Where to get screens?

[joedogsong]

Looking for advise on where and what size screen.
I'd like to make some dry sieve and don't have a line on good screen material.

 

[Gray Wolf]

A good source for stainless mesh in larger sizes and quantities is:

http://www.howardwire.com/stainless_steel_cloth.html

A good source for a polyester monofilament silkscreen is:

http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/silk-screen-printing-mesh

 

[theJointedOne]

GrayWolf, Do you find one works better than the other, when comparing SS versus poly?

ty

 

[Gray Wolf]

GrayWolf, Do you find one works better than the other, when comparing SS versus poly?

ty

Stainless lasts forever and is easier to keep clean, so i prefer it for the first sieve using plant material.

It doesn't have much spring action for resieving though, so I prefer poly for those applications.

 

[theJointedOne]

Ty Gray Wolf for the reply. I have a bunch of stuff run in drum machine with 160 poly. Perhaps I will go with the poly to clean it up....

Would 120 be best for cleaning it up?

 

[trichrider]

Stainless lasts forever and is easier to keep clean, so i prefer it for the first sieve using plant material.

It doesn't have much spring action for resieving though, so I prefer poly for those applications.

so what size stainless mesh are you using ? you failed to mention...

both poly and stainless, please.

 

[Gray Wolf]

Ty Gray Wolf for the reply. I have a bunch of stuff run in drum machine with 160 poly. Perhaps I will go with the poly to clean it up....

Would 120 be best for cleaning it up?

I would try the 120 and the 200.

 

[Gray Wolf]

so what size stainless mesh are you using ? you failed to mention...

both poly and stainless, please.

The Grinning Reaper currently uses 100 mesh, 149 micron stainless bolting cloth from Howard Wire.

My poly mix has been around awhile and is from more than one source, but 120 to 130 mesh for the top and 200 mesh for the bottom. You can change the mesh opening size some with poly, just by how tight you roll it into the frame.

PS: Chamba is the resident dry sieve brain that I suggest picking for nuances. If he doesn't notice this, you might drop him a PM.

 

[Chamba]

Good advice GW...I'd suggest for further information on all things screen related for dry sifting to do a search through threads in the Hashish forum.....in a couple of hours reading you will learn all you want and more about screens and dry sifting as it's all there.

 

[Kushed_]

I use wooden frame screens in various screen sizes.

http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/wood-screen-printing-frames

Proper tensioning is important, it will give consistant results. I like a dark grey piece of glass with a 1/2" square piece of wood to prop-up one side.

 

[Chamba]

I like a dark grey piece of glass with a 1/2" square piece of wood to prop-up one side.

screens for printing can be used for dry sifting, though ideally, it's better to use screens that have been specifically designed and produced for dry sifting (see Icmag sponsor Aqualabtechnologies.com..they sell Bubbleman's set of four dry sifting screens)..but if screen printing screens are all you available then don't just add the 1/2" x 1/2" x the frame side length to one side, add them to all sides so you get a freer fall through while preventing any escape.

Happy Hashing!

 

[Gray Wolf]

I use wooden frame screens in various screen sizes.

http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/wood-screen-printing-frames

Proper tensioning is important, it will give consistant results. I like a dark grey piece of glass with a 1/2" square piece of wood to prop-up one side.

Good point, you can change the hole size and shape with tensioning. That is why we make our frames to accept a spline, which allows us to roll the screens in place at any tension, with no glue.

We hold our stainless screens in place with screws and retainer strips.

Key to screen selection using a silk screen, is to insure that the screens are monofilament. Screens using threads made of multiple twisted threads are also available and change the hole sizes as they fray.

 

[Gray Wolf]

I like a dark grey piece of glass with a 1/2" square piece of wood to prop-up one side.

screens for printing can be used for dry sifting, though ideally, it's better to use screens that have been specifically designed and produced for dry sifting (see Icmag sponsor Aqualabtechnologies.com..they sell Bubbleman's set of four dry sifting screens)..but if screen printing screens are all you available then don't just add the 1/2" x 1/2" x the frame side length to one side, add them to all sides so you get a freer fall through while preventing any escape.

Happy Hashing!

Thanks for dropping by with the scoop brother C!

 

[joedogsong]

Thanks Guys,
Sometimes it takes me a couple of times of doing stuff before the light finally turns on. After going through so many websites of screens it's kind of dizzying. I gave up on the last one when they started talking about all the different kinds of weaves????
How would you know which one is the best type of weave???
Ask someone that knows.
I'm going on faith that bubble man has done his homework on the right weave.

Speaking of ICmag sponsors, any feedback on the different tumblers sold at aqualabtechnologies? Is the $500.00 model worth the extra compared to the $350.00 model by Bubbleman

 

[Kushed_]

I like a dark grey piece of glass with a 1/2" square piece of wood to prop-up one side.

screens for printing can be used for dry sifting, though ideally, it's better to use screens that have been specifically designed and produced for dry sifting (see Icmag sponsor Aqualabtechnologies.com..they sell Bubbleman's set of four dry sifting screens)..but if screen printing screens are all you available then don't just add the 1/2" x 1/2" x the frame side length to one side, add them to all sides so you get a freer fall through while preventing any escape.

