I'm so blessed that I found your outstanding channel... I do slot of restorations and whatever you use on the wood- make sure it isn't "new"! Lol. One tip I think you might like is after you sand or bead blast hardware that will "show", run it on the wire-wheel at 1750 rpm (slow) that will shine it up nicely! Then wipe it down with shellac! Nothing beats shellac! (100 year old tip) Thanks again!
Hi Cody, my family has a cottage in rural Michigan, which is famous for its apples. We too have a yearly cider making tradition, and our wooden press is treated with nothing but vegetable oil. It is enough to preserve the wood, and prevent the cider from impregnating the wood enough to stay in the fibers long enough to turn rancid. Make sure to clean and dry the unit well after use, but you will have some time as the natural acidity of the apples prevent it from turning rancid too quickly.
What a great job you've done with this apple press! I like your reasoning about the top part (the hopper?) - it's not a part that will be exposed to much pressure, so restoring the original pieces would be very nice. I understand the "barrels" and the press itself were remade, they do, afterall, have to sustain a lot of pressure. I just can't wait to see the whole thing when it's done, it's gonna be fantastic! You are just awesome, thank you very much for these videos! :)
Hello Cody, As a 'woodsman' I recommend you to oil the wood. Use a natural oil. It 'greases' the wood (btw, i think it's white oak: if you make it wet red oak will take a reddish glow, white oak a yellow/green glow). If you let the oak unfinished, it will take the sap and sugars in it, and so make many unwanted bacterias;-) LOL: You called it your 'winterproject', but winter has to come and your project is nearly done;-) Nice project! Much greetings from the Netherlands! Mark
For food grade you can use shellac or mineral spirits. Mineral spirits are used to condition cutting blocks in kitchens. A little late though (only a couple of years, lol ).
Not too late for me though! I am at the final stage of restoring an old (80 years) cider press brought to Canada from Germany. I wasn't sure about treating the wood but now I know. Thanks!
I do keep the Sabbath. God said to rest on the 7th day. We go to church on Saturday. Check you calender. Sunday is the 1st day of the week Saturday is the 7th
This is turning out very nice. Just a thought would be to measure out and draw the pieces that make up the top part for later down the road if you have to rebuild it one day. Keep up the good work and God Bless
Cutting board oil is food grade and soaks in nice with an even look. I bet once you rebuild the whole thing you'll want to do the top part as well. Thanks for sharing.
I would recommend howard butcher block conditioner, it consists of mineral oil and natural waxes. I use it on cutting boards and it seems to hold up well
Hey Cody, You might want to give some consideration to the crank wheel before welding. If it's cast iron, you may end up wrecking it. Brazing would be safer if you don't have the special high nickel rods.
People need to have some common sense. When he said " it just need to be cleaned up and painted" he was talking about the metal (cast iron) not the wood. Keep up the great work Cody.
I've seen a lot of people on here recommending butcher block oil and other "food grade" finishes, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say don't treat the barrels or the cider tray with anything. If the barrels are made out of oak, they will absorb some amount of cider but once saturated the cider will stop infiltrating the wood. The key will be to allow the barrels, the press and the tray to dry thoroughly in a well lit, preferably natural light, area to prevent mold from forming.
mineral oil and wax would definitely be the best finish for it. It's the same finish they use for cutting boards and salad bowls and the like. Also, it's very easy to refresh it, as opposed to a film finish.
One other thing, if you plan to store the cider long term, make sure to pasteurize it. Otherwise over time it will naturally ferment and turn into hard apple cider. Or, if this is your goal, then set aside the portion that you wish to ferment, and store it in 2 liter pop bottles or some other container that will hold the pressure of the off-gassing of the cider, and let it sit at room temp for a few weeks. It will naturally carbonate and make its own alcohol.
It's refreshing to see something other than all the political stuff that's dominating the inter webs. Thanks for bringing us along on this journey. Brings back so many good memories.
use a piece of clear acetate to trace the name lettering and cut out a stencil from it if you need to repaint. if the wood on the upper needs replaceing it looks in good enough shape to make a template to trace on a new piece of wood. a little buffing compond may bring the paint back but i would do it by hand because it may eat through the paint and lettering if done with a machine can get it at auto supply stores also hand glazing compound. project is looking awesome.
After talking to a few woodworkers at a local Woodcraft store, they seemed to be of the school that a good quality wood doesn't need a finish as long as it is well taken care of, and kept clean. Any hard finish will flake off with use and any oil that you apply will not provide a very durable finish. That being said, mineral oil is a good non-toxic finish used for cutting boards and salad bowls. I wouldn't use boiled lineed oil on a food contact product because of the chemical driers added.
