Homemade cheese and cider press

Step 8 Building the basket

For the basket, I used a table saw to rip some of the pieces I had glued together into 2" wide strips. I bought a piece of galvanized pre-drilled angle iron at the local home improvement store and cut them into 14" lengths using a hacksaw. I then bolted the pieces together into a box shape using some small bolts.

You have to leave some space between the slats to let the cider run out as it's pressed. Because I left an inch in between the slats, the apple mash will leak through, too. To keep the apple mash from mixing with the finished cider, I bought a mesh bag to the line the box. It will let the juice flow out, but keep the mash contained. The mesh bag is just a 5 gallon paint filter I bought at the hardware store for a couple bucks.

I also made a top lid that fits just inside the crate, that will press down on the apples.

Comments

[ntmoore]

How has the galvanized held up? With Honey Extractors at least, its a big no-no, as the chemicals leach from the galvanizing (zinc?) into the honey.