My the basket on my fruit press is rather crappy wood. This winter I
am going to replace it.

For very little cost I can replace the staves (or whatever the wood
parts of the basket are called) with much better quality oak with a
decent finish. It dawned on me that by simply making the basket a few
inches taller I could increase the press volume somewhat. I have the
clearance on the ratchet mechanism to handle a few more inches of
basket height. This is a ten gallon press if that makes a difference.

Is there any good reason to NOT do this? I understand it would make
pressing smaller volumes a little harder.

"Rob" > wrote in message
m...
> My the basket on my fruit press is rather crappy wood. This winter I
> am going to replace it.
>
> For very little cost I can replace the staves (or whatever the wood
> parts of the basket are called) with much better quality oak with a
> decent finish. It dawned on me that by simply making the basket a few
> inches taller I could increase the press volume somewhat. I have the
> clearance on the ratchet mechanism to handle a few more inches of
> basket height. This is a ten gallon press if that makes a difference.
>
> Is there any good reason to NOT do this? I understand it would make
> pressing smaller volumes a little harder.

I can't think of any good reason not to do that. Just make sure that the
bands end up the same distance apart as they are now and the same distance
from the baseplate. IOW, all the extra length should be at the _top_ of the
press.

Tom S

Just chiming in to say I agree 100% with Tom. I've built or restored
half a dozen small presses over the years, and there's plenty of leeway
with things like height & width.

--


Mike MTM, Cokesbury, New Jersey, USA

MikeMTM > wrote in message news:<1099958599.zhjV2HO1OK6UAY7WCjQlqQ@teranews>. ..
> Just chiming in to say I agree 100% with Tom. I've built or restored
> half a dozen small presses over the years, and there's plenty of leeway
> with things like height & width.

do you use spar varnish on the wood?

Rob wrote:
> do you use spar varnish on the wood?

Rob,

I use close-grained wood like maple or beech or poplar, and give it with
several coats of water based polyurethane. I find it smells less than
oil based products, and I suspect it has less to leach into the must or
wine, 'though it probably doesn't matter. The sealant goes on before
attaching to the hoops, giving special attention to the end grain.

Many years ago I slapped a basket together in a hurry from cheap pine
1x2 furring strips, uncoated. It never caused a problem, and is still
going strong for a friend. I believe sanitation & drying & storage are
more important than how, or even _if_ the wood is coated. Do be wary of
crevices though; they're hard to clean.

--


Mike MTM, Cokesbury, New Jersey, USA

"MikeMTM" > wrote in message
news:1100044688.qcC2PSsC9moKN5NGH5U+yQ@teranews...
> Rob wrote:
> > do you use spar varnish on the wood?
>
> Rob,
>
> I use close-grained wood like maple or beech or poplar, and give it with
> several coats of water based polyurethane. I find it smells less than
> oil based products, and I suspect it has less to leach into the must or
> wine, 'though it probably doesn't matter. The sealant goes on before
> attaching to the hoops, giving special attention to the end grain.
>
> Many years ago I slapped a basket together in a hurry from cheap pine
> 1x2 furring strips, uncoated. It never caused a problem, and is still
> going strong for a friend. I believe sanitation & drying & storage are
> more important than how, or even _if_ the wood is coated. Do be wary of
> crevices though; they're hard to clean.
>
> --
If you're in a hurry to seal a press boil parafin wax and coat the surface
with the wax.

"MikeMTM" > wrote in message
news:1100044688.qcC2PSsC9moKN5NGH5U+yQ@teranews...
> Rob wrote:
> > do you use spar varnish on the wood?
>
> Rob,
>
> I use close-grained wood like maple or beech or poplar, and give it with
> several coats of water based polyurethane. I find it smells less than
> oil based products, and I suspect it has less to leach into the must or
> wine, 'though it probably doesn't matter. The sealant goes on before
> attaching to the hoops, giving special attention to the end grain.
>
> Many years ago I slapped a basket together in a hurry from cheap pine
> 1x2 furring strips, uncoated. It never caused a problem, and is still
> going strong for a friend. I believe sanitation & drying & storage are
> more important than how, or even _if_ the wood is coated. Do be wary of
> crevices though; they're hard to clean.
>
> --
If you're in a hurry to seal a press boil parafin wax and coat the surface
with the wax.

"Rob" > wrote in message
m...
> My the basket on my fruit press is rather crappy wood. This winter I
> am going to replace it.
>
> For very little cost I can replace the staves (or whatever the wood
> parts of the basket are called) with much better quality oak with a
> decent finish. It dawned on me that by simply making the basket a few
> inches taller I could increase the press volume somewhat. I have the
> clearance on the ratchet mechanism to handle a few more inches of
> basket height. This is a ten gallon press if that makes a difference.
>
> Is there any good reason to NOT do this? I understand it would make
> pressing smaller volumes a little harder.

I can't think of any good reason not to do that. Just make sure that the
bands end up the same distance apart as they are now and the same distance
from the baseplate. IOW, all the extra length should be at the _top_ of the
press.

Tom S