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?
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.
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.
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.
Four feet long? Good Lord -- you should be able to push the cheese right through to China with that much leverage! :)
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
What will keep it from tipping over when you add weight?
The long base.
@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..
(https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=8832.0;attach=15816;image)
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
(https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=14475.0;attach=35650)
A cheese BTW for your engineering efforts.
-- Mal
Reminds me of Wyle E Coyotes contraptions to catch the Roadrunner. LOL Seriously, very nice presses Mal!!
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
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 8) ). 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
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!
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