How to build a fruit press?

[oldjiver]

Look up Wyatt Wendell's scratter (I think that's his name) on youtube. Sorry, I'm no good with links, but this is an ingenious device. I plan to make one for next year, but for this year I've stuck to freezing apples 22lb. at a time, then thaw and press. The apples will be well soft, and you get a fairly good yield. If you have room in the freezer, it's a fairly efficient method.

I have made small quantities of apple wine by the freezing method. But I found that the apples browned a bit as the ice popped the cells. I cured it by putting them in large freezer bags with a little campden tablet water, shaking them and getting as much air out of the bag as I could.

 

[tazuk]

here is me and yorkshire scrumpy cider day with my scrateer machine of e bay :thumb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyqtnKhZ ... e=g-crec-c

 

[Redcar]

I'm building this press http://www.orionhomebrewing.com/2012/06 ... t-for.html but having problems locating long, industrial strength tie wraps.

Mr R is building our frame from old angle iron that we already have, everything else we've got and as soon as we get the tie wraps we'll be ready for the harvest.

 

[MichaelTheObnoxious]

I made one a couple of years ago. It is a bit ghetto but it works. I sort of followed some plans in a cider making book that I bought here
I used a car jack instead of the wheel thingy...
I don't have plans because I didn't really use any, I just knocked it together, it was fairly simple.

+1 on this... i've had this press for two years now, have made gradual improvements in a bid to get that last bit of juice... i'd recommend bottle jacks for use rather than trying to hunt down a decent Vice Screw