Help identifying press.

[Glenn Shumate]

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 finish my red oak with 5 coats of polyurethane. The first 2 coats are thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits so it soaks deep into the wood. I make sure the drilled holes are soaked as well. Sand between each coat and let dry completely. I use stainless steel bolts and nylock nuts for assembly and a very very small amount of clear silicone on each side of the red oak where the carriage bolt is inserted to seal the hole. The result is the wine never soaks into the wood so there's no concern about rot. I've seen commercial baskets with wine soaked stains at the bottom and all around the bolt holes. They probably wont rot, but it sure looks unsightly.
Here's a picture of my homemade crusher/destemer that I made out of pine about 20 years ago and finished the way I described above. No stains, no rot.