How to make a juice press with your own hands

Most people try to preserve the entire crop by making juice from the extra fruit. However, household juicers are slow and will have to work for a very long time due to their low throughput capacity. Therefore, it is recommended to make a do-it-yourself juice press. Plus, it's much easier than it might seem at first.

Design options

All juice press models have some common elements:

1. Frame. The barrel, drives and all other parts are attached to it. It is usually made of thick, sturdy metal, as it must support the weight of the entire structure (plus the fruit). Additional beams can be welded at the bottom of the frame to create a cross. This will make the frame more stable.
2. Drum-shaped mesh. The grate just at the bottom will not fit, since the fruits will diverge under pressure in all directions. The mesh is mounted over the entire inner surface of the structure. Moreover, it must be very durable. Therefore, a drum from a washing machine is often used, and the grate is also made of wooden blocks.
3. A barrel with a tap at the bottom. Actually, the body of the juicer itself, where the mesh should be installed. The barrel must be strong (made of metal). There should be a tap at the bottom, preferably with a handle with which it can be closed and opened.
4. Pressure mechanism and cover. The drum grate is placed in a barrel, fruits are poured inside (preferably in a bag), and everything is covered with a lid on top, which plays the role of a piston. A mechanism is mounted on the cover, which will push it down. In the auger device, the screw takes over this function.

The devices that create pressure in the tank can be different:

1. Mechanical. A hole is made in the upper crossbar of the frame with a screw thread inside. A screw piston is inserted into this hole. At the bottom, it is attached to the lid, and a crossbar handle is mounted on top. A person needs to screw the piston himself with a handle. The design is extremely simple, but requires physical effort.
2. Hydraulic. A system where an instrument is placed between the cover and the upper frame beam and uses the force of a fluid to create pressure. Such an apparatus in homemade juice presses is often a jack. The latter can be manual or electric.
3. Pneumatic. In this case, energy is transferred using air, not liquid. However, often the same jack acts as a mechanism, but already of a pneumatic design. The drive can also be electrical and mechanical.

You can also distinguish the types of presses by the type of device that transfers pressure from the power plant to the fruits:

1. Press with a piston that goes up and down in a cylinder. The fruits are placed in a container, and the piston presses from above. This type of device is the most common and popular due to the simplicity of the design, the low cost of all its components.
2. Auger. In this case, the press is more like a meat grinder. Usually this type is not used by summer residents, since it is almost impossible to create it with your own hands. First, you need a large auger that is difficult to find. Secondly, such devices require an electric drive, which also complicates and increases the cost of the design.

Necessary tools and materials to make a juice press

To work, you will need the following tools:

• circular saw for metal;
• ordinary saw (if the grate is made of wood);
• planks, wooden planks, stainless steel sheets;
• corners;
• hammer;
• bolts;
• nuts;
• spanners;
• welding machine;
• pliers;
• nippers;
• polypropylene sugar bag.

The following press materials will be needed:

• metal beams for the frame;
• wooden bars or steel strong tubes;
• screws, bolts, nuts;
• a metal tank, preferably made of stainless steel, but an iron one is also possible;
• tap with opening handle;
• jack or threaded screw.

Manufacturing of main parts

Let's look at the main elements of the press and how they can be done.

Frame

You need to take metal beams and weld a rectangular frame from them. But at the same time, it is necessary to make sure that the tank fits freely inside, and there is also free space between it and the upper beam. At the bottom, small blocks can be welded perpendicular to the frame to make a cross, thanks to which the structure will become stable.

An approximate drawing is shown above, but the actual dimensions must be taken based on the dimensions of the tank and those beams that are available.

It is recommended to make everything from iron to make the structure as strong as possible, but wood can also be used.

Tank

Desirable but optional subassembly. It is made of stainless steel. If ordinary steel or cast iron is used, then the inside must be covered with an anti-corrosion coating. A round tank is needed, so the load will be evenly distributed.

Approximate dimensions: half a meter in height and 30-40 cm in diameter. But in general, the tank that is available is taken. Of course, there should be no chips, holes, rust or mold on it. A hole for the tap is made at the bottom.

Pallet

If there is no tank, then you can make an open press for juice, without walls. But this will require a pallet that will collect the juice. It is usually taken from a simple large flower pot. This choice, although cheap, is not practical, since this material is easily pricked and difficult to process. It is better to make a metal tray from a basin. Or weld it from stainless steel sheets. At the bottom you need to make a hole for the tap.

