The new mold and extruder

Here's a little demo of my two new toys.  The work with the extruder is going great - I hope to refine the design, but it's very close to the final version.  A little more testing and I'll build a few to sell.  I plan to start making more cone molds once I make a properly shaped proto-type cone.

I begin with the dry ingredients: 4 tsp cassia, 2 tsp red sandalwood & 1/4 tsp guar gum.  They are mixed well in the bowl.

Add 4 1/2 tsp hot water and mix well.

The perfect result.  The dough rolls into a nice ball without any cracking.

This is the latex cone mold that I made.  It doesn't work well with a very wet mixture, but this cassia mix is perfect.

It is split up the side, so you have to hold it closed.

Fill the mold with a small amount of dough.

Open the mold at the split...

...and out pops a wonderful cone with no cracks.  It's not a good shape since it's based off a commercial cone, but at least it proves the theory.

Roll the rest of the dough into a thick rope.

The dough packs into the tube of the extruder.

The tip fits onto the end.  The tips are standard cake decorating tips, so they are available in many sizes and shapes.

The tube fits into the caulking gun.  Squeezing the trigger let's the dough come out in a nice even line.

Here's the result.  You can see the very thick incense stick on the board in the background of this pic.  It's over 12 inches long and over 1/4 inch thick.  The stick I'm holding here is one of those silly sticks with a bamboo rod up the center, but with the extruder these are a lot easier to make - although I don't know why anyone would bother.