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Topic: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln (Read 2545 times) |
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ohio_olschool
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Well as they say...we are well into the process so I thought I would drop some of my pics in to show you what I have been doing this past month. 
I made two presses using wood I had laying around the house..cost $00.00….cost of the clamps was my only expense $50.00. The measurements I came up with were for my own special purpose. I still plan on using a paper cutter until I spring for some other way to shred/cut my tobacco. The inside dimensions of the center or loading port is 4 3/4" x 9". Nothing fancy about them...used 3/4" plywood for the base. Framed it with 2"x2"s. Used an oak plank I had for the center press piece. Attached a handle on the press so you can pull it out, glued and screwed, and we were done. Thanks to Jack I bought 2 more ‘C’ clamps to spread out the pressure. That worked out great by the way! I lined the bottom with saran wrap and left the sides and top open to eliminate moisture. What I found after pressing my first block was that it stuck to anything not wrapped. On my second press I laid a piece of saran wrap over the bottom…left it long enough to wrap up and over the entire plug. I doubled the amount of leaves the second time, and pressed them for three days. The saran wrap easily left me pull it out of the press with no fuss or mess. Total weight of the first plug (weighed after a week in my kiln) 6 3/8 oz. The second plug fresh from the press weighed 12 7/8 oz. I used 60 Virginia leaves, and 22 Burley all together for both plugs. 82 leaves yielding 1 ½ pounds of tobacco is worse than I expected. Dry weight should be a little less but not significant. I am hoping this ratio improves as I get to the bigger center leaves.
My kiln is my freezer portion of the fridge. I started using a 75 watt bulb, but the temps rose to over 138*F. I dropped down to a 60 watt bulb ..now my temp stays a constant 126*F. I am using a water misting bottle to add additional moisture, and I have a small 4x4 pan full sitting on the bottom. My RH seems to be staying around 80-85% . What I am doing now is putting the plugs in a zip lock bag to maintain a constant RH inside. When I smelled the first plug it had lost all of the foul odor, and now smell like a real tobacco product. Have another 2 weeks left on the first plug before I cut it up and smoke some!
This is what is left of my 2008 crop. In the front I have my Walker Broadleaf and Lizard Tail...taken 1 week after hanging them 
side view with my Viginia ..pic taken the day I hung them
this is the tobacco I dark fire cured...and is now ready to be put in the press....and kiln
Getting ready to load my dry "dark" fired tobacco into a press.
press with a piece of saran wrap big enough to cover bottom and wrap sides and top
as full as I can get it
wrapped and ready to press
starting to clamp it down
all clamps on
torqued down
my first plug
my second plug
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| « Last Edit: September 16th, 2009, 9:23pm by ohio_olschool » |
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carbine
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #1 on: September 16th, 2009, 8:39pm » |
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Nice looking Baccy and plugs.
I'm making my own press out of some oak I had saved from a remodeling job.
Just plan to clamp it in the vice.
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edowens
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #2 on: September 17th, 2009, 1:35am » |
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olschool here is some 6 to 8plus footers just in still have 4 more rows but too darn tired going to take a week off!
had to cut some ends off at 7 ft still too long to get in
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| « Last Edit: September 17th, 2009, 1:37am by edowens » |
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ohio_olschool
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If everybody smoked there could be a tobbaco shortage and high prices!
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #3 on: September 17th, 2009, 3:59am » |
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on September 16th, 2009, 8:39pm, carbine wrote:| Just plan to clamp it in the vice. |
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Carbine,
Make sure you line your wood with something. The first plug I made I had just lined the bottom...wanted to make sure moisture could escape...yea! Had a heck of a time getting my press off. The tobacco had stuck rather firmly to the top....it came out of the block easy enough...just stuck like glue to my top.
My second 'hogshed' was packed tighter than a skin on a drum, but came out easy and did not stick to anything...love that saran wrap.
Most people only keep the press on for a couple of hours or overnight...I had mine on for 4 days for the first, and 48 hours for the second...rushed it because I wanted to check the weight. Was shooting for a pound...fell short by 3 1/8 oz. Takes a lot more leaves than I anticipated to make a pound.
Already planning on a crop increase for next year. Would have had a bigger harvest had I got an earlier start and not killed all of mine...thanks to Lonnie I had a harvest of Virginia.
Ohio ol_school
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wydeboi
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #4 on: September 17th, 2009, 4:32am » |
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Nice crop. 
You know, I'm somewhat confused. I've read before to line the press with plastic etc. My question, what the heck do they line the wooden barrels with when the make Perique? It's compressed at high pounds per square inch into those wooden barrels but I haven't heard of any lining they use. Does anyone know?
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ohio_olschool
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #5 on: September 17th, 2009, 5:57am » |
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Jack,
Thanks.
