So I have some good news and some bad news, the good news is today I attempted my first extraction and now have a freezer stacked with 6 pulls of milky goodness. I would have liked to have done more pulls, however that brings me on to the Bad news. The bad news is my quart jar exploded.
The bottom fell off my jar, I'm certain that this is due to my hot plate and will construct somehting to set my jar on in the bath in future. The contents of the jar just spilled out everywhere and now the room smells like vinegar.
I could just laugh this off, however I dont think its much of a laughing matter when I have been waving this thing around infront of my face for several hours after it has been anywhere near the hot plate, this thing was a ticking time bomb and even though Im sure some of my soft furnishings are now perminantly stained I am grateful that this situation didnt turn out considerably worse.
This sh* is dangerous and ive definitely learned a lesson today.

Theres are several things I'm going to take away from my new extraction experience, firstly my pipettes are a bit small so Ill probably get some large ones for next time. Secondly, i use a glass funnel to help siphon off the Naphtha and I think it would be good to have a half of a glass petri dish to set this down on after use as the solution likes to cling to everything, Thirdly, buy new, better goggles, I need something that hugs the face because Im not confident that the ones I have will always protect me from large splashes like the one today. Think ill invest in an apron aswell...
Anyway I cant wait to see whats waiting for me in the morning, every cloud I suppose

Hey Whispers, congrats on your first extraction! It's always a challenging, yet rewarding experience

It can be frustrating when something goes wrong...and terrifying when something explodes; but taking a step back, analyzing your mistakes and changing your methods for the future is the absolute best thing you can do! You're right, extractions can be dangerous and you have learned an extremely valuable lesson today - never get complacent with safety in the lab.

A few helpful tips for your next extraction:

1.) Using a respirator + organic fume cartridge when working with lye/NPS - gives you full-face coverage (when used with goggles) if a jar explodes, and saves your lungs from harmful solvent fumes.
2.) Lab glass separatory funnel - I just used one for my last extraction and it has worked wonders. such a huge time-saver. fairly cheap too.
3.) Square Pyrex baking dish - now that you know what your pulls yield, you can take all pulls and combine in a baking dish for next time. Space-saver if you have limited fridge/freezer space. also makes scraping up them xtals a breeze.

Once again, congratulations & SMOALK ON

Cheers mate, now thqt ive done it and tried the DMT I think im going to chill for a bit and try another extraction when im fully equipped for it.

Never set glass directly on a heat source. Use a heat bath.
What i do is to set my jar in a pot ontop of a rag that has been folded over. Fill the pot with water just below the point the jar wants to float. Use the water in the pot to heat the jar.
Remember that jars are not borosilicate & fracture from thermal shock pretty easily, so make sure to bring the water up to temp with the jar in it, rather than putting a cold jar into boiling water. Try not to reuse jars too many times because the glass weakens over time from heat & strong basic solution.

If you want to use borosilicate glass, joanne fabrics sometimes has beakers, erlenmeyer flasks, & graduated cylinders. The one near me has them stocked constantly.