Cider Press Work Table #DIY

Last fall, we took a weekend getaway to Lake Chelan in Eastern Washington. We pressed apples to make the most delicious apple cider in the entire world. Read about it here.

I was inspired to find a way to share that experience with our friends and family. My husband found an antique cider press on Ebay, but since the parts for the ancient cider presses are hard to find and expensive, we ended up with one and a half presses. Hopefully, we'll be able to cobble enough pieces together to make both work.

When you press apples to make cider, there is a process. Wash the apples, chop them into quarters and press them. I wanted to make a work table that would allow us to do all three of these things systematically.

I happened to have an "extra" workbench laying around (thanks dad!) I somewhat unskillfully used a skillsaw to cut a flowerpot-sized hole. I placed two pressure-treated 4x4 scraps and two pressure treated 2x6 scraps under the cleaned flower pot to make the "sink." The pot has a hole in it, with a hose fragment the drains away from our work space. I'll use a garden hose and sprayer to act as our faucet.

To the left of the sink is a little tile area for cutting the apples. I didn't secure them to the work table, just nailed a couple 1x2 trim pieces down to keep them square.

On the left side of the table, we can put our press. The press is made of cast iron, so we store it indoors and carry it outside to use it.

The bottom shelf can hold cut apples, or juice containers during the cider press party.

I made the little, wooden flags just for fun.