch/trigger to keep the speed down. So yes a drill can work but keeping it a constant pressure/speed could be a problem. But as you can see I use the actual rotisserie motor meant for the BBQ in the tumbler shown. My first design used a rotisserie from a household oven, the motor died and I then rigged it up to an old agitator from a wringer washing machine. It worked ok but the agitator thrashed the weed a bit much and the resulting hash was a bit too green .

There are pics on here of another one I repaired for a mate, a bit like a slow moving clothes drier. It has a piece of stainless steel sheet underneath it to collect the crystals. Works well.

The fabric on the tumbler is 120micron this gives me the bulk of the resin. I then use a couple of shakers with 90 and 73 micron to refine even further. The shakers are made from Maggi stock containers, The Maggi containers are screw top and not push lids, more secure.

Merl1n

Edited April 4, 2014 by merl1n

[forgetiwashere]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12-x16-120-Mesh-125-Micron-Stainless-Steel-Kief-Screen-Kif-Pollen-Hash-Sieve-/221244165499?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33832e0d7b

 

i got my mesh from this guy, he has tons of sizes and micron ranges to choose from i found it pretty cheap, in fact i bought 3 16 x 16 sheets and have 2 left.

 

i have had no problems with binding up and i dont even freeze my trim although i might give that a go after hearing merlins suggestions. i just make sure my trim is very dry and finely chopped, a nice slow tumble does work best. with my drill i just have a zip tie around the trigger a little loose and then i slide a wedge in i can adjust the speed by moving the wedge in and out.