Have you ever wondered how to make dabs at home?
Dabs are intensely tasty cannabis concentrates that are becoming super popular around the country.
DIY is embedded in cannabis culture, so many people who use cannabis are eager to learn how to make wax dabs and awesome concentrates at home.
Making dabs is rewarding, but it can also be dangerous if you do it incorrectly.
In this guide, you’ll learn how dabs are made, different ways to make them at home, and tips for making dabs safely.
If you’re ready to learn how to make your own potent and delicious dabs in your kitchen, keep reading.
How to Make Wax from Weed - Possible Outcomes
When you’re learning how to make THC wax, you’re diving into a huge pool of possibilities. There are many methods for how to make dabs, and they all produce slightly different results.
The most common type of dab is simple wax. If you’re new to making dabs, you’ll probably wind up with wax at first.
However, as you get better at it, you can start making other types of cannabis concentrates. Experts can create dabs in forms like:
- Crumble is opaque and crumbly like peanut brittle.
- Oil concentrate is a thin oily liquid with a distinct flavor.
- Rosin is a gold, semi-translucent concentrate that looks like amber.
- Shatter is golden and translucent and almost looks like glass.
No matter what method you choose for making dabs, the way you smoke it will also impact your experience.
The best way to dab any kind of wax is the HAMR dab rig by Myster. This rig is perfect for all sorts of dabs, and it can make your homemade dabs taste just like the stuff you buy.
How are Dabs Made Usually
The basic goal of making wax is to extract all the best compounds in the cannabis plant and preserve them.
Dabs are cannabis concentrates full of cannabinoids like THC and CBD, as well as terpenes that give cannabis its scent and flavor.
The best dabs are the ones that keep the cannabinoids and terpenes in good condition because they provide the strongest hits and tastiest flavors.
That’s why most dabs you buy in head shops are made in labs. A lab setting has all the tools, equipment, and experts necessary to produce high-quality dabs of all kinds.
So how are dabs made in labs? The most common lab-based solution is butane extraction, though other solvents like CO2 can be used.
These methods dissolve the good stuff then evaporate the solvent, leaving just cannabis distillates.
Obviously, dealing with butane gas at home is a huge fire hazard.
If you want to know how to make dabs with butane yourself, you’ll need to buy some top-dollar lab gear to do it safely. However, you can also try some safer methods with things you have at home.
How to Make Dabs at Home
There are tons of different types of dabs. They’re usually stronger, tastier, and easier to store than bud, and they’re definitely simpler to smoke. That’s why you’re probably eager to try making dabs at home.
You’re in luck! Depending on what kind of materials you can access, there are plenty of ways to make solid, delicious dabs yourself.
Keep reading to learn five ways how to make THC wax in your kitchen and the materials and equipment you’ll need to learn how to make dabs at home.
How to Make Dabs with a Clothes Iron
The first and most “traditional” method for how to make dabs at home is with a clothes iron. This method uses heat and pressure to melt the trichomes on your bud into sticky gold.
Here’s what to do:
- Place your bud between two sheets of wax paper, wax side against the plant.
- Put the paper containing the bud on an iron-safe surface.
- Turn the iron on low and gently press it down on the bud for five seconds.
- Open the paper and look for rosin.
You can repeat this process several times for each bud until you get the desired result.
How to Make Dabs with Butane
If you want to make your dabs just like the labs, you might consider butane, also known as BHO extraction.
In this method, you’re using butane as a solvent to dissolve the trichomes and the cannabinoids and terpenes they contain. Then you let the butane evaporate and wind up with mostly-pure resin.
This is very dangerous to do at home. Butane gas is extremely flammable. Making butane wax inside can cause explosions.
Still, if you want to understand how the process works, here’s what normally happens:
- Cannabis bud is ground up and placed in a container with liquid butane.
- The bud is stirred and left to soak for a while.
- The bud is strained out of the butane.
- The butane container is heated until all the solvent has evaporated away and nothing but resin remains.
How to Make Dabs with Everclear
Another chemical extraction method uses grain alcohol instead of butane.
This is much safer as long as there are no open flames present. It’s not as efficient as lab processes, but it’s a safe, effective way of making high-quality wax at home.
Here’s how to do it:
- Lightly crush some bud and place it in a jar.
- Pour enough Everclear into the jar to completely cover the bud.
- Stir the mixture for ten minutes until you get a bright green liquid.
- Strain the jar through a coffee filter.
- Pour the resulting liquid into a slow cooker on low until it’s thick and gooey.
You can use the same bud multiple times until the alcohol is no longer turning bright green.
How to Make Dabs with Isopropyl Alcohol
Making dabs with isopropyl alcohol is very similar to the Everclear process.
However, most people recommend against isopropyl alcohol extraction unless you have no other options.
Why? Because Everclear is designed for human consumption, and isopropyl alcohol is not.
As a result, making wax with isopropyl leads to a harsher, less tasty experience. You can still do it, but don’t expect the result to be as smooth as other homemade dabs.
How to Make Dabs with Water
Yes, you can make dabs at home with nothing but water. However, it’s not the easiest thing to do.
Water-based methods of making dabs use water, ice, and a lot of stirring to physically separate trichomes from bud. It’s usually used to make dry hash instead of oil, but that can be compressed into wax.
Basically, the bud is soaked in ice water and then stirred very hard. The ice keeps the trichomes from being sticky. The mix is filtered through different mesh bags until all the plant matter is strained and only trichomes remain. Then the trichomes are filtered out separately.
This method requires patience and dedication, so it’s best for people who’ve already made dabs in the past.
How to Make THC Wax - The Risks
Learning how to make dabs at home does have some risks.
The biggest danger is that if you use chemical separation methods like butane or alcohol, you risk explosions from the fumes. You need to make sure you’re in a very well-ventilated area and there are no sparks or open flames nearby.
Less physically dangerous but still scary is the chance that you’ll waste your weed or wax by doing something wrong. You can avoid this by making tiny amounts at first to practice.
Last but not least, learning how to make THC wax might be illegal in your state.
Making a cannabis concentrate, even just for your own use, is sometimes considered a much higher offense than just owning the bud you’d use to make the distillate. Always learn your local laws before making cannabis concentrates at home.
Conclusion
You’ve learned how dabs are made, why making dabs is so popular, how to make dabs with butane and isopropyl alcohol (and why you shouldn’t), and how to make dabs with a clothes iron and other safe methods.
Despite the risks, practicing how to make dabs at home is a rewarding experience.
As long as you do it safely and carefully, you can discover how to make wax from your favorite strains that are perfect for dabbing with the HAMR.
