So I managed to finally make a successful pull out of it, and it was exactly what I expected... I think I added so much vinegar to begin with I couldn't get the proper ph with the lye... I read somewhere very cursory about alkalinity and it seemed that at the solution was just to damn acidic...

I personally don't believe its the bark. I ordered a digital ph meter and will at least make sure the ph is high enough.. if so, I will just start over. Is it better do you suspect to use powder from the start? or use ground up shredded bark? Thanks for your input by the way.

acrb. I haven't been able to extract anything out of this batch. Would the heat destroy it? Ive read plenty about acid boils so o I doubt it. I assumed I just hadn't hit a high enough ph yet, but I had added like a whole jar of lye.

I Have questions regarding the process I have used. I just started experimenting with some of these extraction processes, and my first attempt was very successful. I didn't measure anything, and had no problems... since then I have tried to follow more precise instruction, and have had...