StittsvilleJames
Well-Known Member
Here are some pictures of my new cheese press, just finished it up.
I started with an 8 foot 4x1 birch board, a 4 foot 2x1 oak board, and a piece of scrap plywood.
The hinges are just stainless hex bolts. the large one on the main hinge is 3/8", and the one on the plunger is 1/4". Hopefully they hold up for the long term.
I drilled holes for wooden dowels every 1" along the weight arm so I can hang a bucket on it and it won't slip around too much.
The plunger can move from 5" to 8" away from the main hinge, depending on how large a cheese I am going to press, and how much weight I need.
The pressing weight is calculated by dividing the distance from the fulcrum to the weight by the distance from the fulcrum to the plunger X the weight. So if I put the plunger at 5" and 10 lbs of weight at 20" away, I am pressing with 40 lbs. The farthest I can get is 35", so that 10lbs of weight can press with 70 lbs. Of course I can increase the weight (20 lbs would give me 140 lbs pressing).
Anyways, here's the pictures. So far I have used it for one cheese (bra duro from my Mad Millie cheese kit) and so far so good.
Enjoy!
I started with an 8 foot 4x1 birch board, a 4 foot 2x1 oak board, and a piece of scrap plywood.
The hinges are just stainless hex bolts. the large one on the main hinge is 3/8", and the one on the plunger is 1/4". Hopefully they hold up for the long term.
I drilled holes for wooden dowels every 1" along the weight arm so I can hang a bucket on it and it won't slip around too much.
The plunger can move from 5" to 8" away from the main hinge, depending on how large a cheese I am going to press, and how much weight I need.
The pressing weight is calculated by dividing the distance from the fulcrum to the weight by the distance from the fulcrum to the plunger X the weight. So if I put the plunger at 5" and 10 lbs of weight at 20" away, I am pressing with 40 lbs. The farthest I can get is 35", so that 10lbs of weight can press with 70 lbs. Of course I can increase the weight (20 lbs would give me 140 lbs pressing).
Anyways, here's the pictures. So far I have used it for one cheese (bra duro from my Mad Millie cheese kit) and so far so good.
Enjoy!