So, I googled around for some homemade cheesepress ideas and decided to make one using iron pipes. Got a hold of more goat milk and tried out a traditional cheddar. It turned out to be an all day process, and a bit challenging. The final curd matting might have been a bit warm, because the curds melted into a very hard, rubbery, solid mass. I'd been advised to use a french fry cutter to cut those curds, which turned out to be difficult, even with a new, sharp cutter!
After finally cutting those curds and salting them, I put them into my mold and into the press. I managed to put 80 lbs. of bricks and weights on top and let them sit for 24 hours, turning twice. The plastic follower I had in my ring mold actually bent down in the middle from all the weight, making an oddly shaped cheese; low in the middle with raised sides. I've been slicing little bits off to make the sides more level and so far, it tastes pretty good. It would have been good to turn the cheese one more time to prevent that from happening.
The cheese knit very well and is extremely dry. A hard rind is developing, so I'll wax it in another day or two.
So far, so good, but it does strike me as odd that I'd go to all that trouble and expense to make something that I could buy (already aged for 2 years) for less than the cost of the milk........