Off the wall press

[ArnaudForestier]

I'm sure the second link is Smolt's design, so thanks, Pav, on the heads up.  I like smolt's design - don't know what the MA possibilities are, etc., but beautifully made.

I've sunk $20 or so into a 2x4, 2x2, 2 nuts, bolts, washers; pulleys and cable are in reserve, in case I get really frisky.  Still trying to figure a way to do this thing, street-style.  But if Smolt's design can give a decent MA and can allow me to expand into something greater than 3psi or so on an 8" mold, definitely intrigued, and have asked him a couple questions via PM.  Thanks for the heads up.

Cheers,
Paul

[Boofer]

Well, I'm not sure what I paid for the few materials I used to build my press. Probably under $25 plus a little effort on my part.

I wasn't great in shop class. Hell, it was so long ago, who knows? It didn't take me long to put it together once I had an idea. I asked for plans guidance from a few members here but came away with zilch. Maybe I asked wrong. Anyway, I managed to pull together something that ultimately worked for me.

I wanted to design a somewhat portable press ( ) that would handle whatever I decided to throw at it. At the time I thought that perhaps I was over-thinking the whole thing (a common concept, I guess) and maybe overbuilding my press. This past week brings new inspiration. A new member asked about Vasterbotten cheese. What do you know? It needs to be pressed at 90kg per kg of cheese. By my myopic calculations that comes to around 800 pounds. My press design would take that in stride, I believe. My calculated top end is 1800 pounds with 75 pounds applied. That's all theoretical because I have no way of actually measuring it. My bathroom scale topped out at 350 pounds with 15 pounds applied. Extrapolated...it is do-able, although my wife said "Not on my table!"

Anyway, I grabbed my rough working design and added a few pieces of text to clarify a few things. The original sketch showed a length of 36 inches. That got changed quickly to 48 inches so the thing wouldn't topple over. Duh!

After a discussion here on the forum, my pulley attachment points were relocated. The pic shows where they currently are.

As far as travel, I don't really have a problem with that once I pull the rope up to the pressure point and hang the weight. I wish I could just walk up and attach the weight turn-key, but what the heck...it's a reasonable compromise.

I don't use the press for every cheese I make, but it's good to have it available when I do need it. Yesterday I made my first Taleggio and I didn't press at all. Two weeks ago I made my second Esrom and I just pressed in the kettle with 5 lb and 10 lb weights. But my Beauforts, Tommes, Colbys, etc. all get to see my Dutch press up close and personal.

-Boofer-

[ArnaudForestier]

Well, OK, Boofer, thanks for the clarifications.  I have gone with your plans, and was able to use up some stuff from earlier.  One question - it looks like your back upright, the pivot box and pin; I am assuming 2" square, for some play, and wondering what the pin diameter is that you're using - looks like it's bored crosswise, through the 2x8, through the arm and through the other side.  Is that a  - forgot the name, a holding pin through a more substantial pin, of some sort - retaining pin? - holding the whole pivot of the arm in the wood?

[Boofer]

Paul,

Sorry I didn't get back to your PMs yesterday. No, I wasn't in the Presidents Day parade. 

Yeah, the 3+ inch eyebolt sounds about right. The actual pivot pin was cut from a 36 inch length of stainless rod. I drilled a hole through the rod to permit a pull-ring in case I wanted to dismantle and move the press. There's a gotcha that isn't entirely obvious. When I cut the hole for the end of the lever to pass through the tallest upright, I placed it in the center of the board. When I went to align it with the ramrod/piston, I then realized that it should have been offset to go alongside the ramrod. Duh! So the hole just became bigger. No big problem...just not as aesthetically pleasing. The hole isn't just straight-through. It needs to accommodate the upward swing of the lever, so it's beveled.

I looked at vinyl-coated wire and decided that rope would give me more flexibility. The rope I picked has a strength of around 125 pounds. Seems fine with limited stretching.

I don't have a problem with a little torque on the 1 inch lever. I'm not really stressing it that much. I'm not totally sure what effect hanging 75 lbs on the end would have. That much force might just push the screws out of the bottom platform, but right now I have no need to stress the press that way. 15 lbs seems more than adequate for the kind of cheeses I'm doing now. If I were to get into larger molds and larger volumes of milk for cheddar, I might be moving into the higher psi territory.

As I said, I'm not a carpenter or a furniture artisan. I didn't bother to countersink and putty in the screw heads. I did buy some stain and varathane, but I didn't get that done last season. I think it would benefit from at least that bit of finish work. The junction box plate isn't attached. That's one part that just happened. I told my dad what my problem was and he went to his shop and came back with the plate. Eh, it works for what I need, but it sure isn't pretty.

The pics show the eyebolts, pivot pin, and pulley attachments. Hope that's helpful.

