I am thankful to so many folks on this forum for all the great ideas every time I have needed help. Here is the press I built awhile ago that cost me about $20 (and some fun and sweat equity) I happen to have access to some really stout oak pallets used to transport beer kegs and I'm also a wood worker so all the wood material was free - just had to buy the SS bolts. The weights are cast 5,10 & 15 lbers poured into various old tin cans with a eye bolt sticking out the top.
the details are:
arm length: 24" w/ piston connection 3" from fulcrum point
inside width of about 13" (so I could get two 6" molds in there)
Working height of about 14" with 10" of adjustment in the piston bolt positions
in any give piston hole I get about 2" of throw before having to move to the next hole which seems to work fine during a pressing schedule
I get about a 7X multiplier when out on the last hook and have generated a little under 200 lbs of force (putting a scale underneath the plunger to measure it) but I need to clamp the base down to keep from tipping when applying over 150 lbs. I consciously didn't build an extended base to deal with that issue as I wanted the unit to be compact for storage (and to keep my patient wife somewhat appeased)
it works beautifully and the follower keeps the pressure perfectly aligned w/o getting in the way. I will probably be building a new one soon based on the pulley driven weight designs I have seen here as I aspire to making larger batches and hence larger wheels and this design just can't apply enough pressure to a larger than 6" mold.
Today will be another cheddar makin' day.
Doug
very nice looking Dutch style press. Congratulations on your handy work- It will service you well...
Wow, fabluous. Love the cast weights, nice touch. Looks as good or better than a commercial product, and you have the pride of saying you made it yourself to your own specs and satisfaction. Very jealous! Cheddar on, dude.
Great job, Doug. Beautiful looking press.
Thanks everyone. This weekend I'm on to a first attempt at a cheese cave.
This is a great looking press. It is well balanced.
Could you post your plans? Or PM them?
One word of caution using old pallets. Realize they were used to carry everything from food to toxic chemicals. I have read some horror stories in the woodworking magazines about pallet lumber that was soaked with chemicals.
Make sure you pick clean ones to work with, even the sawdust can become toxic on some of them.
wow- I wish I was a wood worker. That is beautiful! :)
Steampwr8 - you are absolutely right about knowing your sources. Since I work in the brewery that bought the pallets and know what we do and don't do with them I was comfortable giving this one a second life.
This was an amalgamation of a bunch of designs I found here and out on the web. I'll try and post a dimensioned sketch and bill of materials when I get some time. This could just as easily be made out of stock 3/4" material you get at HD.