Don’t laugh but Fall is around the corner. My buddy Al takes us through his ingenious modification and conversion of a Harbor Freight Shop Press into a Rack and Cloth Apple Press. Step by step Al takes you through the pieces, where to get the parts, dimensions, what to do, what no to do, and how to install the parts. Start yours now and coast on into the apple picking season with a new rack and cloth cider press that should beat the pants of any barrel press. Maybe he’ll send me a list of the parts and source links to post in here.
Build Your Own Apple Cider Press…
April 23, 2010 by oldtimeydave
Posted in Cider, Cider Equipment, Home Brewing | 13 Comments
13 Responses
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We use a press like this- it works great! However, be prepared to replace the bottle jack occasionally; after 5 years, ours broke this fall….luckily it was when we were almost finished.
I think 5 years is a good run Terry.
Al and I spoke about this last year. I wish would have followed his example. So this year I’m thinking of using this 30 Ton Shop Press.
I got a couple questions because I am starting in on the same project very soon. What size of press do you use? What kind of gallons per hour do you get?
Okay, I rewatched it and wrote down stuff.
He starts with a Harbor Freight 20 ton Shop Press.
Tray support is two pieces of 3/4″ plywood sandwiched together. 22″x 26″ with a 5.5″x3.5″ notch for the drain. Underneath is 5 uni-struts (sp?) that are 24″ long except the drain one. They are held on with pan head bolts going though the clips (I don’t know what that means). He says to use a sawsall to cut the struts to make things easier.
He gets the press tray from Good Nature for the Rogue Cider Press (did I hear that right?). It needs to be notched to fit onto the press. It is 24″w x 28″l x 5″d. I can’t find the trays at Good Nature or his other mention of Scienceware/www.belart.com, but maybe I misunderstand how it is packaged. Is this it – http://www.cidermillsupplies.com/cart/cat_press_supplies.php#base ? cause if it is… wow, that is expensive.
Next is the cider tray racks that fit inside of the tray. Those I could find at Good Nature and I have a quote request into them now. http://www.goodnature.com/Juice_Equipment/Axiliary_Equipment/
Need some racking cloth.
The top tray is another 3/4″ plywood sandwiched and reinforced with the struts again. He overlays it was a high density poly(something) plastic from US plastics. It is 1/2″ thick, held on with plastic hardware from Home Depot. The wood is 20″x20″, and the plastic is 20.5″x20.5″. something about grooving the wood that I didn’t understand.
Last, you need some 8×8 and 4×4 wood blocks.
Thanks for the follow up Heather.
The Press.
So I think I am going to go with the 30 Ton Shop Press here: http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/products/30-Ton-Hydraulic-Shop-Press/H6228Z
That might throw all the measurement and size stuff all out the window but I’ll deal with it. Will make a good excuse to drive to Bellingham which is where Grizzly is I believe.
The Tray.
The following link might be the tray in question. Will check the size out I guess.
ttp://www.belart.com/shop/135540001-electrophoresis-fixing-tray-large-p-135540001.html?y=13&x=41
I’m thinking of having one welded up in Stainless Steel. Well at least pricing it. We work with some machinists at my day job who can handle the task as well as HDPE pressing boards I think. Will let you know. It is always cheaper to buy in quantity.
Pressing Cloths:
The folks at the Cider Workshop seem to have the racking cloth discussion now and again. I am going to look for some “polyester filter cloth” on Google. Gave it a try already but most of the links lead back to Chinese manufacturers.
That’s not the right tray. It is too small. He said 24w x 28l x 5 deep, and that is only 21-1/2 ” x 25-1/2 ” x 4″, which could mess with your tray rack sizing.
Claude in Quebec on Cider Workshop talks about OESCO a bit. They have some trays and cloth. https://www.oescoinc.com/press-cloth-p-2404.html?osCsid=3fc71ceb5f3d022b23f3ff115d71f901
I know this is off topic, and I apologize, but I did not see an e-mail address. I am increasingly obsessed with good cider, and I just planted an orchard. I’m now looking for any advice on scratters/presses.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Did you see him use it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u0RW-HzHK8
Yeah I saw him use it last Fall… Pretty cool.
Looks really nice compared to the old barrel type press I have been using. I can’t wait to build this so I never have to touch one of those things again. Great for family farm-time fun horrible for producing any type of volume. Coupled with my electric grinder I bought last year things should run pretty smooth for me.
Man oh man… there is a coupon in my local Sunday paper for $80 on the 12 ton Harbor Freight Shop Press that expires 5/30/2010. That is a $60 savings.
1) I wonder if 12 tons is enough and
2) if I should just get it and figure I’ll figure everything else out?
I know you’ll be able to figure the rest out. If worse comes to worse you can probably have a stainless tray made up for you but I’m sure a lab tray the size you need is source-able.
Am pretty sure the trays and container parts mentioned are for Goodnature’s “Roadsider” press, if that helps.
See: http://www.goodnature.com/Juice_Equipment/Juice_Presses/roadsider.php
I dropped by our local Harbor Freight the other day and discovered the bottle jack in their press is welded in place! Kind of a bummer, since I was keen on installing one of their long-stroke jacks instead, reducing or eliminating the amount of blocking one would have to do to compress a stack of cheeses (more akin to the Roadsider, in other words).
Thoughts?
[…] Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider, which is similar but better to one on Andrew Lea’s website. Old Time Cider just posted a video of Alan Yelvington building a cider press out of a Harbor Freight Shop Press, […]
I purchased the 13 ton shop press and it’s frame is only 16.5″ wide. Does anyone know where I can get some trays that will fit?