Antique Crusher and Press, what do I do?

[cyerger57]

Guys' Was was given a couple of Antiques. An old crusher and an old press. The wheel on the crusher still turns very freely like it could actually be used and it looks to be totally original except for 2 small bolts on the drive gears. The press is in real need of attention though. Looks like a really cool winter time project in my opinion. So what do I do with these things? The press will be something that will look real cool on the back porch with something growing out of it. The crusher on the other hand I really don't want or know what to do with. Is it valuable as an antique? When I first started looking at the thing, I thought I'd refinish it but now I'm starting to reconsider.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Chris

Crusher

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y457/cyerger57/Antiques/IMG_0881_zpsbb685793.jpg

Press

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y457/cyerger57/Antiques/IMG_0880_zps7e833bc0.jpg

There is quite a bit of writing on the large wheel. Believe something about Philadelphia.

Didn't really know where to post this. Sorry if it's supposed to be in classifieds or something. Not really trying to sell though, just kind of like opinions.

 

[Arne]

If it was me, I would clean them up, fix them up this winter and have them ready to use. You never know when you mite stumble across some grapes, and those would make the job much easier. You can press other fruits with it also, and fresh juice always makes nice wines. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[Rocky]

Hi Chris, welcome to the forum.

I am sure there are people across the US using similar equipment to what you have there on an annual basis to make their wine. I agree with Arne and I would give the unit a good cleaning, air dry it completely and put it away for next year when grapes will again be available. If you have no interest in making wine from grapes, you could either sell both pieces or keep them for either inside or outside "art" in your house or on your property.

 

[pjd]

That crusher is not worth a great deal as an antique but it's worth a fortune if you have to process some grapes. I have two of them and would not part with either one.

 

[JohnT]

Depending on your access to woodworking tools, I would remove and clean all metal hardware, and cut/replace every last bit of wood (using the existing wood as a template). I would also finish the wood with EZ-DO (a food grade polyurethane)...

The wood on there looks positively BLACK! I am sure that you could clean/sterilize the wood, but I would still not feel right about using it.

Think of it this way. Would you allow a doctor to stick a used tongue depressor into your mouth??