SWIM's first extraction

[Onst7435]

Hello fellow Nexians!
This is my first post but I have been creeping on this forum for quite some time now
Well i happened to stumble into SWIM the other day and we started discussing this and that and found out that he has entered the hyperspace as many times as AFOAF! But to get to my point SWIM's spice supplied dried up and now that summer is here he decided to extract some for his own use! He has found all the equipment for a STB tech, but cannot find granulated lye. SWIM and his friend have looked at all the nearby stores and cannot seem to find any. His friend told him to use another product but he is worried the yield will be severely affected. He is wanting the crystal form of lye, and is curious as to where people could find it. ANY help would be much appreciated and SWIM said he will post pictures after he attempts his extraction. If lye is not possible to get from a local store he does not want to order anything online and is curious if there is other substitutes for this that work equally as well for STB tek.
SWIM appreciates all the replies in advance and will post another thread before long with hopefully smashing results!
Thanks
*Onst*

 

[lohes]

Lots of people order 2 or so pounds of lye online for things like soap making, sodium hydroxide (lye) can be found as drain cleaners, look for brands that are 100% sodium hydroxide though

If you can only find 100% lye products that are dissolved in water, you could most likely use that, just make sure the pH is at or above 12, and use pH papers to measure (a pH of about 12 is about right)

 

[Global]

If you follow Q21Q21's "dry tek", you can use lime aka "hydrated lime" aka calcium hydroxide as your base instead of lye. You can find lime in most gardening stores. It's a white powder and I find it actually makes for an ideal base considering the relatively solid consistency it adds to the mix.

 

[Mister_Niles]

Unless you are dead set on using lye and doing a straight to base, check out the q21q21 tek in the wiki. It's a dry tek that uses pickling lime for the Basing step (vinegar as the Acid)
I've had better yields with the q21q21 than with STB. Lime isn't as caustic and it should be easy to find in a hardware store that sells canning supplies or even some grocery stores.

 

[Carrierwave]

If you live in an area with a lot of Meth manufacturing then lye generally isn't carried in any of the stores. Ebay/Amazon or going to a new area is the best bet if this is the case.