Apple Press Restoration

Jak3

New User
Jacob
I've had this 150 year old cider press for a few years now. (PP MAST and Co BUCKEYE JUNIOR improved 1866) After about 4 years of getting into woodworking and restoring my own tools I gained enough skills to take on this restoration. I've been working on it on and off ,not consistently, since October of 2019. I've taken it all apart and am remaking the wooden parts in White Oak. Reusing the old hardware. All the joinery is marked with a knife and square lines cut by chisel and mallet BUT I often remove most of the waste with power tools on the dados or mortises on this project. I've still got a lot to do but this is where it's at right now. I've restored and painted some of the cast iron parts. I am trying to get all the wood parts done before tackling all the rest of the hardware. Most of the gearing and shafts are wedged together so it will prove difficult to clean. I've re-designed some of the press to maximize wood to wood contact so as not to rely only on fasteners to hold it together.

I'm currently working on the tray the barrels sit on I've laminated some oak for the bottom and now I'll make a rim around it and dove tail the corners. I milled up some stock for this today, letting it rest before planing to 3/4".

Some parts of the press that won't contact the cider will be sand blasted and restored with real japanning. (asphaltum, boiled linseed oil, turpentine). I'll have some questions coming up about a few things here soon so I hope y'all on the forum can help me out. This was pretty much completely inspired by Wranglerstar's youtube series about the same thing. I pretty much got into woodworking thanks to Wranglerstar.

Thanks for reading. Jacob

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creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
Very nice project. I'm interested in the japanning. Post some pictures and keep us informed on how that goes. I assume you will be mixing the ingredients and doing that yourself?
 

Jak3

New User
Jacob
Very nice project. I'm interested in the japanning. Post some pictures and keep us informed on how that goes. I assume you will be mixing the ingredients and doing that yourself?
Yes I've got all the ingredients and will be following Hand Tool Rescue's instructions like in his youtube video on the subject. I've got an old oven I'm going to move into the shop for the task. After I get some more woodwork done, I will focus on the metal refinishing. I will have to mix it and practice on a few pieces of scrap. Trials will hopefully take place in the next week or two.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
The original press doesn't look too bad at first look.

That's an interesting project. Those white oak pieces are pretty thick and hefty. What is the purpose of japanning these days when rust resistant paints are readily available?

Are you going to make cider this fall with 15 bushels of apples?
 

NOTW

Notw
Senior User
This kind of project looks like a ton of fun, just not sure what I would do with the apple press once completed. Do you plan on keeping it and making your own cider or is it decoration only?
 

Jak3

New User
Jacob
The original press doesn't look too bad at first look.

That's an interesting project. Those white oak pieces are pretty thick and hefty. What is the purpose of japanning these days when rust resistant paints are readily available?

Are you going to make cider this fall with 15 bushels of apples?
The original press wasn’t that bad but the ends of the legs had pretty much seen it. And the metal needed cleaning anyway. It’s definitely going to be used this fall if it’s completed.
As for japanning for fun and for the sake of having a traditional finish.
 

Jak3

New User
Jacob
This kind of project looks like a ton of fun, just not sure what I would do with the apple press once completed. Do you plan on keeping it and making your own cider or is it decoration only?
This fall it will hopefully be ready to use and the Family will get together to have some fun.
 

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