Traditional types of wood used on making cider press

[Mike Jenkins]

Can anyone give me an idea on the traditional types of wood used on making a rack and cloth cider press I ve heard elm mentioned were different types used in different parts of the frame bed racks etc to use the best qualities of the wood thanks

[Mike Rose]

I used Baltic Birch — recommended in Claude's book — and would also recommend it. 

I used 18mm (3/4") and it's very strong and wasn't too expensive. Just make sure you get the real deal. It should have many thin layers, not the typical Home Depot plywood. It also takes stain and gel coating very well.

I have a parts list and plans online if you're interested in seeing them.

[Tim]

Douglas fir will suffice for the frame work but always use oak for the tray.

 

Attached image of the last one I built.

 

Tim in Dorset

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[Thomas Fehige]

Traditional, I don't know. Criteria for the old ones could be, in Europe, including UK:

- availability: in the mountains they'd use conifers like spruce, fir or pine; other places, where they have them, they'd use ash or oak, beech, maybe maple.

- mechanic properties, i.e. strength: the uprights are less critical, the crossbeams top and bottom preferably ash or oak, other woods would have to be proportionally thicker, cf. Claude's book.

- resilience against rot: European oak would be the winner here, or larch, if you can get it in a big enough diameter and without knots or similar. Ash and beech are much more prone to fungi infections; maple I'm not sure.

Cheers -- Thomas

[Claude Jolicoeur]

The woods you will use will depend in part on where you live...
Here in Canada, maple is quite common (this is maple syrup country here) and a very solid wood, excellent for making crossbeams for example.

You will want highest strength for the crossbeams as Thomas pointed previously. Hence a dense hard wood without knots.
Keep in mind that the wood strength is somewhat proportional to its density - the heavier it is, the stronger it will be. Coniferous wood is usually lighter and not as strong.

Mike mentioned Baltic Birch - this is a plywood, good for making the racks, but I wouldn't use it for making the crossbeams.

Claude

[Chris Hurley]

At Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts USA, their press has massive oak screws.  I don't know what the frame is made of.
here is a picture of the monster.
http://www.historytrekkershoppe.com/FineArtPrints-1/8x10/i-SGKmfnf/0/L/Old%20Sturbridge%20Village%20Photos%2052-L.jpg

I'm building a much smaller press (20" free width) and using hickory for the cross beams, and have a maple slab for the tray.
Is oak more hygenic?
-Chris H. Woburn Massachusetts, USA

[Thomas Fehige]

and have a maple slab for the tray.
Is oak more hygenic?

(European) oak has rather coarse pores. If you seal them with some kind of food-safe varnish, you're OK, otherwise they'll collect all kind of dust and stickyness and things will grow in them. Although not many, because of the high tannin in oak, which makes it very rot resistant. BTW, with oak, only ever use the heartwood, which has the tannins and the rot resistance. Every bit of sapwood is very soft and will rot away in not time.

Maple has hardly any pores at all. Over here, it is traditionally used for table and counter tops in pubs and inns. With its smooth surface it is easily cleaned. It is not quite as rot resistant as oak, but if your tray has no hidden crevices where it can't dry out properly, and is stored in a dry, airy place when not in use, that won't be a problem.

I'm not sure, though, if there are differences between the maple and oak woods this and your side of the Atlantic. As there are several different species of oak and maple, there may well be.

Cheers -- Thomas

[Tim]

I can assure you none of the timber used on a traditional English cider press would have been sealed, I certainly have never used anything especially on theOak tray.

 

Probably best you all stick to your stainless steel.

 

Tim in Dorset

 

From: cider-w...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cider-w...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Thomas Fehige

Sent: 12 February 2016 09:42
To: Cider Workshop

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[Dick Dunn]

On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 01:41:45AM -0800, Thomas Fehige wrote:
...(on species)...

> I'm not sure, though, if there are differences between the maple and oak
> woods this and your side of the Atlantic. As there are several different
> species of oak and maple, there may well be.

White oak over here would normally be Quercus alba, which is what you'd
want.
There's a lot of red oak in our lumber/building supply stores. It is
entirely unsuitable.
(And I have no useful knowledge of maple species here, sorry.)
--
Dick Dunn rc...@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA

[Claude Jolicoeur]

Le vendredi 12 février 2016 18:13:55 UTC-5, Dick a écrit :

There's a lot of red oak in our lumber/building supply stores.  It is
entirely unsuitable.

Dick, what is the problem with red oak?
I find it is a fine and solid wood.
Claude

[Dick Dunn]

1. It is not at all rot-resistant; it is only suitable for interior use.
2. Some types contribute a smell described charitably as "cat urine".
3. It is open-grained, but in quite a different way from what Thomas
described of white oak: It's what's called "ring porous". If you get
liquid in at any end-grain opening, it travels quickly (a cm in a few
minutes).

This is all written down somewhere, but I've proved all three for myself as
well through ignorance. And...
(3) means that unless the wood is perfectly sealed, (1) takes over.
(2) is sort of "received wisdom" except that I had to learn it myself
before I found it in writing.

[Richard Anderson]

I am sort of like Tim on this one, being under the romantic idea that traditional untreated wood presses provides shelter for the highly desired wild yeast from season to season. FYI, my equipment is stainless and use commercial yeast.

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[Claude Jolicoeur]

Le vendredi 12 février 2016 20:27:00 UTC-5, Dick a écrit :

1.  It is not at all rot-resistant; it is only suitable for interior use.
2.  Some types contribute a smell described charitably as "cat urine".
3.  It is open-grained, but in quite a different way from what Thomas
described of white oak:  It's what's called "ring porous".  If you get
liquid in at any end-grain opening, it travels quickly (a cm in a few
minutes).

I wasn't at all aware of this. Here in Quebec City, red oak is the only species of oak that grows naturally, and it has been used a lot for furniture and other wood work. There is some natural white oak south of Montreal, but it is quite warmer over there.
In the old days, there has been a lot of ship building here in Quebec, and I always thought red oak had been used for this purpose. However googling red oak in shipbuilding tells me it is not recommended for the same reasons Dick mentioned...

Claude

[luis.ga...@gmail.com]

Bur oak (quercus macrocarpa) and swomp white oak (quercus bicolor) anso grow in southern Quebec. However, they are pretty hard to find in timber store and I don't if they could be suited for a cider press or any other food/culinary process.

Louis