recommended size of chopped root to make a tincture

Let’s say somebody accidentally ordered bulk rhizome instead of the powder they wanted. Ahem. What size ought that someone break these rhizomes into before being making it into an alcohol tincture?

I believe all that is needed is to cover the herb roots with alcohol and wait fir 6 to 8 weeks. Is this correct?

Hello Joylynn,

What type of rhizome. What is the herb? Are they completely whole or cut and sift?

My general thought process is, the smaller the pieces of root the faster you have a complete extraction. If I was just using chunks of rhizome I would want 4-6 months of extraction or more.
To be done on less than 8 weeks I'd want it sliced down to maybe 1/4in slices? Powdered root I figure you need 2 - 4 weeks

Hmmm...

Smilax glabra, rhizome, roughly 1"x3"x1/8" chunks

Also, since I already have ypur attention:
Andrographis paniculata, looks like cut stems
Uncaria sinensis, stems and hooks, cut
Neither of these appears to have leaves in them, so I guess they are also sifted?

The measurement you listed is fairly big and I would make them smaller myself. What you need is  cut and sift product. This is the size you would get if you were to purchase the product from a health food store or herb company. They usually come cut and sift. If you are not sure what that is, the best thing for you to do is to go to a health food store and look at the size of various herbs there. This is the best way for you to see what the size for each herb usually is. These are generally the size you want for making a tincture. Some roots and bark are hard to cut after they dry and some are impossible to cut. Examples would be Wild Yam and Stone root which are near impossible to cut in dry form and need to be handled otherwise. One way to handle a super hard root that is chunky and too hard to cut is to put it into your liquid and let it soften and when soft enough, you can blend or cut it as necessary and then return to the menstruum. You may be able to break up the Smilax with your hands even. They sound long, rather than chunky and either your hands or a sharp meat cleaver may work fine.

I don't suggest you use powdered herb unless you are using a percolation method. The reason is that your menstruum will be completely drawn into the powder and you will loose most of the liquid. This is why people use small cut pieces unless they are using a percolation method.