Mechanical Pressing

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Place resin powder in a plastic bag or cellophane wrapper to contain it while pressing. All the powder will be pressed within the wrapper into a brick or plaque of hash. Poke a few small holes in the bag before pressing to allow trapped air to escape. The bag is placed into a heavy duty steel mold, and pressure is applied with a hydraulic jack. Hydraulic jacks have a capacity from 10-20 tons and are mounted to heavy duty steel frames that normally contain a 100-gram mold.

The pressure exerted to form a cohesive block is contingent upon the volume of contaminants in the powder. The more pure the resin powder, the less pressure it takes to form it into a block.

If your hash was made with water, make sure it is totally dry before pressing to avoid mold.

Water hash does not react like dry-sieved hash when pressed. Resin has been melded together in a different way than dry powder.

Pressing the resin when it is wet will trap moisture inside the hash. The hash will not dry completely, and it will not properly gel together later. It will retain a powdery consistency.

Dry sieved resin powder will press easily and stay together under lower pressure when it is relatively pure. If it is adulterated with impurities, more pressure and heat will be necessary to press it into a block.

Add a little heat to hard to press hash that contains impurities. The heat will hep the mass congeal so bricks do not need excessive pressure to stay together. But do not heat the resin too much or it will be damaged. Do not forget that pressing also increases heat.

You can also add a drop of alcohol in the form of brandy, whiskey, bourbon, rum, etc. Higher alcohol content spirits are favored. The alcohol melds the glands together. Add only a drop at a time; alcohol takes a few minutes to completely penetrate and act. Be careful, add only a little!