Easy Cheese Press! 30 bucks, 30 minutes and 6 steps! (with photos)

[iratherfly]

Passing on overpriced press opportunities and rejecting mediocre home solutions that offers inaccurate lopsided cheese and mess. I decided a few weeks ago to make my own inexpensive press. It had to be compact enough for an apartment dweller such as myself and still host 7.5" cheese with 100Lbs. press. As it turns out - it was SO EASY!!! Took about 30 minutes, 30 bucks and six steps!
Materials: (See first photo)

• 1x large bamboo board for the base ($6.99)
• 1x small bamboo cutting board for the top ($4.99)
• 2x pipes with threaded ends, ¾" x 10" to guide top board and weights ($2.84 each, total $5.68)
• 2x pipe flanges, threaded ¾" to be the base for mounting the pipes ($3.14 each, total $6.28)
• 8 screws to mount the flanges. I used #12 x 1" flat head Phillips stainless metal screws. (4x 2-screw pack @ $1.19 each, total $4.76)
• Misc dumbbell Weights (didn't cost anything. You can find these in thrift stores and garage sales for a couple of bucks or use bricks, water jugs, etc.)
• OPTIONAL – microwave beacon rack – drill a hole on the center bottom of one of the short edges and you have a perfect draining platform. I didn't use it yet. ($8.99, but this isn’t a part of the press so I am not including in cost)

Total spending: $28.70 + $2.37 in sales tax = $31.07

The process:

• Measure the distance between the screw holes on the flange base, then measure the large cutting board and mark where the screws should be. Place the flange atop of your marks to make sure your marks are right and that the flange edge doesn’t go over the board's edge. (second photo)
• Drill pilot holes (third photo)
• Fasten the flanges with the screws. Go loosely at first, then tighten the first, third, second and fourth screws to make sure it's even. (fourth photo)
• Screw in the pipes to the flanges on the base. The base is now complete. (fifth photo)
• Mark the pipe's footprint on the small cutting board (sixth photo)
• Drill holes large enough for the pipes to fit with a spade bit. 1" diameter hole is a good fit for the ¾" pipes. Drill pilot for perfect centering. (seventh photo)

That's all there's to it!

Notes:

• Bamboo extremely strong and has great bacterial resistance. These decorative lighter wood ending though seem to go in another direction and will develop cracks in the seam if drilled, screwed and under pressure. I suggest to use boards that are all one piece or pattern
• The pipes and flanges are made from Zinc iron, This is not a food-grade material, so make sure you elevate the cheese mold, use draining platform or coat them. You do not want whey to be carried back to your curd with traces of what shouldn't be in food
• Most dumbbell weights have a center hole large enough to fit over a ¾" pipe. You can easily rack 5 weights on each side to total 100Lbs

Last (Eighth) photo shows the complete apparatus in action. Here I am making a 2.5”x7.5” Tomme (thin, I know). A 5Lbs weight (wrapped in black plastic bag for sanitation) used to space the follower from the top board. A 10Lbs weight and two 5Lbs. weights on top (25Lbs. total). I didn’t use draining platform here yet, just elevated over 4 sanitized porcelain dishes.

[MrsKK]

Way to go!

[Alex]

Very nice and efficient built Iratherfly. Don't bother about the lighter wood at the ens of the boards. As a carpenter I can tell you it's an important element in order to prevent the main board from bending.

[iratherfly]

Coming from the Cheesepenter that's a real compliment!
The light edges are just glued in different direction so putting the flanges half on the dark/half on the light side started a hairline crack in one of the sides after a few days (Right at the seam between the two types of wood). It was insignificant but I fixed it anyway (with epoxy and compression).
I am not much of a carpenter and have limited amount of tools because of the NY-size apartment... my main experience is from building radio-controlled model airplanes...

[Majoofi]

pretty cool.
What is it that looks like a black garbage bag in the cheese form?
How do you direct the flow of expressed whey so it doesn't spill all over the place?
Does dried up whey collect and coagulate in the joint between the board and pipe?

[padams]

I have a question, too.  where did you find your bamboo boards so cheap?

[iratherfly]

Oh yes, that was a score but you don't have to use Bamboo boards. You can get other woods or find bargains at restaurant supply store or even a lumbard yard...

I got these at T.j. Maxx in NYC. This chain of discount clothing and household items operates under different name in different places; Marshalls, HomeGoods and A.J Wright in the US. Winners, HomeSense and StyleSense in Canada and T.k Maxx or HomeSense in Europe. I always find good cutting boards there. Occasionally I load up on KitchenAid accessories and cookware from All Clad and Le Creuset there too!

The rest of the accessories I got at Home Depot. The only exception is the Microwave Beacon Tray (turned draining board...) which I got at Bed Bath & Beyond.

[padams]

Ah....no wonder!  I am 2-3 hours from a major metro area, so it's either wally world or the internet for me.  My sil owns a mill, but I don't know if she has any hardwood....we are almost exclusivly pine here in az.  I am shopping this weekend, so I will have to check out lowes and the depot on their wood prices!  I really like the beefiness of the pipes you used!

[iratherfly]

You can always try eBay http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?LH_BIN=1&LH_IncludeSIF=1&_trkparms=65%253A16%257C66%253A3%257C39%253A1&_nkw=bamboo+cutting+board&_sc=1&_sticky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_sc=1
But I am sure you will be lucky at WalMart, Sam's Club, Kmart, Sears, Ross Etc. This is a holiday weekend so the department stores may have a good sale too. You can get great thick, commercial boards at restaurant suppliers too for not too much.

[DeejayDebi]

Very nice looking as well as functional press! Great job!