Happy Hashing!

Thanks, I will look into those screens. I should make a frame all the way around to hold the screen.

 

[Kushed_]

Good point, you can change the hole size and shape with tensioning. That is why we make our frames to accept a spline, which allows us to roll the screens in place at any tension, with no glue.

We hold our stainless screens in place with screws and retainer strips.

Key to screen selection using a silk screen, is to insure that the screens are monofilament. Screens using threads made of multiple twisted threads are also available and change the hole sizes as they fray.

Those frames sound very nice! I have heard of rectangluar pattern screens. How about round or an oval shape?

 

[Chamba]

Speaking of ICmag sponsors, any feedback on the different tumblers sold at aqualabtechnologies? Is the $500.00 model worth the extra compared to the $350.00 model by Bubbleman

I have a Bubbleman "Tumble Now" tumbler and it works great, stainless steel mesh, all wood construction, quick release magnet door access to fill it up, there's a pull out drawer so you can monitor the sift easily and quickly, it has an extra flat screen (70 micron) for re-sifting ....in terms of innovation, ease of use and quality construction it is miles ahead of those plastic storage container type tumblers.

By the way I think (but I not sure) the $500 tumbler has a slightly larger capacity 160 grams (but unfortunately, not a S/S mesh, it has a crappy looking nylon mesh bag screen which is a minus) than Bubbleman's $350 "Tumble Now" tumbler which has a max capacity of 150 grams....I've only seen a video online of the $500 ape tumbler and to me it seems to spin way too fast.

 

[Kushed_]

The "Tumble Now" has a 125 micron drum and my tumbler also uses a 125 micron screen. I am wondering if I my losing a lot of trichomes. The reason I say this is because when using my Bubble Bags, I get a lot of excellent hash is the 160 micron bag. All of the trichomes larger than 125 micron are still in the tumbler.
The APE has a 220 micron screen and an optional 180 micron screen. Wouldn't this be better? Of course, you are going to need other screens with smaller number screen sizes.

 

[Chamba]

a lower cost purchase would be the set of four dry sifting screens ...also from Bubbleman and available from ICmag.com sponsor : Aqualab. These screens are produced specifically for dry sifting (and are not just some low sided screen printing frames that just sit on top of each other) and with time, technique and decent quality starting material will produce the cleanest, purist dry sifted resin

Here's the link to the set of 4 dry sifting screens
http://aqualabtechnologies.com/medi...reens/bubble-bags-dry-sifting-screen-set.html

Here's the link to the Tumble Now
http://aqualabtechnologies.com/medi...w/tumble-now-rotator-dry-sifting-machine.html

 

[Chamba]

The "Tumble Now" has a 125 micron drum and my tumbler also uses a 125 micron screen. I am wondering if I my losing a lot of trichomes. The reason I say this is because when using my Bubble Bags, I get a lot of excellent hash is the 160 micron bag. All of the trichomes larger than 125 micron are still in the tumbler.


Are you loosing trichomes by using a tumbler with 125 micron mesh? I'd say no.

After I finish dry sifting (either by tumbling or with flat screens) with a 125 micron mesh, there are very few trichomes remaining on the plant material...but I'm not sifting your material am I?

When dry sifting, it's always best to use magnification to monitor the increase in contaminant on the catching plate/drawer and later to check out if there are any trichomes still on the starting material...this will tell when to best stop sifting. The thing is with dry sifting is that you will never be able to separate 100% of the resin from the plant material..but if there's only one or two trichomes visible (with a 30 or 60X loupe) every 1/2 square inch or so, then you have just about got as much as you are going to get without introducing heaps more broken up plant matter to the separated resin.

Out of just about all the strains I've sifted, I don't think I've noticed any more than an extremely small percentage of trichomes that have not passed through a 125 micron mesh (or a "120 threads per inch Mesh"), I haven't done very much Bubble bagging at all and that was years ago so I can't really comment on comparing the wet method with the dry.

It might sound silly to say this ...but does water affect/change the diameters of trichomes or otherwise affect their ability to pass through the mesh? or is the fact that there are trichomes captured on the 160 screen when Bubble-bagging fresh material and none above the 125 micron mesh when the material is dried then dry sifted due to trichomes being dry and reduced in size?

It will be interesting to hear from the experts on this...or at least anyone with a strain that has large trichomes, a set of Bubble bags, a 125 micron mesh flat dry sifting screen and a computer microscope to make their own observations.

To do the comparison/test, use dry starting material for the ice water Bubble Bagging and when dry sifting the same material, because trichomes on fresh material are larger than trichomes on the same material that is months old and dry.

It would also be interesting to see exactly just how much diameter size of the largest size trichomes when still fresh is reduced by after months of drying and storage. I've seen a macro photo of aged trichomes and they were very shriveled and dessicated.