Best Rosin Press for the Money

I really want a decent rosin press, but the cost is prohibitive. So, I have decided that I am going to see if I can find several people in the same boat in my area and go in together on a rosin press. There are several people here that I knew from Idaho that have expressed interest. Also my best friend in Idaho who I grow for will chip in. And the gal that bought my place in Idaho also wants to go in on it.

So, those of you with experience/knowledge, if you had $1000 to $1500 to spend on a rosin press, what would you recommend?

I would buy one from Kraven

Why not build your own? They are only about $100. I would be more than happy to help walk you though it.

Do you do eBay?

Search "Cartridge heater" and search "aluminum bar stock". Look at how cheap it is. I think it's totally insane to pay the prices they are asking for retail presses.

If you want, we can talk about sizes of heaters and aluminum blocks, depending on your intentions. Then, I can provide some firm links on what to buy.

The labor involved is drilling 2 holes in the aluminum blocks and putting wire nuts on the heaters to connect the cord. A little smoothing of the aluminum is sometimes needed to remove the saw marks. That's about it.

I wish you were here. One of my rentals had a water tank go bad. $800. I would gladly trade you my rosin press for a new water tank, installed. LOL

If you can install a water tank (and, I'm sure you've done many) you can sure as beans build this press.

Build one

View attachment IMG_2017.jpg

Okay, you guys have convinced me. Hackerman, I wish I could have been there to replace your water tank (pressure tank?). I have replaced one or two in my day. Added a larger tank to my system here at home last month.

Yes, I do E-bay--I am a bargain hunter and use everything at my disposal to save money when I can. But I do want to do this right. Being a plumber where cutting corners can be disastorous, I believe in quality parts. I'll keep my eyes open for a Harbor Freight 20 or 25% off coupon as I know I need a bench press.

Ston-loc, I know that you talked about how you made your press when we were talking about making vape concentrates....but would you mind going over it again? Also, what was the price tag for what you put together? Hackerman, you had links to plates and thermostats, I believe?

Let's build this thing!

I'll be watchin and learnin!

First thing to consider is the press. I am pretty happy with my Harbor Freight press but Harbor Freight stuff is definitely the cheapest there is and it's not great quality. And, the jack did fail and I replaced it with a better quality, slightly heavier jack.

And, size. For personal use, I think this table top model works just fine. If you have the room and you want to get a floor press, bigger is always better. You don't have to use it all. And, the commercial peeps who are pressing giant blocks, definitely need the larger presses.

So, look around locally for a press. That's about the only thing that would probably be too much to ship.

Once you decide on a press, let me know and we'll look at the blocks. One thing to think about is shape. Every press I have seen uses square blocks. I chose round. I'm not sure why. It just seemed more logical.

The total PSI that is transferred to your blocks from the jack is determined by the square inch size of your blocks. And, since you never use the very corners of a square block, it's just lost pressure. Plus, I use round pucks and let it flow from all sides rather than most people who direct the rosin in one direction.

I have square and I have round. Both work. I like the round better.

If you go with a table top press, the thickness is limited to about 1". Any thicker than that and the press doesn't open far enough. 1" works great for me. I also have 2" and 1/4" prototypes.

Let me know what you come up with on the press and we'll go from there.

Also, do you have (or know anyone) with a drill press? I'm sure the holes can be drilled by hand but a drill press makes sure the hole is nice and straight so the cartridge heater fits nice and snug. Although, again, my first one was hand drilled and it was crooked as crap but it worked great. I am SO MUCH NOT a handyman. LOL

Mine cost $424 to build. The press was the most expensive component because I wanted better quality instead of going as cheap as possible. Ordered it and shipped from northern tool

If size was not a factor, I probably would have spent more on a press. There's not a lot of selection in the table-top size. And, that's all I had room for.

I am very interested in getting myself a rosin press and I know I have to DIY. I understand that it must be simple to build but I just need a more detailed instructions than the ones that I have already seen. I hope to be able to do it soon.

Please share the Build with us little people

Let me check out Northern Tool. I used to buy a fair amount of stuff from there. Ston-loc, yours is a bench top press, isn't it (as opposed to a floor press)? I would like a smaller press if possible, so it is somewhat portable. I anticipate sharing the use of the press with others. so, I will check out some presses and get back to you all.

Hackerman, even though I do know people with drill presses, I think I would probably prefer to have it drilled by a machine shop. I have one close to my place here. Can't imagine it costing too much.

Zem, I am going to need pretty good instructions too. So, hopefully this will have enough info by the time I get done.

Yeah, it bench top. It's heavy as hell, but portable enough.

http://m.northerntool.com/products/shop~tools~product_200641793_200641793?adv=false

Yes, in looking, I see that even the bench top presses are over 100lb, so while they can be moved, they are heavy.

So, I found this one at Northern Tool: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641793_200641793

And this one at harbor Freight: https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-air-hydraulic-shop-press-with-oil-filter-crusher-65330.html

I rather like the looks of these two that I found on E-bay because of their smaller size and probably lighter weight. Looks like aluminum stock and allthread. I'm going to go ahead and put one together with a stock bench press, but may try and put together something lighter over the winter. However using hydraulic bottle jacks, you can only make it so light: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-4x4-600...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Ton-Hydra...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

That's a pretty cool looking design there on the first eBay model. I wonder though, if people are extracting rosin with hair straighteners, just how much pressure is really required if you get your heat and timing correctly calibrated. Just curious if something considerably lighter would work well.

A couple things. Mine is 6 tons and seems to be more than adequate. Larger might be better but I can't see how. You can't get any flatter than you are with 6 tons sitting on you. LOL

Also, I would love to have a pressure gauge on mine. You might think about that.

I don't know about air pressure. I don't always want to have my air compressor running and hauling one more thing. Unless it had a manual bypass to pump by hand.

Just remember, you're blocks are going to be 1" think. And you need a couple inches to open for the puck. And, the base plate is about an inch. So, make sure the press opening is at least 5". That is what my table top from Harbor Freight is. My first blocks were 2" thick and they wouldn't fit this press. So, I went with 1" plates

May not be the best but I just found it interesting that you can buy this from Walmart...
Rosin press
And only 31lbs.

they got presses on sale at walmart

otherwise sasquash v3 is coming out just saw it at Champs in vegas

I must admit, the pre-made units are finally coming down in price. $300 wouldn't be that bad for a pre-made if it worked.

Wal-mart sells everything online. If you notice, it is shipped though an affiliate (just like Amazon).