There are a few oils you could use, drying types and non-drying types, or just wax it. Wood does not harbor bacteria in most cases. Myself, I would go raw. This is just my experience of 32 years as a painter and furniture/cabinet finisher.
Just in time for the apple festival in Portland! If you go send me a PM so I can shake your and and say thanks for all your tine you put in your videos!
The only thing I would use on anything that touches the apple is use a food grade butcherblock oil. That way you don't have to worry bout flecks of paint or stain contaminating your cider or juices from other fruits.
I simply use mineral oil for anything that comes into contact with food, but something of that size will take gallons of it. But here's the rule of thumb for application: Once a day for a week, Once a week for a month, Once a month for a year, Then after that, when the wood starts to look dry.
I use regular vegetable oil on my oak cutting board...Not sure if it will give you the look that you want. The cutting board has lasted since 1993 when I made it in high school woodshop. I suppose bees wax would work as well
I do alot of wood working and wood turning and when I make things like bowls or other kitchenware I use Salad Bowl finish by the General Finishes company. I just follow the directions on the can for a beautiful finish.A down fall to it is the price. Just look it up online. You may want to test different finishes first.
I would go with the beeswax and mineral oil or even plain beeswax finish all natural and durable you can also buy pure beeswax paste for finishing food and non-food grade finishes, it's used alot in Europe.
Parafin wax. Also, you are going to want to use a food grade paint for that cutting wheel (or maybe go with wax there too). Other users have said this, but I will repeat--I would avoid using any kind of plant based oil. All vegetable oils can encourage bacterial growth. I don't know if this true for mineral oil.
this is a good idea. we know Cody has some boiled linseed around. but be careful, most boiled linseed oil has toxic metal driers in it, these days. i'd use raw linseed or raw walnut oil with about 1/5 beeswax per volume melted in. thinking of using this on my new axe handle as well...
Go to the grocery store & get food grade mineral oil. Heat the mineral oil on low and add bees wax, the ratio is 3 (mineral oil) to 1 (bees wax). Apply liberally until the wood well not absorb anymore. Wait 15 to 20 mins & wipe the extra finish off & let it stand for 24 hrs. You need to reapply the finish the same way until the finish has developed a solid finish and won't absorb anymore finish. You shouldn't have to reapply for a long while but when you do just repeat the process.
Straight mineral oil nothing else for the wood, with oak being porous as it is you want to keep soaking the end grain of the wood. The maple press plate keep applying mineral oil till it stops absorbing it.
for the finish, ive heard you can use plain old pine tar, you can even make it yourself pretty easy, i dont know if thats really the look you want though
Very nice. It really would be great to maintain as much of the part with the name on it so that it would be more like a restoration instead of a complete rebuild.
please use a food grade mineral oil apply often on the hole press apply until it wont soak any more and that's allot every day until the wood changes darker it mite take a week or so then rub carnuba wax like its going out of stile
That hand crank handle look cast iron, If it is cast, you can’t weld it like normal steel. Actually you can weld it with mig welder at all. You will need a stick welder with special cast iron welding rods. Good luck, its looking good!
the best food grade sealer is a mix of mineral oil and beeswax. just melt the wax and add mineral oil. as far as ratios thats prolly personal preference
Wanted to add that you would use raw linseed oil not boiled. Mineral oil has about the same water resistance prop. & reapplication sched. Both would work great for this type of project.
as far as finish i have made several cutting boards and butcher block oil is a food grade finish that just rubs in and lasts pretty well not sure how it would hold up on the press.
Wooden barrels have been used for centuries to store food and drink without being treated with a finish. It may not hurt to contact a cooper/barrel maker and find out what they recommend for your press. It's way too nice a project you have, to make a mistake now. I wish you good luck.
Hate to burst your bubble but that press is not 100 years old, it's only about 30 yrs old. the company that makes them is still around and only started making them in 1984. They are Happy Valley Ranch. New ones of your model sell for $950. Good job on the restoration, keep up the good work!
I think a finish of any kind is completely unnecessary. You obviously take great care of your possessions. I think if you rinse the press thoroughly after each use, keep it in a dry well ventilated place while not in use, and keep the the newly painted cast iron hardware maintained. It will last you a very long time.
I think he meant the comment you made about the apple pullverizer thingy at 4:45 in the video about painting it. ( i assume you meant paint the fly wheel of it... )
QuenticoChris does a lot of food grade woodworking and I believe he uses lemon oil. Check out his channel for some ideas on what to do. He has some other great projects toobthat you might like.