Crane

Better to find a tank with a tap at the bottom. But if there is no such capacity, then it must be welded. First you need to buy the actual crane itself. Then find a tube for its diameter and make a thread on it, and then weld it to the tank.

The cut screw part is wrapped with double-sided thin adhesive tape. This will keep the faucet tighter and the tightness will be higher.

Then they put the crane itself. It must necessarily have a shut-off valve so that the flow of juice can be stopped so that it does not spill when not needed.

Lattice

The inner drum from a washing machine is best suited as a grid. But if it is not there, then you can make a lattice from wooden bars. They should be at least 2 cm thick, as they will have to withstand heavy loads.

Particleboard must not be used, as it gives off sawdust, resins and other harmful elements.

To create the wall, take two flexible stainless steel strips of the same length as the circumference of the tank. You will also need bars half a meter high, 2 cm thick and wide, as well as self-tapping screws with a coating against corrosion. The boards are arranged in a row so that there is a gap of 1 cm between them. The bars are fastened into a single flexible canvas using two stainless steel strips and self-tapping screws.

A "raft" is hammered together to create the lid and bottom. Between the bars that are on the same plane, the distance should be half a centimeter. First, the lattice is hammered together, and then a circle of the required diameter is cut out of it.

Filters

It is best to use a polypropylene sugar bag as a filter. You can use linen, polyester or polyester. But the latter often break quickly, and the canvas will experience heavy loads.

Structural load-bearing element

There are several types of juice presses, each with its own power element.

Press with jack

The easiest way in the press is to use a jack. Moreover, it is not necessary to mount it there forever.In addition, an apparatus designed for 3-5 tons is sufficient. Hydraulic and pneumatic instruments will do.

The illustration above shows a construction using a jack. There are wood gratings inside the frame. In this case, the scheme is applied without using a tank, but with a pallet at the bottom. The jack is placed on the board and rests against the upper frame beam. The photo below shows a similar design live.

Screw Press

If a person did not manage to get a jack, then he can make a screw press for juice with his own hands. The screw will require a long iron beam. In addition, it is necessary to apply a thread to it and make an appropriate nut, which then will need to be welded to the frame. So a turner will be required, so mechanisms with a jack are preferable.

The nut is welded to the hole in the top of the frame. The screw is pushed through it. In its upper part, you need to make two identical handles lying in the same plane, opposite each other. This is required so that they balance each other during rotation and do not create vibrations on the screw.

Of course, the screw does not need to be firmly attached to the cover. But you can make a hollow in it, in which the lower end of the screw will stand securely.

Screw press

The difficulty in making a screw juicer lies precisely in the screw itself. This part must have axial symmetry, its blades must also have a uniform height. In this case, it is desirable that the knives have the same angle of inclination along the entire length of the screw. At the same time, since the auger will have a decent mass, it is difficult to turn it manually. Therefore, an electric motor is also required.

Above is an example of the device for a screw press for juice. At the back is an electric motor that drives the propeller. In the center is the cylinder, where the auger is located, and the loading hopper is attached to it from above. The front of the cylinder has a lot of holes through which juice comes out. It falls on the tray, through which it flows into the container. The implementation of the press according to this scheme is shown in the photo below.

How to make a juice press

Consider two design options: mechanical screw and hydraulic with a piston.

Mechanical screw press

First of all, you need to make a lattice. For this, a sheet of stainless steel is taken 1.2-1.5 meters long, half a meter high and a couple of millimeters thick. Holes with a diameter of 5 mm are made in it in a checkerboard pattern. The distance between the holes is 2 cm.

Next, you need to roll the sheet into a low, grounded cylinder. It is necessary to wind one side after the other, as shown in the photo below, and then weld them together.

Further, according to the same scheme, you need to make a tank (already without holes), which will slightly exceed the lattice in diameter. The tank does not have to be made with the bottom. Its task can be performed by an ordinary metal pallet. Then an iron frame is made to fit the tank.

A hole is made at the top of the frame. A suitable nut is welded to it, into which the screw is inserted.

Next, the whole structure is assembled.

At the end, you can apply anti-corrosion paint.

Hydraulic Juice Press

Let's consider a more complex design of a manual juice press with a built-in grinding device. It is useful for processing large, hard fruits (eg apples).

First you need to find a tank or make a cylinder with a pallet.

For it you need to make a lid and a bottom. They are assembled from wooden beams, about 2 cm thick. They are laid in two planes with a lattice with an interval of 0.5-1 cm between the boards.