You know that thought entered my mind when I was first going to press mine. I even considered pam...to seal and lubricate the wood prior to adding the tobacco. Glad I used the saran wrap...otherwise I would never have got that rascal out.
From what I have read most boxes, crates, or shooks made for shipping tobacco were produced from white pine, spruce, hemlock, or chestnut...of which 98% came from the New England states ....primarily Massachusetts. Of that wood 83% was white pine.
I do not know if the pine was treated..but I doubt it. More than likely any tobacco that stuck to the crate when it was opened was scraped and saved as crate waste. Perhaps that is why when technology permitted they switched to shipping in 'tins'
Ohio ol_school
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| « Last Edit: September 17th, 2009, 5:58am by ohio_olschool » |
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carbine
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #6 on: September 17th, 2009, 11:26pm » |
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Thanks Ohio ol_school
I never thought of the baccy sticking to the press.
I'll make sure I use saran wrap.
Doubling the size of my garden next year.
Wife said there was not enough room for her veggies.
Adding another 1000 square feet. Can't give up too much space for veggies.
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ohio_olschool
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #7 on: September 18th, 2009, 5:48am » |
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Carbine,
You got to keep the little lady happy....maybe those veggie growing kits they sell already in a tray...just add water..heck a couple of those in the corner of the kitchen should make her ecstatic! Better throw in one of those Chia Head herbal gardens also!
If you teach her how to pick those suckers off without getting sticky fingers she will admire you more and let you plant the whole yard in tobacco.... 
As far as lube for the press..pack it down with cosmoline...nothing can stick to that...LOL
Ohio ol_school
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ohio_olschool
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #8 on: September 18th, 2009, 6:02am » |
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on September 17th, 2009, 1:35am, edowens wrote:| olschool here is some 6 to 8plus footers just in still have 4 more rows but too darn tired going to take a week off! |
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Ed,
what are you gonna do with all that baccy? That is some crop...
How many plants did you finally end up with? You will have burley curing well into next year....and that is a good thing.
How is your weather holding up out there?
Bud
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edowens
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #9 on: September 18th, 2009, 4:34pm » |
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Bud I only have 170 in so far about 130 or so left to cut according to lonnie I shoould end up with around 120 lbs but these sticks are weighting in at 120 lbs each so 25 in thats alot going toi cut 10 more today even wilting for 3 days still heavey stuff I had to top some at 7 ft from ground to rail and spearing at 1 ft still tops on the groundso do have a few 8 footers going to traid 35 lbs for virginia as all mine are burley even the hyb virigia is a burley able to smoke some but not a good smoke yet temps been in 90s agin but a cool down for 4 days then 80s so its still warm but seems to be drying baccer ok
aMonte calme photo taken from 10 ft away
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ohio_olschool
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #10 on: September 19th, 2009, 6:24am » |
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Ed,
May have to swap you some seed or something. The Monte Calme sure got big...and big is good when it comes to leaf quantity and weight.
Ohio ol_school
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edowens
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #11 on: September 19th, 2009, 1:19pm » |
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Bud just let me know where to send tested and gremanated fine can send a pod or two Ed
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Don
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #12 on: September 19th, 2009, 6:03pm » |
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ohio_olschool,
Dark fired tobacco is cured with smoke. I don't see any smoke residue. Did you actually fire it or is that just a dark fired variety that has been air cured? I've often wanted to try that but have never had the facilities to do it.
I visited some friends in Virginia who grow Virginia dark fired and saw their tobacco. It was an even dark brown but no where near as dark as the stuff from Kentucky which can be almost black.
The cigars from the Avanti company such as the Kentucky Cheroot is made from all dark fired tobacco from Kentucky and Tennessee.
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| « Last Edit: September 19th, 2009, 6:11pm by Don » |
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ohio_olschool
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #13 on: September 19th, 2009, 6:39pm » |
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Don,
I had the leaves in the lower section of my smoker /fridge. For a week I had the smoker going using hickory, and Jack Daniels wood chips. I call it dark fired because normally I would just have dried it out for the leaf drying phase.....this time I smoked the heck out of it. The first plug I made was lightly smoked.....I laid it on pretty good during the second batch. The Virginia leaves did not turn a dark brown, but the burleys looked almost chocolate colored. If I do it again I will take some better pics of the individual leaves. On the 2nd plug on the one side you can see a 'black' strip running down the middle...a burley 'laying' between 2 Virginias. I smelled them today...a week after being pressed and in the kiln...they both smell the same..like tobacco...with no hint of smoke.
When they finish curing will be the test to see if there is a taste difference.
Again still playing...still experimenting...looking for the easiest, best way to make my tobacco smoke good.
Ohio ol_School
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Don
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Re: My 2008 Tobacco crop, racks, press, kiln
« Reply #14 on: September 19th, 2009, 8:38pm » |
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Did you grow any dark fired varieties to try it with. The farmers fire the leaves so much that your hands can turn black stripping the tobacco.
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