Treat the wood on DIY press?

[Ajmassa]

I'll be investing in a press over the summer but still have yet to decide what type or size. In the meantime I'm just doing a quick easy and cheap bucket in a bucket style method for 50 pounds of grapes.
Cutting a circular piece of plywood to fit in the bucket to evenly distribute the pressure. Does this 3/4" ply need to be treated or can I keep it bare?
Also has anyone else had success with this method?

 

[Boatboy24]

Wouldn't the bottom of the bucket distribute the pressure?

 

[Ajmassa]

Yes! Apologies. I wrote that quickly, describing my original Diy press idea with a car jack that I've disregarded.
Still using wood though. The lip on the outside rim of the buckets keep them a 3" from the bottom when stacking. I figured a couple pieces of plywood cut would close that gap in half.

Or would the thickness of the grape skins be bigger than 3"?

 

[Boatboy24]

Or would the thickness of the grape skins be bigger than 3"?

How many pounds of grapes to start? Most likely, you're fine.

 

[Ajmassa]

Just 54lbs. I mentioned in 1st post.
And you're right. I'm overthinking it. I also didn't intend to press too hard since those skins will be going directly from press to new juice pale batch. Thanks man

 

[JohnT]

I guess the fear is two-fold. Is the glue used in the plywood food safe? Is the wood itself safe/clean if kept untreated?

I am not sure of the answers, but if it were me, I would treat the wood with a number of coats of EZ-DO. This is a food safe polyurethane that I use on my press....