After giving up on towers of books and bowls, and then giving up on an unreliable spring style press, I am now using the coolest press ever, made by my sweetie. I think he was getting tired of little book avalanches tumbling off the kitchen counter.
He made this in about a half hour with stuff found in the garage. I place the mold on an inverted dish inside a little pan on the platform- it’s not shown in the photos so you can see the cool concentric rings. I’ve used it a couple times (since yesterday, two cheeses!) and see that it can take any weight- 100+ lbs no problem.
Here’s his description of how he got it done:
Cheese Press Details: Make top and bottom pieces exactly the same size. On each piece mark one side of the top face near the edge, this to be able to consistently put them together with the same orientation. I used 1-1/2” thick redwood large enough for a 25# weight plate to fit easily between the upright rods. On one face of each board draw lines from corner to corner creating Xs. Drill the holes on a drill press (for a perfect right angle holes) using self-feeding augur bits. Go once through only to avoid enlarging the hole. Drill the holes for the rods near the corners of the bottom board first. Make sure they are spaced so that a 25# plate will fit between them. I used a 3/8” bit for the 3/8’ aluminum rods I used. After drilling the 3/8” holes in what will be the bottom piece position it on top of the other piece with exact alignment and clamp together..Gently tap the 3/8 augur bit into each hole until the tip of its self-feed screw meets the piece underneath. Give another tap so a dimple is set in the lower piece. Separate pieces and use dimples to position for drilling with 1/2” self-feeding augur bit. I used 1/2’ o.d. tube stock about 8” long for the guide tubes. Using a compass positioned at the crossing of the Xs draw a number of concentric circles on the top and bottom pieces to aid in positioning the hoop and the weights dead center. Then tap in the rods until they are flush with the bottoms of the holes in the base. Next tap in the guide tubes, using a block between the hammer and the top of the tube to avoid crimping the tube. Tap them in until they protrude through the bottom of the top piece by a couple of inches. For both there should be a fairly firm friction fit. Last, put some screw-on vinyl feet on the bottom of the bootom, one in each corner and one in the center. Now, position the top piece over the bottom piece with the rods extending through the tubes. On the press I made the top slides up and down easily and top and bottom pieces will stay almost exactly parallel, within a degree or two. If you always use the widest possible push-stick against the follower and if the push-stick has squared-off ends the top and bottom faces of the cheese will always be parallel. -njb
Enjoy the ride!
-Bobbie
