Needed:

Incense Powder

Water

Mixing bowl

Stick and spoon

Perspex rolling plate

A ribbed drying plank

Set of pipes

Latex gloves

details about this...

The Tibetan method of making incense sticks is very much suited to work with somewhat coarser components, like dried herbs. The diameter can vary from half a milimeter to more then a centimeter. There are several methods to make incense here so you have a lot of choice. Disadvantage of the Tibetan stick is its brittleness. There is also the risk that they become a bit bent during drying.

Phase 1: Making incense clay: Take the incense powder. Amounts of 10 to 20 gram are nice to work with. Start with 5 teaspoons of powder and add 4 teaspoons water to that. If necessary you can add dried plants and herbs here. You can also add essential oil now. The oil can make the clay even more supple and elastic.  Adding oil now however will fill your room with scent, which can be overwhelming and a health hazard. Also you will loose high notes. After your sticks are dry you will have an other opportunity to add oil. This whole mass will have to be worked together with the help of the stick, spoon and hands. The final clay is okay when it is possible to knead it in the hands without getting large cracks and fissures. Clay that is once made can be put into a plasctic bag and stored in a cool place for several days so that it

can be used later to make incense. When the clay is too wet, first try to wait a couple of minutes; the binder is constantly absorbing water so the clay becomes more dry in coarse of time. When this doesn't help it is possible to add a little powder and mix that again. When the clay is too dry adding some water will help. 

Phase 2: Making of a Tibetan incense stick : With the help of the tubes we can make a very regular incense stick now. Take the single pipe(the filling pipe) and push it powerful in the  incense clay. A little bit of clay will be in the pipe now. Keep repeating this until the pipe is completely filled. This will usually go without trouble.When the filling pipe is full take the pushing pipe, put it in one end and press the incense mass together, holding your finger at the other end. Now put your pipe on the drying plank and press the incense stick out with the pushing pipe. Lift the pushing pipe and turn it to loosen it. Just repeat the whole sequence now. To speed it up you can glue three of such pipes together so that you're making three sticks in one go. Take care that while drying these sticks you need a temperature between 20º en 30º Centigrade and put them in a space with a minimum air current to minimize bending.

Further Possibilities: The method of pushing pipe and filling pipe is a good way to start learning incense making because it is a very structured method. However, the idea of the grand tric still stands as a house, so that we have lots of things possible.

Making an incense stick by hand: With the plate of perspex we can easily roll a ball of incense clay to a cilinder. An underground is neede for this. For this the clay can be a little more wet. As underground for drying a wooden plank wrapped in kitchen paper can be used, the profiled plank is a little more convenient.

With a syringe: The syringe gives a thin and beautiful incense stick. The diameter of the hole determines the amount of strength needed to push it out. In the chapter about production methods this idea is worked out.

Cones: Make an incense clay that is not too dry. From a ball of clay the rough form of an ice cream cone is made. Roll the sides flat with your rolling plate on a flat underground. Important is the amount of pressure that is exerted on the cone. The tip is about 3mm wide, the bottom had to be flat with somewhat rounded sides. After drying the cone has shrunk a lot. For a smooth result grind the cone with grinding paper after drying. The cone has a irregular diameter so that it will not always combust.

Oil: After drying the sticks can be soaked in oil. This can be done easily with a brush. The Tibetan stick can be thick so that it can contain a lot of oil, careful with that! Burn or pack the stick after half an hour.

Details

• Water : The binder in incense powder attaches to water so that everything is glued together. During the drying period the water that is too much will evaporate. Other liquids then water are also possible, as can be read from some ancient Egyptian sources: Wine is a good one (especially in combination with Myrrh it is surprising), but Honey is also mentioned.
• Mixing bowl : Choose a bowl from smooth ceramic material and with a flat bottom.
• Set of pipes :A filling pipe of metal with an inside diameter of max5mm and a length  between 10 and 15cm. To work faster three of such pipes can be glued together for an impressive instrument. In this filling pipe has to fit another pipe that serves to push the incense clay out, the pushing pipe. This pushing pipe has to be a little longer then the filling pipe and has to be closed from both sides.
• Instruments : As a mixing stick I always use chop sticks from the restaurant, but a fork or a spoon suffices just as well. It's only hard for me to endure the shrill sound of metal against ceramic, and working with a stick is a little more accurate. A teaspoon for adding water is okay, but a straw is also possible. A knife comes in handy to cut of overlength and to make sticks equal in length. A dripper and a brush are useful when working with essential oils. A wet cloth is useful to clean, important as it is to work tidy.
• Ribbed drying plank: This one is handy to park the incense sticks on and to let them dry on. The ribs take care that the sticks become straight and prevent them from falling off.
• Underground : To make sticks or cones with the hand a wooden plank or a smooth tile is necessary.
• Rolling plate : A little wooden or perspex plate of about 5cmx12cm which is very useful to  make a cilinder, a cone or to smooth out a bamboo stick.
• Latex gloves  This is a personal choice. I like it to have one clean hand after I'm done with rolling. However, contact with the matter lessens when wearing gloves. To reuse a latex glove it has to be washed- with the hand still in it, a weird perception!- and putting some talc powder in it. Let the accumulated sweat evaporate by drying the glove with the hole facing upwards terug...