Getting a small fruit press

[Nick Z]

I have been gifted/given an extended loan of an EJWOX 1.6 gallon fruit press.

This thing: https://ejwox.com/collections/frontpage/products/1-6-gallon-classic-wooden-wine-cider-fruit-press

Unfortunately they do not have instructions on their website for it. I am going to assemble it with a friend tomorrow.

Has anyone used this press or a similar press? Anything I should look out for? Tips, tricks, problems?

I was told people sometimes modify it slightly with "spacers".

I looked at their "filter bags" and they look a lot like paint strainer bags. I'll compare the thickness of the one that came with it to paint strainer bags. If they are basically identical I'll just use paint strainers. I was also thinking of seeing if I could sew together some muslin to create a bag/press cloth.

It does not come with the crusher/grinder and I don't have nor will I probably be getting an apple scratter.

I was thinking of getting around this by simply chopping the apples into medium size chunks prior to pressing. Or freezing the apple pieces and then thawing them out to soften them. I doubt I'll be doing a ton at once until next summer and fall so I'm not too worried it taking longer to freeze and thaw before pressing.

I'm not convinced I will get a better yield off of this thing than I would with my technique of pureeing apples and squeezing the pulp through muslin. Juice yield seems to be mostly dependent on the texture. Crisper, harder fleshed apples (Granny Smith) juice really easily. I can wring almost all the liquid out of them. Softer, mealier textured apples (McIntosh) yield a lot less juice.

 

[madscientist451]

The press will be able to apply more pressure than you can by hand wringing a muslin bag.

Bucket and log apple smasher:

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

I've been eyeing one of these for a while. My apple trees are still too young to produce, so I am holding off another year or two. But hope you enjoy.

Like you, I am planning to corsely chop, then freeze my apples since I will only process a small amount each fall.

 

[Nick Z]

So, I assembled this thing today. And I read some reviews. Everyone mentions that without much thicker spacer blocks the pressing plate can't actually reach the bottom of the press. Thus rendering it nearly useless. I'll cut up some blocks for it out of 2 X 4s or some hickory I have as scrap wood.

A few things I noticed:

The holes for the wooden slats were not drilled correctly on four slats. Thus not all the slats point in the same direction, even though the directions clearly state this is necessary. Even when the holes were drilled in the correct orientation they were done sloppily. The bottom of the "basket" is not flush with the bottom of the device and cannot be given how it was built. This may or may not be an issue. We shall see.

There were no pilot holes drilled for a part where a metal plate is screwed onto a wood block. I was able to drill holes and I think it fits but the need to drill your own holes was not in the directions and it was at least implied that the holes were pre drilled.

Now the woodworking geek in me has something to say:

The use of beech wood is frankly bizarre. Beech, unless it is quartersawn, is notorious for being unstable. When fruit juice contacts it there almost certainly be warping. Also, beech has pretty large pores, which means stuff will lodge in it. If they wanted to use a cheap wood why not just use poplar?

Your mileage may vary but I think it was a really bad idea for them to leave the wood unfinished. Especially when it will be getting flooded with fruit. Without a film finish sealing off the wood you will never get the wooden parts fully clean. It will also lead to the wood soaking up water and expanding and contracting as it loses and gains moisture.

I intend to finish the wood with a polyurethane varnish, though a scratch resistant paint would probably work even better. In case anyone is concerned about chemicals getting into their juice: All wood finishes are food safe once fully cured. Most film finishes turn into some kind of inert plastic. Once the finish is cured all of the solvents have evaporated and any metal salts will be locked into the finish or used up in the chemical process of curing the finish.

You don't need to use a special "food safe" finish like Salad Bowl Finish. You can use shellac (which is edible) but it probably won't withstand much usage. If you are truly paranoid you could use mineral oil, as is used on cutting boards. But the oil will have to be renewed regularly, won't prevent the pores from getting gunk in them, and it's possible (if unlikely) some of the oil could get into the juice. Mineral oil is completely harmless but I don't know if it would inhibit fermentation in minute quantities (I doubt it).

I need to test it so I may not get a finish on it before the first test. I could hit with shellac as an interim step. Shellac dries quickly and other finishes stick to it.

It shouldn't be too hard to replicate some of the wooden parts in case I need to. Curves are tricky for me but I could probably sand it to fit.

 

[Brett_Bellmore]

Maybe linseed oil? That polymerizes nicely.

My dad bought an apple press back in the 70's, a big oak thing with a 3" cast iron screw. Looked a lot like the attached, except it was about 6 feet tall. Man, that thing was a beast. Brings back memories.

