Turn-of-the-Century Whitman's Americus Senior Cider Press

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I plucked this old Whitman's Americus Senior cider press out of one of the barns on my in-laws' farm in Illinois a few years ago. I'm not sure how old it is, but latest patent date on the casting says 1887. But it could be as new as the 1920's. I fully disassembled it, cleaned it up, repainted, and replaced some rotted wood. I have no idea what the original color was supposed to be, but decided to paint it Farmall red with black accents. I think it turned out pretty sharp. After a couple of uses, the 4x6 white oak uprights exploded under the enormous tension from the screw press. So I replaced those last year and am looking forward to pressing again this fall.
 

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Thanks Bob. I have a couple of apple trees. The big crate of apples was a freebie from a family member who has orchards on the west side of Michigan. Regarding the lettering, I painted the whole thing red to begin with (after priming), then used a foam brush to lightly reverse-stamp the black paint onto the raised areas. It was super easy and I'll be using that technique again. I put on two coats of the black and it worked out great.
 
My name is Jim we have had a identical press in our family for over 40 years. However my father loaned it out to a friend who destroyed it. My brother and I want to rebuild it however we have no wood dimensions or blue prints. We were wondering if you have any or if their is anyway we could see yours so that we could use its measurements as a guide. Especially since I have been unable to find them on the internet. my email is hutchekjm@aol.com

Thanks for your time

SIncerly,

Jim Hutchek
 
Please note, the original post is over 5 years old. While it is likely to get responses, we would prefer you start a new topic.

Thanks,
Dennis
 
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