Cigar Molds Thread

[blisscigarco]

A new 500w spindle will be here by the weekend. Thanks Amazon.

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How many horses is/was that spindle? My router is 2.25HP and blasts through hardwoods with up to 1" diameter bits like a crazy mofo, though I usually keep my passes to 3/16 depth max.

 

[keithjjones]

How many horses is/was that spindle? My router is 2.25HP and blasts through hardwoods with up to 1" diameter bits like a crazy mofo, though I usually keep my passes to 3/16 depth max.

Not sure. I know it ran on 100v dc. That's about all I could figure out. I think it was 300w, based upon 3a fusing I found, but I don't know for sure. If I could just mount a router, I would, but there isn't room. 500w was about the biggest I can fit on this rig. If I machine aluminum at some point I may be able to put a bigger spindle on it. It's a chicken egg kind of thing.

It was cutting oak nicely and what was finished was looking good. So I'm sure this new one will probably do well. I'll run over to the Depot after work tomorrow and get some more 1x8 oak. I used gorilla glue between the 1 inch pieces and it held really well. I really think these molds will turn out really nice once they finish. I figure it will take around a day a mold. There was some smoldering smell that was annoying when the bit was getting hot, but I kept it in my basement so my family wouldn't complain. It didn't affect the mold any.

I also lost 2 end mill bits today. It wasn't a good day on the equipment.

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[blisscigarco]

Not sure. I know it ran on 100v dc. That's about all I could figure out. I think it was 300w, based upon 3a fusing I found, but I don't know for sure. If I could just mount a router, I would, but there isn't room. 500w was about the biggest I can fit on this rig. If I machine aluminum at some point I may be able to put a bigger spindle on it. It's a chicken egg kind of thing.

It was cutting oak nicely and what was finished was looking good. So I'm sure this new one will probably do well. I'll run over to the Depot after work tomorrow and get some more 1x8 oak. I used gorilla glue between the 1 inch pieces and it held really well. I really think these molds will turn out really nice once they finish. I figure it will take around a day a mold. There was some smoldering smell that was annoying when the bit was getting hot, but I kept it in my basement so my family wouldn't complain. It didn't affect the mold any.

I also lost 2 end mill bits today. It wasn't a good day on the equipment.

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Sorry about your equipment, man. That sucks. I've got spares of some of my more exotic bits, but I've yet to blow anything, fingers crossed. Oak, incidentally, was often used for the modular top bits in pro molds, along with the mahogany bottoms. I say was because I don't think pro wood molds are being manufactured anymore, starting a couple years ago. Oak is also what the custom molds are made of, that I had made to order a few years ago.

 

[keithjjones]

Sorry about your equipment, man. That sucks. I've got spares of some of my more exotic bits, but I've yet to blow anything, fingers crossed. Oak, incidentally, was often used for the modular top bits in pro molds, along with the mahogany bottoms. I say was because I don't think pro wood molds are being manufactured anymore, starting a couple years ago. Oak is also what the custom molds are made of, that I had made to order a few years ago.

Oak is easy for me to get, which is a huge factor. I don't know how we lived in the day's before Amazon. Home Depot is 3mi from me. Lumber stores close when work finishes and are much farther.

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[blisscigarco]

Oak is easy for me to get, which is a huge factor. I don't know how we lived in the day's before Amazon. Home Depot is 3mi from me. Lumber stores close when work finishes and are much farther.

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I live half a mile from a place with vast acres of every kind of wood. It's pretty fun to just walk around in the shady warehouses rapping my knuckles against that stuff...

 

[TheFlask]

A new 500w spindle will be here by the weekend. Thanks Amazon.

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Now I understand. Most of the videos I've been watching are using larger spindles that are able to handle larger loads.

 

[Dominican56]

It's a really cool project. Hat's tipped to you, BOTL.

It depends on the amount of coin you want to sink into your project. Just beware, it's never going to cut as fast as you want it to. And the faster you cut the more inaccurate it will be. You can't buy your way out of that engineering trade-off. Most people I see on YouTube put some serious coin into their machines to get the type of speeds you are looking for. I run nema 23 motors, 4mm lead screws, and a 500w spindle. That's not exactly on the low end.

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[keithjjones]

It's a really cool project. Hat's tipped to you, BOTL.

You may be on to something with your poplar idea. It's light weight, pretty, and a hard wood. I've never used it before, or even known it was a hard wood based upon its looks alone. I got a board of that and a board of oak. The poplar cut really well and I'm impressed. I'll see how well it works in the CNC once/if I get my spindle working this weekend.

It really sucks dropping $80 for three boards and a small bottle of glue. Here's to hoping there is no waste.

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[BrewinHooligan]

I just wanna say, this forum doesn't stop amazing me. I started a thread to document what I thought would be my misadventures in home-rolling cigars close to two years ago thinking it would end a fiery death. Now our group is growing like crazy and we have a guy milling molds with a home built cnc machine. We all kick ass and I'm proud to be a part of this niche community.

 

[keithjjones]

I just wanna say, this forum doesn't stop amazing me. I started a thread to document what I thought would be my misadventures in home-rolling cigars close to two years ago thinking it would end a fiery death. Now our group is growing like crazy and we have a guy milling molds with a home built cnc machine. We all kick ass and I'm proud to be a part of this niche community.