-Boofer-

[ArnaudForestier]

She's ugly.  (I mean, UUUUUUUUUGLY, there's a reason pics aren't in macro), but she's built, and she's all mine.  Boofer, many thanks!  Many tweaks to finish, but, for now ... shield your eyes...:





Thanks to everyone, as well, including smolt1, whom I'm holding in reserve in the event my awesome worksmanship doesn't quite, uh, pan out.  I'm knocking on wood.

Edit:  Just measured, and a 5 lbs weight brought me to 80 lbs, an almost 14x advantage.

[FarmerJd]

Great job! Something satisfying about doing it yourself.

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, Farmer.  I had to rip all the lumber using a jigsaw, freehand, and I think it shows.  But still, functional, I hope, and really happy with the MA obtained.  Am doing my first Beaufort in a couple of days, and will put the press to the test.  Thank you again for all your help!

Paul

[Boofer]

Well done, Grasshopper. You have . . . mastered . . . the Dutch press.

May many Beauforts and other hard cheeses flow from your fingertips.

Truly, a thing of quiet & inconspicuous beauty, and awesome cheese-pressing power.

Brings a tear to my eye....  :'(

Deserves a cheese on any day.

I had put this thread away but then I noticed two things:

• Is that the date that you did the press...12-27-2010? Or is your camera date off?
• The junction box plate or some other spreader should be under the piston or you might stress a small area too much on your scale.

-Boofer-

[ArnaudForestier]

lol - no, Boofer, the date's just wrong, and I'm just lazy.  I've been working on a means to bend time, but so far, all I've been successful in achieving is bending metal.  When I don't want to.

Roger on the junction plate box - was just testing the raw weight of the arm and plunger (exactly what you got, 11 lbs). 

I walk past the press repeatedly, and resist the urge to keep saying "wow," each time I pass.  My dog understands. 

I already earned my arm tattoos...


...but there's room for more, especially as I get older and I'm finding I have more skin than I used to have.  That, and for some reason the dragon morphed to a sea cucumber and the tiger to a teacup.  If I survive my first make, I'll be asking for some new stripes, oh grandmaster.  

(duh - cheese to you, Boof.  Thank you again, really looking forward to putting it through the paces,  Cheeses all around, actually, to everyone, for all your help - a great and generous community).

[Pondering Turtle]

Do people find it a good idea to press in bushings into the wooden holes at the points it is pinned together?  I would be concerned over force concentrations at the contact point of the pin.  That is one of the things I wonder about when thinking about designing this.

[KosherBaker]

Good job Paul. Great looking press.

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, Rudy.  Credit goes to Boofer, who was also really generous in sharing more details about his design.  Made the first beaufort, and looking forward to many more.   

[Marta]

Not being a physics adept, I wonder what amount of pressure is brough to bear on the fulcrum end?  I would think it would be considerable.   And is it upward pressure, or toward the pulleys, or what (i.e. where does it need reinforcing at that end)?  I'd like to build one of these but I don't want it to fling pieces of itself into orbit.   

Sorry if this is covered elsewhere but I can't find it.

[Boofer]

Very good question. Judges?

I'm not a physics professor either, but I believe anxiety over flinging  anything as a result of this press failing is unwarranted. For most of the cheese styles you may be likely to create, this press and the pressures it brings to bear most likely will fall within a safe zone.

You may resume your morning oatmeal. Catastrophe averted. 

Press on, into the cheese wilderness....

-Boofer-

[FarmerJd]

You are exactly right about the force on the fulcrum. It is pushing upward and the only thing holding it in place is integrity of the wood or the friction of the wood fibers. The pin pushes against the wood above it. This force is equal to the weight on the arm x distance from weight to plunger divided by the distance from plunger to pin. Not that it matters but it helps to know it is a very considerable force. The wood integrity should handle it if the board is thick enough. If it does break, there will be a projectile heading toward the ceiling and weights heading toward the floor, (or kitchen countertop as a couple of posters have experienced). You could also place some kind of metal plate along the outside and screw into the wood for extra strength but I think that is overkill. Just use the smallest pin you can get buy with and keep the extra space on the sides of the pin to a minimum so the force on the pin is mostly shear and not deflection. Not sure if anybody understands this but I would not leave as large a gap as Boof and Arnaud did on the sides of the arm where the pin is. The wood needs to be right next to the arm so that you can hardly see the pin at all. This increases the wood integrity and increases what the pin will take. The shear force of a pin is phenomenal but the force it takes to bend or deflect one is not. Boof and Arnaud, please don't take as criticism because your presses obviously work for what you need and are really great examples. Just an observation.


Boofer posted while I was typing this and his point is accurate. Very little danger of this happening unless you really ratchet up the pressure. But it always helps to consider it and make improvements. This is the nature of science. And yes I will return to my oatmeal and ponder the physics of my third-class lever spoon lifting the oatmeal.