Fruit Squisher

[metalspinner]

As if there aren't enough projects around here that need attention, I drug this fruit press home yesterday.  The plate in the middle reads "Cinncinatti B.S. Co. No. 2."





It appears to be complete with no cracks in the iron.  The woodwork is another thing.  A whole new stand needes to be built.

In the little bit of research I did online, it seems the apples will need to be ground up prior to pressing?  After pricing these cast iron grinders  , I believe a nice wooden one can be made in the shop just fine. ;)

Anyone with experience using these, please offer your advice on anything from stand design and features to recipes for apple cider and sauce. The new stand will have more triagulation than the old one for sure.  Incorporating some wheels would be nice, too.

My hopes are to have this thing fully functional for our cub scout district camp out at the end of October. :D

[Dan_Shade]

fresh apple cider is the best stuff going!

I found a press a few years ago, my mother commandeered it, and it is at my parents place.  the plan is to make apple cider in October again.

I made a grinder that pretty much turns the apples into pulp out of a wooden drum and a bunch of screws in it.  it doesn't feed the apples on it's own, I use a board to push the apples into the grinder.  I use a drill to power the grinder. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CvuQh2k_SE

here's a video of the press in action:
take it from me, do it outside, unless you want a thumpin from your wife

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD6cH3L4Ra4

[bill m]

I made an apple grinder similar to that but used 2 rollers rotating to each other so it would pull the apples in. It works great. I will try to get pictures as soon as I can ( recovering from surgery and can't lift anything yet).

[Dan_Shade]

did you have a gear drive between the two rollers?

[bill m]

Yes. If I can get some help tomorrow I will try to get pictures.

[metalspinner]

Thanks, Guys.

The two roller idea sounds good. That will give another kid something to do.

The layout of this grinder and press looks efficient...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwOuwiMGh0A


In your experience, how many apples does it take to make a gallon of cider?  How far into the year are apples on a tree?  Should I start to scrounge around for apples now or will a month off the tree be too long?  What can be done with wheelbarrows full of squished apple guts? :D  I thought handing out cups of "apple sauce" would be a good way to move some of the product.  But would squeezing out so much juice leave me with a "dry" sauce?

Boy that's alot of questions. :  I'm pretty much just brainstorming through the process.

[Dave Shepard]

My friend Don is getting ready for his annual squeezing on the 17th. His press takes about a bushel to fill, and I think you get about 2 gallons of cider. You grind the apples whole, so you aren't going to be making any apple sauce. I hope. :D

[Dan_Shade]

the pulp can be composted, or it could also be dumped out for deer, but I don't know if they'd eat it.

Also, it can be steeped in water for a second pressing, this is called "ciderkin".  I've never tried this.

[metalspinner]

Here is a picture of what I hope to acheive with rebuilding the press.





Off to dig through the woodpile... 8) 8)

[pigman]

My dad bought a farm 50 years ago that had a small apple orchard. We made a lot of cider with a press that looked just like the one in metalspinner's picture. I have no idea what happened to that press. My brothers made some pear cider one year. That stuff started foaming after a couple days and and turned a pale green. It was still pretty good if you didn't drink too much. After several cups I didn't care how it tasted. :

[Stan snider]

I have an old press that needs rebuilding too. The frame looks like white oak but I'm not sure about the staves that hold the pulp. Anyone have any Ideas?  That pear cider sounds good too.     Stan

[terrifictimbersllc]

Does one pick out all the worms first or just put them in too? : : :

[pigman]

Without some worms cider just does't taste right. ;D

[isawlogs]

Dan , nice grinder, here is one like yours with a little extra pusher board on it .

http://woodgears.ca/cider/index.html 
 

[Dan_Shade]

We use a 2x4 as a pusher. 

First time o used it, I was using apples to push them in.  Then it caught my finger.  (that's why I'm wearing a glove in the  video...).

[metalspinner]

A quick update...

The only dry beefy wood I have around here is this cherry.  To make my decision even easier, it happened to be on top. ;)





As far as I got was the frame. 







The tray will follow shortly then on to the apple grinder. 

Still to do is sandblasting of the cast parts and a nice coat of paint.   I still need to browse around the towns "junk" piles for a nice cast iron wheel.

[metalspinner]

I got a little work done today.  After arguing with my dovetail jig for a couple of ours, I finally got the tray and upper bracket made...






This is dry fitted together. 

With the heavy woodwork done,  it's on to the grinding mechanism. :-\

[ohsoloco]

My dad's cider press has enough room in between the outside of the grinder and the inner part that does the damage that it self feeds the apples.  The only time there is a problem is if the apples bridge and won't fall into the grinder. 

[Chris Burchfield]

I bought one similar to the one metalspinner has shown and working on.  I bought it from a fella for $1.00 which is what he wanted.  I said why not just give it to me.  He said "give me a dollar and you can't bring it back."  :D :D :D  I cleaned it up painted it and duplicated the print of date and patent.  I gave it to my mother one Mother's Day to display plant's on.  If I ever get a chance, I'll take pics.  It did have two pulp buckets.  A wooden hoper was extended from the metal feed for the grinder.

[metalspinner]

When last we left him...

...the grinding head needed to be made.

Here, I routed a groove down the length of two pieces of maple and glued them together.  Then I machined it down to a drum...





Then, I layed out the spiral with tape...





The holes have all been drilled and screwed with stainless bugle head screws.  They are left proud of the surface to grind up the apples.





It's finally starting to look like something now!  The hopper is in place, but not mounted, yet.  What I thought would be the easiest thing to do - find a fly wheel - turned out to be quite difficult. I hit every antique store between here and there to find just what was on my mind.





And a view from the front...





Still on the list is completing the bottom shelf and a tray for the juice to ride down.  I might have time to make nice new basket, too.

My dad's cider press has enough room in between the outside of the grinder and the inner part that does the damage that it self feeds the apples

ohsoloco,
What do you you think that gap is?  I have some adjustability  in the setup of the grinder and am wondering where to place it for good.

[SwampDonkey]

That's coming along quite nicely. As to the apples, it depends on variety. They pick apples into October up here. Some varieties are dropping from the trees in August, such as yellow transparent and New Brunswicker, which are quite juicy. Gravastene and Dudly are later and also lots of juice. Of course those names may not mean a lot down that way. Certain varieties flourish better in some areas/climates than another.

This is a great restoration project. Enjoying it. 

[Magicman]

That's gonna be a beautiful piece when you finish.

[metalspinner]

Holy smokes I've been swamped.  The first run of apples through the machine were done at the big event this weekend.  I had my fingers crossed that it would all some how come together.  With a couple of quick alterations and tweaks (Duct tape is an incredible invention), we were finaly making cider!

I will follow up with some pics in a little bit, but here is a video of the operation...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE3JtYX9Ig0

[Burlkraft]

That is awesome     

That's gonna be one nice squisher.

Good work  ;D

[Raider Bill]

I think we should Nominate Chris as Father of the Year!