beginner at cider

The things I have from advice of a friend as a simple cider:

1x5 gallon water cooler jug
1x cork and bubbler
Bottle of star sand
1x packet wine yeast
Juicer
18x locking stopper bottles

I was told to just get the juice from the apples w the juicer and a press. Clean the water jug and bottles with star sand and put the juice and yeast in the jug cap it with the cork and bubbler and leave it sit for a month.

Can anyone make any suggestions or confirm that this is correct? Also what are the steps to check to see when the cider is finished and what to avoid so as not to ruin the product?

Those steps are pretty much correct for a simple cider. To tell when it's done you'll want to spend a few bucks( ten-ish) on a hydrometer to see when the gravity stops changing.


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You're probably going to want an autosiphon, about 5' of vinyl tubing, and a bottling wand to bottle it when it's done. Do you want still cider or sparkling cider (with or without bubbles)?

Another addition to consider is some yeast nutrient. Apples don't have a lot of the nutrients that can help you get a better fermentation.