@home 'brick' pressing?

Fentasies · Sun Jul 10, 2005 12:18 pm

I hope this is the proper section for such a question.

Does anyone have any ideas on an @home method of pressing powder into bricks?

Is special binding agents used?

Sorry if this seems like a stupid question, some people are perfectionists on presentation. Thanks for any help in advance.

joe_aldehyde · huxleys associate

for filler andbinding purposes in pharmaceutical applications, highly disperse lactose is used. PVPs a.k.a. polyvinylpyrrolidones may also help. either one is commonly available. you can also use starch, gelatine, celluloseethers, vinylacetate polymers or microcrystalline cellulose as glue agents.

for pressing bricks or tablets, you need something with high enough pressure force to keep the powder particles stuck nicely together. commercial processes mostly involve granulates as precursors to tablets, this is overkill for household purposes.

primathon · modified

I've never done this, so this is just speaking as an engineer:

The mold would need a removable bottom plate, along with a top that can sink inside the interior diameter. Weld 4 plates together for the sides, and make sure the top fits smoothly inside it. This will sit inside another box, sans sides, welded again from 4 pieces of plate. Acquire a multi-ton automotive jack, and weld/bolt this to the top of your outer box, facing downward. Set your mold in the bottom of the outer box, facing upwards, and fill with your material of choice. Set the top plate inside it, and expand the jack downward until it reaches the top plate of the mold. Compress the material as much as possible, and when sufficient pressure has been reached, collapse the jack and remove the mold. It will likely be 'glued' together under all that pressure, so tap around it with a hammer until it's able to release.

This instrument is only to be used to make bricks out of legal materials; nothing illicit. If you're gonna go illegal, put kittens in it.

joe_aldehyde · huxleys associate

of course, the kittens must be titrated prior to pressing to ensure proper dosage.

Ephoton · Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:45 pm

your all fucking sick kittens im going to spew now thanx Smile

blurcraft · Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:25 pm

I've also been made aware of individuals who had wrapped [perfectly legal] substance of choice in heavy plastic as tightly as possible, making 3-4 layers, then 6 or 7 layers of heavy brown paper (or butcher's paper, Federalist Papers--whatever ya got handy), with a few layers of heavy packing tape or duct tape in between and another few good, solid tight wraps w/ the tape around the outside, making sure that there is NO extra airspace inside. Then, just for good measure, about 10 more tight wraps of tape (can't be too careful...), place in driveway, behind tire (preferrably one attached to an operational passenger vehicle...also, front tires work best in most American cars, as there tends to be more weight up there...), then reverse ('R' on the shifter) slowly, pausing when firmly atop the package for a few seconds. Repeat if necessary. This is, of course, assuming you don't own a denim shirt/dislike being burned severely as could possibly happen with the above method. (the one not involving a feline) (personally, I'm all about some welding burns, so between that and the fact that I'm not allowed within 100 yds of a motor vehicle [or ferrets or cheese graters] it's the metal box press method for me!) Cool

Fentasies · Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:47 am

something about packing keys in your driveway with your car just doesnt seem right, SWIM shall opt for the metal box.

Could it be simplified anymore? Meaning, could you supplement the automative jack by say just stacking a shitload of barbell plates ontop, like 100lbs+ and let sit overnight??

By @home was hoping to hear something a little less 'techy' being no machinery of any sorts needed... ghetto, per say. But of course all feedbacks appreciated.

Not understanding the binding agent part, SWIMs productry would be relatively pure with very slight cuts of additional enhancement agents for dreaming. Are these binding agents you speak of actually just filling agents? If so this is something SWIM would wish to avoid having in the mix, if at all possible.

blurcraft · Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:56 am

I think all my rambling obscured the method with unnecessary semantics, etc...the point is the process--Location is not a requisite factor. just wrap. tape, etc. have car and any random concrete or otherwise unyielding surface and apply the pressure...to be honest, I would in sound mindset advise strongly against the driveway as a choice...but I figured ol' Fenny there was a big boy with a brain and could extrapolate his own location....

Fentasies · Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:01 am

yes, semantics. However SWIM intends to press insignia, and the car method does not sound like it could be adjusted to meet that requirement.

blurcraft · Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:09 am

oh, and btw, fenny--
the binding agent is not the most crucial ingredient, so naturally you would add little if you use it. just make sre you got a nice, fine consistency for both substances, throw in (watch out! random ratio off the top of my head comin up...feel free to sub your own desired formula...) about 10:1 binding agent, sift THOROUGHLY and then proceed. and I 'm gonna have to guess that if you intend to achieve the desired effect sometime before you're in diapers again, 100 or so lbs is prolly not too much of a match for pressure applied from a hydraulic, pneumatic, or otherwise [even literally] leveraged source...unless you can find a way to put a couple thousand lbs on there, I'd go with one of these two methods "@home" or a variation thereof. Just make sure that whatever enclosure you use it is well sealed, reinforced ( ya can't overdo this part....) on all sides, unless you got a good vacuum/broom/magnifying glass and fine tweezers, cuz it'll be all over the place if all that pressure finds a way to send itself laterally, rather than staying between your rock and hard place, as it were.

blurcraft · Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:12 am

ah yes...insignia... buy capsules, tough guy...and really good digis w/ @ least milligram graduation...it's that or a trip to tractor supply and a few weeks of trial and error (and frustration, most likely) with a MIG...but if you go with the latter, you can have some of my scrap plate to practice with...

Fentasies · Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:55 pm

This is how I see it;

1) Build reinforced metal box with no top

2) pour in flour and swish around till it coats the sides, dump that which doesnt

3) take a sheet of shrink wrap, lay over box and press down inside and mold to shape of the box, with edges of it hanging out over all 4 sides of box

4) pour in inositol, swish around till it coats the plastic sides, dump that which doesnt

5) carefully add the intended powder

6) take a few inch thick peice of wood cut to the dimensions of the metal box interior

7) take a square of very dense clay, slap it on bottom of the peice of wood, cut out the insignia into the clay

Cool

place board with insignia stuck to it in freezer for hour or three to harden the clay up best it can

9) take out of freezer, sprinkle entire bottom board with flour, dump that which doesnt coat, take another sheet of shrink wrap/saran wrap, press down over bottom of board/insignia, tightly

10) take a heat gun, and carefully blow against the board-shrink-wrap, so it 'melts down' into the crevices and molds around the insignia

11) nail a nail partway into the top of the board, as a handle, and place board insignia down into the metal box and stack barbell plates ontop, leave for 24 hours

12) remove barbell plates, hold down sides of plastic from wood-lid insignia wrap, and pull up the wood

13) pull entire key out of box, take heat gun and run along the meeting point of the 2 sheets of plastic, sealing them, cut away excess saran wrap, take heat gun, and blow over entire key to seal down the plastic better

What is your opinion on the above?

Only major concern is that the clay might not be solid enuff, and might smother under the weight of the plates, and end up coming out looking like a shitass impression. Any ideas for potentially avoiding this problem?? Making metal casts is not an option, albeit thatd be the best way, its not a viable alternative for SWIM.

primathon · modified

Carve it out of wood? Use some E-Z-Bake clay? Just thinking out loud...

Fentasies · Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:19 am

LOL see thats why outside opinions help, carve it out of wood, duh!!

E-Z bake clay, whats that, clay you can bake in your home oven?

primathon · modified

Pretty much. I doubt it's called "E-Z-Bake", but I'm sure there's a similar product out there. Fimo clay would probably work well, and it's pretty damn cheap and readily available.