Homemade Plastic Racks
From Ukcider
Hi folks. There has been interest in making your own Pressing Racks shown in discussions on the ukcider email group, so I thought it was about time I got off my backside and shared how I made my racks from machining food-grade High Density Polypropylene (HDPP) sheet.
Remember: This is not the only way to do it - this is just the way I decided to do it and if it helps some cidernauts out there in ciderspace, then great.
Apologies first! Lots of people have contacted me asking where I sourced the sheet plastic. Unfortunately, due to advancing years and "senior moments" I have no idea now where I got the plastic sheet from... All I remember is that I searched the net, got a list of phone numbers and then started dialling, and playing one off against the other. Also keep in mind that I purchased the plastic late in 2005 and plastics prices have risen considerably since then.
As well as HDPP sheet, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) sheet is suitable. Just ensure it's food-grade to be on the safe side. It may help to ask for a material that would be suitable as a cutting-board for food-stuffs, as HDPP and HDPE are used for these tasks, coloured or not. Check with your supplier. I used 12mm thick sheet, but looking back 10mm or less would have sufficed - and been cheaper.
Supplier of HDPP and HDPE sheet
I've received an email from a guy called Doug at plastim who have a place in the UK, pointing out that they manufacture, stock and machine HDPP and HDPE sheets, as well as a range of other plastics. No idea on prices or anything, but may be worth checking out?
Advantages: Well apart from being much cheaper, these plastic racks are almost indestructible (wouldn't go so far as to say "bomb proof" but you get the idea!). They are 100% resistant to rot and moulds (unlike wooden racks); they are very easy to clean (unlike wooden racks); can be washed in very hot, soapy water, even bleach without damage and without contaminating them (unlike wooden racks); they can be blasted with a high-pressure washer (hot or otherwise) without any damage (unlike wooden racks); they dry very quickly (unlike wooden racks); they can be stored anywhere (out of direct sunlight); mice, rats and insects find them not-to-their-tastes (unlike wooden racks); they are very tough and hard to crack or break (unlike wooden racks); there are no joints or rivets (unlike wooden racks); and finally there are no other materials or metals involved (unlike wooden racks). Do you sense a tad of over-kill here? :-)
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Here's the finished racks being used. I sourced some 12mm white food-grade HDPP by searching t'interweb and finding a firm not too far away, who stocked what I wanted, at a reasonable price, and were prepared to deliver - again, at a reasonable price... Not that I am tight or anything... :-)
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I worked out that I needed about 7 racks in total, each measuring 450mm x 450mm to suit my Homemade_Cider_Press so from this worked out the total sheet size required and checked out prices. The firm I selected were willing to supply the HDPP sheet to a useful size from stock - I'm sure if I'd asked, they would have cut it into the sizes I wanted. Including delivery and VAT, the total cost in 2005 came to around (GB)£67.00 - in other words, less than £10 per rack, a considerable saving on the ready made ones!
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The sheet was cut into 450mm x 450mm blanks and I was then ready to begin cutting the grooves. After some discussion about milling and routing and cutter- and feed-speeds on the ukcider email group, I plumped for machining the grooves on a circular saw. I had tested the only router I had access to, but could not get a suitable clean cut.
The circular saw had a blade with a 4mm cut (!) so to get the requisite width for the grooves was going to take some fine adjusting and repeat cutting. Once the height of the saw blade had been set to give the depth of cut I wanted, the fence was carefully set to start the cut for the groove. After the first pass-through, the board was flipped over, rotated through 90 degrees and the material passed over the blade again. I had started by cutting the central groove, so the next pass through after repositioning the fence meant that two grooves on each side could be cut by rotating / flipping the board. When they had been cut, the fence was moved again farther away from the centre of the board and two further grooves cut on each side. And so on, and so on, and so on...
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The fully machined press racks were finished off with a sharp Block Plane to remove any sharp edges or snags produced by the action of the saw blade. I also put a radius onto all corners.
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As can be seen above, one board was only machined on one side to give a smooth, flat surface for the top most rack. I did this to ensure the juice did not overflow / leak out upwards and to avoid any form of dirt ingress or contamination.
You can clearly see the slight curve produced by the machining having released the tensions in the HDPP sheet which must be a result of the original moulding / extrusion.
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The racks certainly improve juice output and so have increased the efficiency of the press.
I hope this has inspired more folks to make their own press racks. Maybe it's just me, but I get a sense of satisfaction out of doing things myself. Or maybe I have masochistic tendencies...?
Any questions or queries about things that are not clear, feel free to ask on the discussion page.
Have fun, stay safe.
--Ray 12:33, 20 July 2008 (BST)