I have to agree, using beech for the slats does seem an odd choice. Sounds like the manufacturer just didn't care how their product worked.

 

[OpenSights]

@Nick Z I bought a similar one for apples but in the ~3 gallon size. I didn’t press any apples this year for two reasons. One was because the trees I get them from didn’t produce as much this year, probably from being pruned the fall before. Second reason is that even with a 3 gallon press and an apple crusher it was a lot of work and even longer blocks and a cheater bar, it’s not very efficient.

I’ve read about poor manufacturing quality on these cheaper knock offs. I took a chance and bought one off Amazon and lucked out.

I do have a 1.5 gallon press that works great for blueberries, cherries and other frozen fruits and berries.

If you plan on using yours for apples, you’ll quickly start thinking about better ways of pressing. I don’t think you wasted money on it as it’ll still come in handy.

I’m thinking of getting a hydraulic shop press and making my own.

 

[Nick Z]

It was a gift from some my friend's parents so I didn't think it would be polite to just say "Hey, this thing sucks." I'll make some more spacers for it and we'll see how it works. I'll think I'll start by brushing some shellac on it. I should be able to build up a coat of that pretty quickly. I won't have to sand the shellac smooth since appearance doesn't matter so that will speed things up.

What baffles me is... why use wood for the part that squishes down the apples at all? Why not use plastic? I can't imagine plastic would cost much more and it would be easier to clean and it wouldn't warp.

Beech is a relatively inexpensive wood but poplar is even cheaper and it doesn't have large pores for fruit matter to get stuck in. Poplar is usually the cheapest hardwood. If they wanted to get fancy (and more expensive) they could have used cherry or hard maple. If they wanted hyper stability they could have used quartersawn white oak, though that would increase the cost greatly.

Boiled linseed oil does polymerize but it doesn't form a film. I need to physically block the fruit from getting into the pores. I should use an exterior/spar varnish but those take forever to dry and I don't want to snag a whole can just for the equivalent of a board foot or two of wood. Shellac and Minwax interior poly will do nicely.

On the plus side the base of the thing seems nice and heavy and the metal parts appear to be fairly robust. The biggest risk will probably be applying too much pressure and snapping the wooden plates that squish the fruit. I may see if I can copy them using hickory but cutting hickory on my bandsaw will be about as much fun as getting attacked by rabid bunnies.

My guess is that they used beech as a compromise between appearance and cost. Oak is probably the traditional wood used but oak, especially white oak, would be more expensive. Beech looks a little like oak but costs a lot less.

 

[OpenSights]

Don’t worry too much about the wood plates. Mine is beech and I took a 10# sledge to a 4’ cheater bar, they survived. But, yeah, even plastic would be better.

 

[Nick Z]

Don’t worry too much about the wood plates. Mine is beech and I took a 10# sledge to a 4’ cheater bar, they survived. But, yeah, even plastic would be better.

But isn't cleaning the beech wood going to be a pain? And won't scrubbing it with soap or even just rinsing it going to cause wood movement? I've fiddled with my share of beech and it warps like the USS Enterprise. And that's without getting it wet on purpose.

 

[Masbustelo]

I think I may have the same model as you. I run my basket through the dishwasher to sterilize it. It only gets used a few times a year.

 

[Nick Z]

I'm at least going to put a coat of shellac on it. I should really put several thick coats of polyurethane on it to seal it up nicely. But I have some apples that need pressing and winter temperatures will slow finish curing to a crawl. It will cure. It will just take forever.

 

[Nick Z]

Shellac has been applied. I am going to chop up some apples today and test the press. I took a couple of pieces of 2 X 4 and cut them down for use as spacers. I'm going to prepare some twelve inch long beams as well and put them in there vertically if need be. After the first use I will clean of the apple goop and apply a polyurethane varnish for next time.

I will report back with the results.

 

[Nick Z]

I don't have time to go into the details right now but the results were terrible. I got about a gallon out of 25-30 pounds of apples. Many of the pieces weren't even touched no matter how much I cranked the press. I would have gotten far, far more juice by using my normal technique of pureeing the apples and squeezing the puree in muslin.

I should add that I do not have a mill or scratter to smash up the apples beforehand. I simply chopped them into small pieces with a knife. That lack of pre-press crunching could be half the issue.

 

[wasully]

Maybe try freezing completely, and pressing half thawed? That's supposed to allow a good yield without grinding.

Using a small food processor or blender set to coarse might be better than dicing by hand as well.