So i've finished with my 15 gallon Parmesan and I've got some new design challenges with my new press and large molds. First off when I make stilton and press my name into it, it worked fine as the follower kind of suctions on and is a tad loose (perfect fit) and stilton leaks whey for the entire time it's out in the open before aging providing lubrication for the cheese to use to slide down. So after I flip it the cheese and follower slide down and it's fine, but for the larger mold is a bigger challenge. When I pressed my parmesan it really pressed the cheese in and the followers are a little tighter so I couldn't get it to stay together which means I won't be able to keep the followers in the same impressions. I think I came up with a solution.
The question I need to answer is; does flipping the cheese during pressing do anything other than allowing the other side able to drain more whey? I figured that I'll just press it and keep it pressed but rotate the press. I'm going to drill weep holes in the sides of the mold, then I'm going to build a platform to be able to tip the press on it's side. So after I load up the press and make the first initial press to form the wheel, I'll tip the press on it's side and let it drain out both the top and bottom at the same time. Then when it's time to flip the cheese I'll just rotate the mold like I'm spinning a wheel. This should solve my problem so I don't have to take the cheese out of the mold and loose my follower's impressions.