Guide to Cigarette Rolling Machines: Types & How to Use

Roll-your-own cigarettes are a cheap alternative to buying pre-made cigarettes. Hand-rolled cigarettes are a traditional way of smoking tobacco, and several machines are available that aid in rolling cigarettes. Many different types of machines are available, from simple plastic hand-held rolling aids to large, expensive hand-cranked machines designed to fill empty cigarette tubes. Also available are electronic machines that fill multiple empty tubes at a time.

Filters

• Add a filter to a roll-your-own cigarette. Some cigarette machines use plain rolling papers to make cigarettes. Place a loose filter in the area with the tobacco before rolling it into the paper to make a filtered cigarette.

Overfill the Machine

• Use more tobacco in a crank machine than a cigarette needs. By design, crank-driven machines will only accept as much tobacco as they can use in a cigarette. The first action of the crank seals the machine's tobacco area. Any extra tobacco will be left on top of the tobacco area.

Pack the Cigarettes

• Cigarettes made with a crank or electronic machine will need to be packed, or settled, before being smoked like pre-made cigarettes. Tap the ends of the filled cigarette on a hard, flat surface to pack any loose tobacco remaining in the cigarette.

Types of Tobacco

• Tobacco marketed as roll-your-own is cut very finely, but other cuts of tobacco, like strip-cut pipe tobacco, is also small enough to be used in cigarette machines. Using pipe tobacco can widen the range of flavors available to cigarette smokers.