Yeah, those just came up when I Googled “low temp plates”…
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Yes they are cheaper from the website. If I was off on the price my bad. It’s been a few months since I last checked. But you are on the right path. I know i once found a pretty informative subreddit that had lots of diy instructions. I’ll try and track it down.
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Yeah I can second the press bags. You don’t absolutely NEED them, but they’re super helpful in keeping things out of your rosin.
20 Micron bags for hash/kief
160 Micron bags for flower
Make sure the bags are at least an inch smaller LxW than whatever size plates you get. Like if you get 3x7 plates I’d be looking at no larger than 2x6 bags. Always want to try and keep the bag as centered as possible to limit where drips might be. Larger bags make that a lot harder to do, especially when the plates are 100 degrees C, can’t be holding things in there by hand and whatnot.
I’ve also found having a folded piece of parchment in the press already pre-inserting anything works really well. And then put your loaded press bag between another folded sheet of parchment paper and then stick the whole thing between the first sheet of parchment that was already in there. Works just as good and you get less oil on your plates because no matter what you do, something always gets through that first parchment paper and stains your plates. Then anytime you heat the plates it just reeks. Two pieces of parchment tends to limit that a ton and also makes it easier to reclaim that oil too since it’ll scrape right off that parchment, it does not do that on the plates 
Final note, always press whatever your pressing at least twice. Sometimes 3 times. Hell I’ve pressed all my bags twice and then came back and stacked the bags on top of each other and pressed them a 3rd and 4th time and got a decent return both times. Practice makes perfect 
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Okay, yes. This is all very good info. Thanks, dude. I’ve tried to look at some videos on YouTube, but it requires me to log in and I don’t remember my log-in info haha. But basically, you just mold the weed, put it in a bag and squeeze that shit, right? And you think 160 micron bags are best for flower? Good to know. Everything I’ve read, they’ve been saying 90-120 micron bags for flowers. And if my plates are 3” x 7”, that doesn’t necessarily mean I have to get bags that are an inch smaller all around, right? Like a 2” x 4” bag would work fine, too, yeah? Or a 2” x 3” or whatever?
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Also, when you press the bags two or three times, do you switch out the parchment paper each press or do you use the same one for multiple presses? Sorry for all the questions. I should’ve titled this thread “I Have No Idea What I’m Doing” haha…
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You can do smaller micron for flower but the big trichome heads, capitate stalked glands, are usually around 150 microns so if you do 90s or 120’s you’re not gonna get those heads and potentially get less yield. I’ve had zero issues with the 160’s for flower.
And yes, can always go with smaller bags, just no larger than an inch less than your plates. Even 1x1 bags would work perfect for instance, but 3x7 bags on 3x7 plates = issues.
Yes switch the parchment paper between presses.
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Oh, I know people recommend dab tools and maybe even carpentry tools for scraping the rosin off the parchment paper. I’ve tried a bunch of stuff and I’ve found my cheap ~$20 pocket knife works better than any of the specialized tools I’ve bought. Just something to try before dropping a bunch of money on specialized tools.
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Too late, I just dropped some money on the tools. Only seventeen bucks. Also got the 2” x 4” mold (if somebody can explain to me why that costs $40, I’m all ears). One thing I’m wondering about: the plates I bought say for a 15-30 ton shop press. Does that mean I actually have to buy a press rated for 15-30 tons? Could I buy a 12 ton press like @ReikoX suggested?
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If you bought a pre-press mold… you don’t need it. I bought one thinking I did just the same and the thing just sits here. Maybe if you didn’t have any bags at all it would be kinda useful, especially if your flower is sticky but otherwise, eh. Least wasn’t expensive…
As for the plates, you’re never gonna give them that much force so it shouldn’t matter if they’re rated for 15-30. My guess is they list that based on the size of the press itself(for instance, my 6ton press literally cannot fit a 3x7 plate setup, too short length-wise) and yeah, what the plates are rated to withstand.
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Ahhhh, okay, so maybe the twelve ton press might not fit the 3 x 7 plates? Fuck it, I’m just gonna shell out the extra hundred bucks for the 20 ton press. That’ll for sure have no problem with the 3 x 7 plates, right? If I wasn’t quarantining and could just return the 12 ton in person, I’d get that first and see if it works. But with the boxing everything up and having to send it back…? Too much of a hassle. Sucks, too, because Harbor Freight is right near me, like three miles away.
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heh yeah, I mean if you can find a spec sheet or something that lists the dimensions and compare against the length of the plate setup that would make it easy to pick but that can be difficult to find. I know my 3x5 setup comes out to like just under 8" long. there’s about an inch and a half next to each plate, so if that holds true for that 3x7 one, likely come out to somewhere around 10" long.
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Yeah, I was just trying to find specs on it. Kind of a pain in the ass, but I finally found it. 11.5” wide by 5.5 inches high. Should have no problem with that Harbor Freight 20 ton. Working distance: 0 in. to 12-3/4 in.
- Width between channels: 16-3/4 in.
- Ram travel: 6-1/2 in.
Does that sound right? Jesus, I am illiterate when it comes to this kinda stuff…
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Just bought that 20 ton press from Harbor Freight. 97 dollars for shipping… Oophhh… That’s a lot. Fuck it, got everything I need. Probably paid too much, but whatever. Looking forward to this! Thanks for all the help, you guys. I’ll post the results here. Probably ask a few questions along the way… haha.
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So from what I gather, that says the total working area to press in is 12-3/4" tall, 16-3/4 in length, and 5.5 inches wide, this would be there area the press plate thing sits in/on. The ram, this is the center part that actually comes down and does the pressing, can travel 6-1/2 inches.
All in all, that should be way more than enough room to fit the 3x7 plates and get the job done nicely. Could actually do up to 5x10 plates or something crazy. Or smaller plates too, won’t matter.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong but from what I can see, you’re golden with that and those plates.
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Okay, yeah, that’s what I thought, too. I’m actually pretty good at math haha, so when I was looking at dimensions, I was like,”Alright, yeah, this should be all good.” We’ll see if my math was correct… Still, I just spent like 700 bucks on my press, which is what I said I wasn’t going to do. Y’all motherfuckers tricked me!!! Haha! Just kidding.
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This might help couldn’t find the subreddit.
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Psssshhhhh… Where were you an hour ago, dude? Just kidding, but I did already buy everything. I was inside talking to my girl a second ago, discussing what we were gonna order for dinner and threw in a quick,”By the way, I just bought a rosin press…” haha! She doesn’t care. My girl’s cool as shit. Smokes weed maybe six times a year, but doesn’t care about all the money I spend on growing- related shit.
I’ll post pics of my results in this thread once I start pressing. Pretty excited about this.
Anybody know how I can press all of the frozen weed I have? I saw some videos on how to tumble weed to get kief, but they were using like seven pounds in the video. I have a little over a pound of frozen larf. I guess I could just make hash out of it and then press that, but I’d prefer something easier.
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I was gonna say to press some hash but you probably have other options. Glad you found something man. Have a good day and good luck on the squishing!!!
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now you gotta feed the beast.
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Looking forward to it.