When making an apple grinder for crushing apples, you will probably want to serrate or at least sharpen the teeth on your grinder. A lot of homemade apple press grinders are nothing more than the wood core with screws drilled about three-quarters of the way into the wood. If you are more of the metal working type you can cut strips of aluminum or stainless steel and bend them upright at a 90 degree angle. You can them carve out teeth on the part of the strip that is perpendicular to the wood base. I will post a picture below to help explain. The point is to carve out teeth that are as sharp as possible to create the finest mash as possible.
Advertisement
I have built/assembled my own cider grinder (a 1 HP stainless steel garbage disposal with a stainless steel sink as a “hopper”) and a press (12 Ton hydraulic [bottle jack-powered] with a custom Oak basin to collect the cider.
I first quarter the apples as the grinder would grind up the bitter apple seeds and give a un-wanted taste to the cider. The hydraulic press is giving me an estimated 15-20% higher yield of cider juice than the ratchet-style press that I first used in cider making. Photos and notes of the construction of these cider milling machines are posted on flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31423823@N08/
I would be interested in sharing cider experiences with other cider makers. I press my cider at our vacation home by Lake Chelan.
Hi Carl, building My own grinder and press is on my long term “to do” list. I have a small orchard of trees and a garden that is made for cider and wine. Some questions that I have are – What type of apples are You grinding? Where is Lake Chelan?
I want to build a grinder similar to the one You described. How long does it take You to make cider and what size batch? I plan on eventually making 100 gallons. I like Your engineering style. Is this hard cider? Love to hear from You .