Frustrated: my book press frame cracked in the middle of a project yesterday

I was pressing a 400-page novel I'd been working on for weeks, and right when I got the pressure just right, the top wooden beam split right down the middle. Had to be around 10 PM in my garage in Portland, and I didn't have a backup press. Anyone else had a press fail on them? What did you replace it with that actually holds up?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucast8117d agoTop Commenter

Wonder what kind of wood you were using... was it an expensive hardwood or just pine from a big box store?

troychen17d ago

Depends on what you mean by "expensive." Some guys will call walnut expensive but I've found decent bundles at lumber yards that aren't that bad. The real question is what difference does it make at the end of the day? People act like you need some exotic hardwood from a rainforest to make a cutting board that works. Pine splits and dents easy though, that I'll admit. But honestly I've seen people overthink wood choice like they're building a violin instead of a slab you chop onions on.

jenny19815d ago

My uncle once spent 3 weeks making a cutting board out of zebrawood he special ordered. Looked gorgeous on his counter until his wife chopped a sweet potato on it and it split right down the middle. He still uses that cheap pine board from Home Depot instead.