Cider Press

About two years ago a co worker began asking me to restore a "wine press" from the mid to late 1800s. Actually sold as a cider press. I had no clue what that was until I visited a winery and saw a few of them on display. None the less I said I would take a look at it, but we never got together to do so. Until a couple of months ago. He asked me again and I said yes, sight unseen. Note: one should be careful what one agrees to with out taking a peek. :)
So one day he brings it in the back of his pick up. My first thought was YIKES! It looked like it had been in a dirt floor basement for the last 100 years. Bugs and rot had eaten much of it away. Particularly the lower legs. So then the saga began. I gave the metal part back to be sand blasted while I went back and forth between my shop and drafting table trying to decipher measurements etc.. Due to the rot on the lower legs, I found myself measuring from the top as well as the bottom. and a lot of measurements did not add up on paper. The original was made of Hard maple with gold and red pin striping. Ultimately I wound up replacing every thing except the actual hopper, made of poplar, and used minwax wood hardner to firm it up. I chose white oak instead of Maple for the rest. Anything in contact with the juice etc. received 4 coats of salad bowl finish, made by General. Arm-R-Seal for the frame work. Rustoleum and clear coat for the metal. So enough said. An interesting project.Attachment 442272Attachment 442273Attachment 442275Attachment 442276

very cool. we make cider with a home made press that is a modified harbor freight hydraulic shop press. these fetch some serious coin, even when they are in your before condition.

Looks great Ron! Quite a cool project.

Nice work.

Wow, great rebuild. It’s nice to have a different sort of project from time to time.

Very nice! I'm hoping some year soon to have enough of an apple crop in the new orchard that I'm going to have need of one of these. Been on the lookout for one for a couple years now.

Ron your coworker brought it to the right place.

You were obviously the right person for this job. Looks great!

The other Ron,