Basket press advice...

[Bliorg]

And, the basket is complete.

Ended up using the cherry I had on hand, replaced all the hardware with 18-8 black oxide stainless. The rivets I removed were replaced with stainless binding barrels, which provide plenty of room for the joining bars.

There's a little tweaking of stave placement to do, as the alignment isn't quite right. But it's awfully hot in the garage, and it can wait. Will take it outside soon, hose it down, and hopefully put it to work this fall. Still need to make some press blocks for it - have some 4x4 ash but will probably use SPF and see how robust it is.

 

[Bliorg]

For the sake of completeness, I'll report that I finally put the press to use. Started a batch of malbec rosé. Pressed 108 pounds of grapes. Worked splendidly. My son came up to help, which made it especially nice.












Really too much fun. Entirely too long a project, but turned out great and I'm excited to use the press more next year. Having my son be a part of it all (was there to help me load it when first purchased) was really the best part.

 

[winemaker81]

My son came up to help, which made it especially nice.

Sharing with the next generation(s) is always good!