Thanks for starting it. Through Google this thread was how I found this group when I couldn't find decent molds, and I've learned a lot here how to roll at home. It's my end goal to be able to produce custom bunch molds, new (not beat up ones from eBay) at reasonable cost to the home roller so they can have more than one mold or two. Next to limited supplies of tobacco types, which is something I can't improve, good molds are not easy to come by or affordable if you like to roll different sizes like I do. That is something I can improve. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll be able to pop them out in the more economical plastic, or a full set in various types of wood.

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[Jim D]

Thanks for starting it. Through Google this thread was how I found this group when I couldn't find decent molds, and I've learned a lot here how to roll at home. It's my end goal to be able to produce custom bunch molds, new (not beat up ones from eBay) at reasonable cost to the home roller so they can have more than one mold or two. Next to limited supplies of tobacco types, which is something I can't improve, good molds are not easy to come by or affordable if you like to roll different sizes like I do. That is something I can improve. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll be able to pop them out in the more economical plastic, or a full set in various types of wood.

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I'm curious, would your CNC machine be able to cut out the molds in plastic faster than wood, and would that be faster than 3d printing? Would that change which plastic you'd use? Would the cut out plastic be too wasteful economically? Just wondering because if you can do both additive manufacturing and subtractive (cnc milling), you are in a good position to compare.

 

[Dominican56]

I'm curious, would your CNC machine be able to cut out the molds in plastic faster than wood, and would that be faster than 3d printing? Would that change which plastic you'd use? Would the cut out plastic be too wasteful economically? Just wondering because if you can do both additive manufacturing and subtractive (cnc milling), you are in a good position to compare.

Keith can provide a better answer better than mine. However, my experience would be that Polycarbonate or Delrin would be good choices except that both are quite a bit more expensive for a given size than wood is. (I'm resisting saying .. "more expensive than wood would be.")

 

[keithjjones]

I'm curious, would your CNC machine be able to cut out the molds in plastic faster than wood, and would that be faster than 3d printing? Would that change which plastic you'd use? Would the cut out plastic be too wasteful economically? Just wondering because if you can do both additive manufacturing and subtractive (cnc milling), you are in a good position to compare.

I looked into plastic for CNC and it's too expensive for cigar molds. It's much better to use it for additive. It's only good for CNC if your part is relatively small and you need the plastic properties for some reason (ie hold down clamp, etc). If it gets any more than .25" thick the price goes up dramatically. That's why injection molding is used over CNC for plastics, typically.

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[keithjjones]

Keith can provide a better answer better than mine. However, my experience would be that Polycarbonate or Delrin would be good choices except that both are quite a bit more expensive for a given size than wood is. (I'm resisting saying .. "more expensive than wood would be.")

Yup. Just browse Amazon and your statement is proven.

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[webmost]

Thanks for starting it. Through Google this thread was how I found this group when I couldn't find decent molds, and I've learned a lot here how to roll at home. It's my end goal to be able to produce custom bunch molds, new (not beat up ones from eBay) at reasonable cost to the home roller so they can have more than one mold or two. Next to limited supplies of tobacco types, which is something I can't improve, good molds are not easy to come by or affordable if you like to roll different sizes like I do. That is something I can improve. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll be able to pop them out in the more economical plastic, or a full set in various types of wood.

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Hey Keith ... have you talked to Maks? Goes by rainmax on the FTT forum. Farmer from Ljubljana, Slovenia. Makes some very fine looking two-stick molds with threaded wooden toggles...

I don't know what kinda machinery he uses. You can see where the bit burnt the groove in a couple places though. They work great. The threaded bits are super handy. Whole Leaf Tobacco sells them for fifty bucks: http://wholeleaftobacco.com/Cigar-Molds-48-x-8-CGRMLD48.htm You and Maks should get together and discuss.

 

[keithjjones]

Hey Keith ... have you talked to Maks? Goes by rainmax on the FTT forum. Farmer from Ljubljana, Slovenia. Makes some very fine looking two-stick molds with threaded wooden toggles...

I don't know what kinda machinery he uses. You can see where the bit burnt the groove in a couple places though. They work great. The threaded bits are super handy. Whole Leaf Tobacco sells them for fifty bucks: http://wholeleaftobacco.com/Cigar-Molds-48-x-8-CGRMLD48.htm You and Maks should get together and discuss.

Thanks. I didn't know about those.

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[keithjjones]

New spindle. Cutting Salomon into poplar. Then a picture of the spaghetti that is my controller and driver.

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[Dominican56]

I'll be your first customer, Keith.

 

[keithjjones]

I'll be your first customer, Keith.

Right on. Even with the unprofessional spaghetti wires? Lol.

I don't know if it is the poplar or the new spindle, but it is cutting so darn nice. Like butter. And quiet. You can barely hear it in the basement. No burning smells either. The spindle is smaller in physical size but I think it has higher rpm. It goes up to 12,000. I'm cutting around 10,000.

The mold I'm cutting now is the Salomon. It'll be done by tomorrow if my power doesn't go out in this severe thunderstorm.

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[Dominican56]

Poplar is a great wood for cutting and shaping. No question your new spindle is working better, too

Great work you are doing!