Going to write a blog post about extruders at some point, but thought I'd post to show off my new manual extruder that @SamsaSpoon pointed out earlier. It didn't arrive with all the tips shown in the picture, instead, I received three 2mm tips that were flat instead of conical. It works very well. {A disassembled stainless steel incense extruder with accessories.}

    Nathan the o-rings on either side of the spinning handle were my addition to reduce noise.

    11 days later

    I read your post on the extruders you tried. Thanks for the AliExpress link.
    I would have loved to see a comparison picture of the new one and the aluminum one. Are they th same size?

      Nathan I meant the aluminum one but that's cool too. It's bigger than I thought. Is the wall of the tube as thick as the heavy duty one?

        SamsaSpoon Oh sorry, I missed that. Here are some pics of all three side by side. The wall of the aluminum one is, I think, about the same thickness as the stainless extruder with the black grip. The newer stainless extruder without the grip has a thicker wall than the others.

        Damn! That thing looks really awesome. Thanks!
        Think about adding such a pic to your blog post, it's very helpful to see them next to each other.

        It's great that we can put pics in the comments here! 😃

          SamsaSpoon Cheers; I have to say I've been pretty impressed with it. I think I will update the post, thanks!

          21 days later

          I want to get an extruder for my test batches. So, I am talking about 1-2 tsp of dough. Which extruder would you recommend? 🙏🙂

            EspritDeLaNature I'd go with either one of the common aluminum extruders, or the stainless steel extruder that I'm using currently. Neither leave much room in their construction for wasted dough, so they ought to be okay for that amount. That said, I don't know of any extruders that are much smaller besides the syringe style ones, and I've never had any luck with those.

              8 days later

              Nathan Thank you for your advice I haven't replied before this, because I want to show you a video of the extruder, I am already using for trials. It is somewhat similar to the one you have, including the jig. I will not be running samples until next week. I will return here then, with some questions. 🙂🙏