Further, the bars are attached to each other using self-tapping screws.

Then a circle of the required diameter is cut out of this blank. The bottom is made flush with the tank so that the drainage wall can be placed on it. But the lid, on the contrary, should enter the lattice freely, so its radius is made less by 2.2-2.5 cm. Several of them need to be made (2-3 pieces).One covers the entire structure from above, others must be placed between the bags (they will become intermediate).

A circle is cut with a circular saw.

The drainage grate is also made of beams. Between the planks, a gap of 0.5-1 cm is needed. The bars themselves must be thick enough (2 cm), since they will be subjected to stress. All planks are connected by two stainless steel strips.

A wooden lattice is placed at the bottom.

Wooden grate at the bottom.

Next, a drainage wall is placed.

From above, the entire structure should be covered with a lid.

Next, the metal frame is welded according to the above recommendations.

A cross is welded to the lower part, which will make the structure more stable.

To attach the crusher with a motor to the main frame, an additional pair of plates are attached (perpendicular to each other).

Shaft with knives is best made of stainless steel. They are fixed at the bottom of the crusher.

The system is assembled so that both shafts are at the bottom. It's safer and prettier that way.

An old tie rod is fitted to the belt tensioner. The finished crusher consists of a 220 V motor, a transmission shaft, a working container and blades inside.

The tank is placed inside the frame and the hole in the crusher is made so that it goes straight into the tank. The photo below shows a fully finished juice press.

We put a bag of fruit inside, cover with a lid, put a jack on it and gradually increase the pressure. However, you will need more wooden blocks, as the level of the cover will go down a lot.

Wooden juice press

The following materials are required for the press:

• on the frame - 3 boards measuring 40 * 100 mm and 3 meters long;
• to fasten these bars, you will need a threaded rod 14 mm wide and 1 meter long;
• also to create a frame you need 8 nuts 14 mm wide;
• for pallets, 5 rails with a section of 20 * 40 mm and a length of 3 meters are required;
• a piece of plywood with an area of ​​30 * 30 cm is required for the table;
• as a tray, you can use a baking sheet in which you make a hole for juice;
• a jack is needed to create pressure. Enough for a weak model for 1-2 tons;
• to squeeze the juice, you will need a dense, durable fabric: coarse calico, linen, polypropylene.

To begin with, you can cut all the blanks to the desired size.

Large boards for the frame must be cut into the following blocks:

• two of them: 950, 650, 650, 650 mm;
• one: 950, 950, 300, 300, 300 and 200 mm.

The pallet will consist of 12 slats, which are stacked crosswise. Therefore, 5 narrow boards are divided into segments of 30 cm in length. In total, 50 slats will be obtained (12 per pallet, of which 4 pieces).

The threaded stud is divided into 4 pieces of 25 cm.

To assemble the frame, you need to carefully drive the strips onto the threaded rod sections. So that there are no traces of blows on the boards, you must either use a mallet, or put a piece of wood under an ordinary hammer.

In this case, it is extremely important to make all corners of the frame 90^aboutso that the structure does not loosen. Finally, tighten the studs with nuts.

A table is screwed to the bottom of the frame, on which the pallet will be located.

We attach a short block to the upper part of the frame, against which the jack will rest. A round metal heel rest can be made in the center to prevent the jack from leaving marks on the wood.

Next, you need to make an element on which the jack is placed.

The pallets are assembled on stainless steel screws, as they will be constantly in the juice.

Additionally, you can make a frame for apples wrapped in a filter cloth.

Wooden parts that will be in direct contact with the juice must be made of a material that does not give off odor. Therefore, any conifers are not suitable.

Metal parts must be coated with an anti-corrosion coating. Better to cover with silver dust.

How to use the press

Before work, all fruits are washed and cleaned of rotten parts. Before pressing, they are poured into polypropylene or other strong bags.Make sure there are no holes in it beforehand. This filter is needed to retain the pulp so that only juice is released. A bag of fruits or berries is thrown into the tank.

Before work, the inner surface of the tank, sump, grate, lid and other elements are cleaned and washed. It is advisable to treat them with an antiseptic (chlorhexidine, alcohol, something else). The latter is necessary so that pathogenic bacteria do not get into the juice.

In the process, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the bag, whether there is a threat of rupture. Watch for a gradual increase in pressure, do not increase it too quickly. At the end, there should be dry cake.

DIY juice press - video