Help identifying press.

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Glenn Shumate

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Hi, I had the good fortune to move next to an old couple that I befriended with some of my homemade Cabernet and as a result ended up with all their wine making equipment. Of course I paid them for it and provided them with wine until they went into a nursing home. I've seen quite a few presses through the years but none like the one I bought from them. Can anyone help me find out more about the manufacturer? I can't find anything on the internet.
 

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Yes it is Built Tough, it's solid steel and like I said I've never seen one like it. Even the plate that sits on top of the grapes is 5/8 inch steel with two steel handles on each side and a pocket in the center for the screw post. Unbelievably tough. But no information and the company that made it.
 
I wouldn't worry about who made it. If it still works clean it up sanitize it and put it to work. IF you did identify the company they are probably out of business or won't/can't provide any support.

It looks great though

Maybe someone who has studied wine making in the US might be able to identify the company. There are lots of "Grand Avenues" out there but at least that's a start, Along with that name.
 
The fact that there is a name and address that's part of the casting suggests the press may have been made by someone that worked in a foundry. It looks like a nice old press.
 
If you want to clean it up nice and neat the easiest way would be to get it sand-blasted to clean off all the oxidation.

You could soak it in white vinegar (Excellent at loosening Rust) but then you'd be sort of just daring that vinegar bacteria to infect your next batch and You'd still have brush off the rust even if the vinegar loosened the rust for you.

The wood parts should sanitize easily enough so you wouldn't have to do anything to them other than dissasemble it.

BUT if it's already working for you as it seems to be...
 
I wouldn't worry about who made it. If it still works clean it up sanitize it and put it to work. IF you did identify the company they are probably out of business or won't/can't provide any support.

Iv'e been using it since 1995 so there's nothing wrong with it. I would just like to find out a little about it's history. Seems strange that there is nothing like it or about it on the internet.
 
20190909_180717.jpg
If you want to clean it up nice and neat the easiest way would be to get it sand-blasted to clean off all the oxidation.

The wood parts should sanitize easily enough so you wouldn't have to do anything to them other than dissasemble it.

BUT if it's already working for you as it seems to be...

The picture I posted of the entire press is prior to removing the rust from the lower section and treating it with Loctite Rust Neutralizer, and this year I rebuilt the wooden basket. It's resting on a wood platform in the attached picture.
 
Interesting, I'll have to pursue that lead. Thanks.

I assume it is not really relevant...

I actually spent some time sniffing around the internet for a possible clue. Can you tell us where you are located? (Obviously, the press may have migrated over the years, but still may be useful to know.) And is that first word "Jime" or "Jim"? It looks like there was an "E" there, but it was defaced or something.

Of all the "1146 W Grand Aves." I looked at, the one in Chicago looked like the most industrial location, FWIW.
 
I assume it is not really relevant...

I actually spent some time sniffing around the internet for a possible clue. Can you tell us where you are located? (Obviously, the press may have migrated over the years, but still may be useful to know.) And is that first word "Jime" or "Jim"? It looks like there was an "E" there, but it was defaced or something.

Of all the "1146 W Grand Aves." I looked at, the one in Chicago looked like the most industrial location, FWIW.

I live in the SW suburbs of Chicago and the press came from an old gentleman neighbor that lived behind me so I assumed that it was made in Chicago because of the 1146 W Grand Ave address. But Google shows that there are numerous Cities with the same address so who knows.
And your right about the E after Jim being removed so apparently it originally read Jime and the guy who set up the cast was drunk or didn't know how to spell Jim and Jim ground out the E. BTW I belive this is ductile iron, not cast iron.
 
WOW on your rebuild - That new basket is beautiful !!

Yes, a rust neutralizer should do the job. For the past year or two I've been cleaning a bunch of old hand tool my Father-in-law collected. (anyone need a hammer?) A lot of hand auger bits wrenches (including some antique one with the Classic Ford ensignia) All that to say that White vinegar does a great job of dissolving or loosening rust but again I'd be real leary about using it around wine making equipment. As long as you get the bulk of the rust off and neutralze the rest olf the rust on the metal you have won the battle.

Let the juices flow!
 
WOW on your rebuild - That new basket is beautiful !!

Yes, a rust neutralizer should do the job. For the past year or two I've been cleaning a bunch of old hand tool my Father-in-law collected. (anyone need a hammer?) A lot of hand auger bits wrenches (including some antique one with the Classic Ford ensignia) All that to say that White vinegar does a great job of dissolving or loosening rust but again I'd be real leary about using it around wine making equipment. As long as you get the bulk of the rust off and neutralze the rest olf the rust on the metal you have won the battle.

Let the juices flow!

Thanks for the compliment! It was a labor of love (of wine making) :)

I didn't use the rust neutraliozer on anything above or in the collection pan as I didn't want to take a chance on introducing any unwanted chemicals into the wine. From the pan up its in really good shape.
 
Good thinking about avoiding leaching of chemicals from any coatings. Those parts, if needed could be sand blasted and coated with the thinnest possible coating of mineral oil and of course wiping it off as much as possible. For my little press I actually cut an old frisbee to put on the bottom side of the press plate to keep the factory applied lubricate away from the fruit/mesh bag.
 
I'm sure it is some type of ductile iron but it still goes through a casting process.
 
I'm sure it is some type of ductile iron but it still goes through a casting process.

Yes, cast ductile for flexibility. Some year's ago I had the privilege of reviewing the casting process at Waukesha foundry for Navistar and my contact drew a simple but effective illustration to show the difference between gray iron and ductile which I never forgot. Under a microscope grey looks like corn flakes and ductile looks like coco puffs. He said the corn flake effect is what makes grey iron stiff but brittle. Suitable for engine blocks but not for wine presses.
 
For lasting use w/o rot white oak is the more common and first choice wood.Red oak and other strong woods will perform ok strength wise but will rot in use.
I happen to be a lifelong wood worker with a serious wood stash which includes osage orange, aka hedgewood. It is the longer last wood of them all and what my baskets are made from! I use a white oak circle as my press board not a steel plate. I did learn that some press bags are not up to their job and don't take the pressure of the acme threaded press. I use a 2x2 oak board ~ 4' long to run my screw down.
My double basket cider press is for sale & when I get a chance to clean it up I'll post pictures. It's best possible new home is a commercial apple orchard who would use it for fall demonstrations, not to make production money. The frame is all white oak and it new but was a 5th generation press when I first restored it. My baskets have the original iron hoops which I sand blasted then primered and painted using epoxy coatings as was the apple grinder also redone. It's freshly restored the 2nd time since I've owned it and given my age it needs a new home. While basically new it is grungy on the surface from barn dry storage. I used SS screws to hold the stakes in the baskets. These presses were made many places back when cider was common on farms in early America. PM me if you have interest, it's large, heavy and in E KY area.
 

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