Started a cheese press today

[trey]

Just wanted to see what everyone's thoughts are on this.  I just kind of threw it together real quick to get an idea on what I was doing.  I will make a nicer one if this works out.  Does anyone see any issues with how I did this?

[Kern]

Looks good to me.  I don't know how much weight you can load it with as there's nothing in the photo that gives a good sense of scale.  But you've got the principle down.  You'd have more versatility if you could more the plunger a little further out on the arm.

[trey]

Thanks Kern.

Its about 4 feet long.  I can move the plunger as needed for larger molds.  All I have to do is add another hole to the arm. 

[Al Lewis]

I would say you did a fine job.  The wooden pegs are the weak point when loading weight onto it so keep an eye one them.  Wood has a fairly good shear strength due to the long fibers but it can still fail.  When you hang a weight out on the end you're putting the same load on those dowels as the ram.

[awakephd]

Four feet long? Good Lord -- you should be able to push the cheese right through to China with that much leverage!

[trey]

Haha. I didn't measure it. Might be 3 feet. It's a mystery!

Al, I'll keep an eye on the pins. They are oak, so I'm hoping for the best

[steffb503]

What will keep it from tipping over when you add weight?

[Al Lewis]

The long base.

[OzzieCheese]

@Trey,  Cheese presses are like Light sabres - every Cheddi (sorry SW fans) must make their own.  Well done.  My first one was as yours is - a scissor action - that is the weigh being transferred from one side of the pivot along a pin to the piston.  Nothing wrong with these, used mine for a couple of years without much issue, until I started my Cheddars in earnest. and then I found that the twisting moment at heavy weigh setting was pushing the piston off to one side and jamming against the guide.  This was a bit disconserting when the downward pressure overcame the fiction on the side and the whole thing would pop and groan.   Notice the pivot point at the top..



I'm still using it for lighter presses but for cheddars where the force needs to be considerable a symetric force is more stable. 
Today I use one of Bob's (smolt1) design where the pivot and pressure points (mostly) are symetrical.  Though I still need to do some work on the piston moving a bit in the housing.  It is now where as good as his but it produces a good pressure at the piston to close up a small cheddar - about 1.3 Kg.  Any larger and I would be in trouble



A cheese BTW for your engineering efforts.
-- Mal

[Al Lewis]

Reminds me of Wyle E Coyotes contraptions to catch the Roadrunner.  LOL  Seriously, very nice presses Mal!!

[awakephd]

Some further reflection -- if the lever really is 4 feet long, and let's say the ram is located at 6" from the pivot, that would give 48/6 = 8x mechanical advantage. This is a good amount, allowing you to press just about any weight you might need. However, Mal's point is very well taken -- how much friction and flex is going to be introduce into the process. Smolt's designs are hard to beat, very well engineered and quite affordable: sturdypress.com

[OzzieCheese]

I have solved the Piston movement issue with some teflon tape - A bit like plumbers Tape with a sticky side - Gotta love Bunnings (a big Hardware Chain in Oz  ).  It is about .002 thick and so I can layer it up inside the housing and provide a little fricton mitigation at the same time.  -- Score !! 

-- Mal

[trey]

I used the press last weekend.  I still haven't measured it to see how long it is.  It presses 60lbs with a 10lb weight.  I used it at 50lbs for 12 hours, and didn't have any issues.  I'm happy with it.  I have zero dollars invested, so I got my money out of it already!

[OzzieCheese]

Ahh... There you go the right tool at the right price for the right job, and if you are happy with it then - score !!  Well done

-- Mal