Homemade Apple Grinders

Apple grinders have changed in design over the years but the function remains the same.

Fresh apple cider is a treat that is associated with the fall season. However, to get the cider it is necessary to grind apples so that the juice can be pressed out. Apple grinders are not as easy to come by as they were in years past. So generally, an apple grinder needs to be built in order to continue this old tradition.

Things You'll Need

• Scroll saw
• 8 x 8-inch block of oak
• 7/8-inch wood boring bit
• Drill
• C clamp
• Wood glue
• 1-inch wood screws
• 7/9-inch dowel
• Rubber mallet
• Circular saw
• 3/4-inch plywood
• 1 1/2-inch wood screws
• 2-2 x 4 pieces of lumber
• 3-inch wood screws

Instructions

1. Using a scroll saw, cut four cylinder pieces from oak, 2-inches thick by 7-inches in diameter.

2. Measure the exact middle on each cut oak cylinder and mark the location. Use a 7/8-inch wood-boring bit to drill a hole into the center of each cylinder.

3. Stack the four cylinders on top of each other and clamp together with a C-clamp. Insert the 7/8-inch wood-boring bit through the center of the stacked cylinders to ensure the hole is lined up through all of the cylinders.

4. Remove the C-clamp and spread wood glue over the flat side of one cylinder and press another cylinder on top of the glue. Repeat spreading the glue until all four cylinders are glued together. Replace the C-clamp, wipe away any glue that has squeezed to the surface between the cylinders, and allow the glue to dry overnight.

5. Remove the C-clamps once the glue is dry and insert 1-inch wood screws randomly across the surface of the cylinder. Leave the top 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the screw above the surface of the cylinder.

6. Cut two blocs of oak from 4 x 6 wood that is 8-inches long. Using the 7/8-inch wood-boring bit, bore a hole into the center of each block.

7. Insert an 7/8-inch oak dowel that is 24-inches long through the hole of one block, through the hole of the prepared cylinder, and the hole on the other block, it may need to be tapped through with a rubber mallet. Push the dowel through the far side until 1 inch of the dowel is exposed on the opposite side. Drill a wood screw through the middle of the dowel 1/2 inch from the end of the dowel.

8. Cut another piece of 7/8-inch dowel that is 1-foot long and secure to the end of the cylinder dowel with a wood screw through the side of the foot-long dowel and into the end of the cylinder dowel.

9. Use a circular saw to cut two pieces of 3/4-inch plywood that is 16 x 12 inches and two pieces of 3/4-inch plywood that is 8 x 12 inches.

10. Attach the 16-inch long pieces of plywood to the long sides of the grinder with 11/2-inch wood screws that are inserted into the ends of the cylinder support boards. Attach the 8-inch pieces of plywood to the sides of the cylinder base boards with 1 1/2-inch wood screws.

11. Turn the apple grinder over and secure a 2 x 4 to the bottom of the long sides of the grinder. Use 3-inch wood screws to secure the boards to the bottom of the grinder.

12. Positioned on top of a bucket or between sawhorses for grinding.

Tips & Warnings

• Take care to bore the hole straight and that each hole is exactly in the middle of the cylinder.

• Be sure to leave the heads of the screws exposed since they are what will grind the apples.

• Take care when attaching the base not to cover the grinder opening where the ground apples will come out.

• When grinding apples do not reach into the grinder. Serious injury could occur.

References

• Wood Gears: Making Apple Cider
• Sentex: Building an Apple Grinder