When I was doing lots of rolling a couple of years ago my biggest problem was getting a reasonable draw. I rolled some both with and without a mold. I had some that were way too tight so I would roll the next batch looser and then it would be too loose. Some were just right but I had difficulty being consistent. It was always disappointing to spend a night rolling, wait a few weeks, and then find out they are too tight or too loose to enjoy. I think part of the issue was that my moisture content in the leaves when I rolled was not consistent. Anyone care to offer some suggestions other than practice, practice, practice?
Draw issues
- Thread starter Bruce T.
- Start date
Practice is key. Bunching methods can affect the draw and moisture content of the filler leaves is also important. You really want your filler just moist enough not to crumble when you bunch it for the best results. Too wet and it is very easy to plug the draw.
1) Leaves shrink as they dry. That's why you want your filler just damp enough to not crumble into crap, your binder just damp enough to hold the bunch without tearing,and your wrapper damp enough to lay flat on the bunch. It may not lay down quite as tight as you hope; but as it dries, it will shrink tight.
2) Hold a commercial cigar in your hand before you roll. Get a good idea of the bulk of it. You do not have to make your cigar as hard as that. You just need to make the bulk of it feel like that.
3) Entubado.
2) Hold a commercial cigar in your hand before you roll. Get a good idea of the bulk of it. You do not have to make your cigar as hard as that. You just need to make the bulk of it feel like that.
3) Entubado.
I haven't rolled entubado so I can't say if it is better/worse/same as accordion. I have rolled book and accordion and accordion is definitely much better. Accordion is what my Cuban mentor taught me and that's what I'm sticking with. What's most important is finding a way to be consistent and that is going to come with practicing the same method repeatedly.
Entubado for full leafs, accordion for half leafs. But to echo what @BrewinHooligan said, find the method that is most consistent for you.
Here's another thought: Don't let your filler twist as you bunch. The free leaves sticking out, the ones which are about to be bound, they have to rotate at the same rate as the newly bound leaves, the ones already in the binder. Twist chokes draw. Kinda like one of those collapsible garden hoses. Twist makes for kinks.
Very interesting. I usually finished the head by twisting so that it would taper a bit. It makes perfect sense that if I'm twisting the leaves at the end then I'll screw up the draw. It's obvious but I never thought of that before.
All the advice I'm getting is much appreciated. Now that winter is here in Ontario I get the urge to roll, since I can't smoke. My only smoking in the next few months will be a week in Cuba, and there will be some heavy duty smoking going on then.
Holy Moly! All Winter?
Don't you have a fireplace? In Winter, I find that if I sit beside the hearth and a nice ripping fire my cigar smoke sucks up the flue. As for Bearswatter, I make sure to smoke something less than stinky. She knows who pays the mortgage.
Don't you have a garage? I find that if I drape a blanket in a lawnchair and fire up an electric heater I can contentedly puff away watching football on the garage toob. I try to arrange a motorcycle wrenching project each Winter also, so that I can put the Devil's playmates to work when football isn't on. A good hat, a plaid flannel shirt, I'm good to go.
Don't you have cigar lounges up there in the land of cheese and hockey? I found a free lounge here, not far from the office, where you will find me from time to time this coming Winter I'm sure.
If nunna that works out, we have a guest room here.
Thanks for the offer. I don't think I've ever been to Dull-Aware so you never know.
While I love cigars and have been smoking them for most of my life, I don't smoke in the winter. Cigar smoking is a bit of a religious experience for me. I never smoke while I'm working outdoors, nor do I smoke if I have to huddle in the cold. I only enjoy cigars when I have the time to sit, relax and hopefully enjoy a fine libation. Some people meditate for mental health, I smoke cigars.
I also think that my winter hiatus allows me to prove to myself that my love of cigars is not an addiction.
When I started, one of the first things I was shooting for was a firm pack. Almost everything was plugged.
Then I recognized that I wasn't factoring in that I needed to let them dry out. Looking at a Perdomo I thought, how did they get these things as hard as a rock and drawing like a straw?
Well, I had to give it time to set up. Did you ever git some Cbid sticks that were just so spongy and, with time firmed up?
Webmost mentioned "Hold a commercial cigar in your hand before you roll. Get a good idea of the bulk of it. You do not have to make your cigar as hard as that. You just need to make the bulk of it feel like that." Well, a vitola will have a weight to it. >> http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/official-weights.aspx
Something else I got is that different leaf has different burn properties. So, with that in mind, they will need more or less air to burn right. So I tend to set the draw in the shoulder and head.