In anticipation of this years harvest, I've invested in a new tool to punch
down my cap ....
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...,44813&p=45712
I selected item F with the wooden handle ... and although it is a twice the
price of my big stainles steel spoon... it is built as beautifully as it
looks - seriously heavy duty,

what do you use?

Steve

steve wrote:
> In anticipation of this years harvest, I've invested in a new tool to punch
> down my cap ....
> http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...,44813&p=45712
> I selected item F with the wooden handle ... and although it is a twice the
> price of my big stainles steel spoon... it is built as beautifully as it
> looks - seriously heavy duty,
>
> what do you use?
>
> Steve
>
>


I have a mash paddle (beer) that looks like a small boat oar.
It is made of Stainless Steel.

It works great for stirring a beer mash.

Not so good to punch the cap down.

I don't see how one of these shovels could be very good.
If you push down, they cut through the cap.

If you could bend the shovel so it is flat, it would be better to punch
the cap down.

How big a container are you using? A potato masher or a drywall mud
mixer are all I use but my quantities are small, 6 gallon pails. This
would be overkill for me. I do break the cap up.

Joe


steve wrote:
> In anticipation of this years harvest, I've invested in a new tool to punch
> down my cap ....
> http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...,44813&p=45712
> I selected item F with the wooden handle ... and although it is a twice the
> price of my big stainles steel spoon... it is built as beautifully as it
> looks - seriously heavy duty,
>
> what do you use?
>
> Steve

I use my hands in my 15 gal primary's. There is nothing like sticking my
arms down almost to my chest through the cap, down into my wine and at the
same time crushing the grapes that are still whole with my hands and feeling
them squeeze out between my fingers. Whew - just describing it gets me
excited! ;o)

But then there is nothing like having the right took for the job and if that
shovel is stainless steel it is probably a good buy. Even if you could do
without it, so what! I have lots of tools that are more useful to show
others that I have them than for actual use. It's a man thing! We have
hang-ups. Learn to live with them.

Ray

"steve" > wrote in message
...
> In anticipation of this years harvest, I've invested in a new tool to
> punch
> down my cap ....
> http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...,44813&p=45712
> I selected item F with the wooden handle ... and although it is a twice
> the
> price of my big stainles steel spoon... it is built as beautifully as it
> looks - seriously heavy duty,
>
> what do you use?
>
> Steve
>
>