Our wine press....EXCITED!!!!

[Larryh86GT]

Naw, we wont need to bend any stainless steel or anything, we will be placing plastic lining *like the stuff Dexter uses in his kill rooms HAHAHAHA* in between the drip tray and rack

I would like to see what you are using for the plastic liner when you get it done.

Larry

 

[Mikael]

Well folks, as promised, I said i would keep this thread updated when new events occurred in remodeling some parts to the wine press..and now an UPDATE! It was a great week and weekend, during the week I built a fermentation tub pedestal that will keep the tub elevated for when we go to drain the juice from the bottom spigot. its the perfect height to fight a 5 and a half gallon bucket underneath to catch the juice *obviously with screens and filters in between to catch extras* and the filter that into a funnel into the barrel..and here is the fermenter tub pedestal : D...

that will hold 700+ pounds easily, lol.

Now onto the continuation of the press, drip rack and drip tray...

The press has been done for quite some time and i showed a comparison before, here is another one, showing the big difference between the new one we made and the old one...

rightside up....

upside down...

looks pretty good and it fits in the basket perfectly, unlike the older one.


and now for the drip rack pretty much knocked that out awhile go, but today we finished up a couple part, got the corrals on the front installed and the 2 support beams that run along the bottom of it..and here it the finished product!...


upside down...

rightside up!

Next we move onto the drip rack, i pretty much did all of this last night after coming back from my friends house...just took my time with the stainless steel screws, they were a pain in the beginning, but once i got a groove going, it went really well!!!! And you can tel by these finished pics!!!


rightside up....

upside down.....

And here is the pick of the finished drip rack resting in the tray! keep in mind that when it comes time for pressing, there will be plastic lining in between the rack and tray......

and here is the basket resting on it

and now the tray and rack resting on the press itself...

and now for the finale...the press with everything on it...

and a side shot, its going to have a nice flow!!!!

Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as iI had fun working on this stuff!!!!! HURRY UP SEPTEMBER, GET HERE!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!!!!!!


Mikael

 

[Flem]

Lookin great. I just thought about you when you made your Friday the 13th post. Where did you end up finding the stainless steel screws?

 

[Mikael]

hahhaha ABOUT 10 MINUTES FROM HERE!! lmao! a place i thought that closed down...turned out they MOVED...about a block away, HAHAHAHAH. got them at an ace tru hardware store...thank GAWWWD thats over with!!!! lol!!

 

[Runningwolf]

Mike nice job. Looking forward to here how it works out for you. What kind of finish or oil do you put on the wood now to protect it?

 

[Mikael]

im not sure! if going to pretty much be in a dry environment, so the tray and press cap i wont be putting anything on and as for the drip rack itself NOTHING goes on that, lol. if anything, i might do the outside and underneath the bottom of the tray near the press mounting boards

 

[grapeman]

What kind of wood is the drip rack? To me it looks like pressure treated wood. Hopefully the yellow-green color is just the type of wood. Generally when I see wood that color, it is pressure treated- and I think that would be a big no-no to use, especially for a juice contact point. The only wood I know of that color is black locust. If it was pressure treated, I would rebuild with a different wood, or paint with a good food grade epoxy to keep the juice from direct contact with it.

 

[Mikael]

the drip rack is oak

 

[grapeman]

Mikael I am talking about the tray part of the drip system. The piece with 2x4's tying together the bottom that looks like 2x6's. I am not criticiizing, just concerned that it looks pressure treated. If it is, I would redo it with something less toxic. It could have CCA in it or worse yet, arsenic. Neither would be good for direct contact with the juice.

 

[Mikael]

We used a series of joining biscuits and glue and tightening contraptions to pull the base together. Anything that seeped out from between the cracks, we made sure was cleared. As for any contact with juice, it wont happen because in between the drip rack and the drip tray goes plastic lining, the juice only comes in contact with the oak drip rack and the this plastic liner we will be using : D actually, i need to rephrase that...plastic lining in between the drip tray and rack and ALSO plastic lining in between the grapes AND the press cap as well!!!

 

[Wade E]

Hes not worried about it being sturdy and it was the first thing I noticed also, It is pressure treated wood meaning they treat that lumber and I dont think its a good idea to use it at all.

 

[grapeman]

I won't say anything more about it. It is a great wordworking job and the plastic should help out to isolate the affected wood from the juice.

 

[Mikael]

We shall find out come September! *is very very excited*

 

[Wade E]

OK, great, I didnt see the part about the plastic lining!! Everything looks hunky dory then!!!

 

[Mikael]

aye wade, lol..we ALLWAYS use plastic lining, the only thing them grapies touch is the basket *which will be properly washed of course* the plastic between them and the press cap on top...the drip rack on the bottom and the double plastic lining below the drip rack avoiding total contact from the drip tray. : D ........also plastic lining on the floors and such to avoid messes, lol

 

[ibglowin]

I have been following this thread and I have to admit this has turned out fantastic! I didn't see this asked or answered but it begs the question if it has not been asked. Why not tear down the basket clean up the metal parts and replace with new oak?

 

[Mikael]

thats a good question! i would love to but, never looked into redoing that....come august its going to get a real good cleaning...i would love to make a new basket, but not use to using rivets or anything like that : (

 

[Sirs]

you can get the 2 piece screws where one side is flat and flush and the other side screws into it those would probly be perfect as they are stainless steel all you do is predrill a small hole to fit the sleeved insert into

 

[Mikael]

thanks guys..now my head is SWIRLING with ideas into making a whole new basket, LMAO!!!!!! i might leave it as is or make a new one,...i dunno, lol its tempting though!!!!!!

 

[buddy]

thanks guys..now my head is SWIRLING with ideas into making a whole new basket, LMAO!!!!!! i might leave it as is or make a new one,...i dunno, lol its tempting though!!!!!!

I agree with the other posters about redoing the basket. Even though you are going to use a plastic liner, there could be a small chance that some juice will come into contact with the PT wood. It's a little bit like playing Russian roulette, it's not worth the risk.
You say that you won't be using the press until September, that gives you lots of time to do the upgrade.