do-it-yourself

Homemade Cheese Press

April 13, 2019 by Jason 6 Comments

I was asked recently about my cheese press and if I would be willing to show some pics and explain it. I’m always happy to ablige. This is a cheese press that I made for cheese making. I made it using all scrap materials and specifically recall, I made it over the winter in my bee mentors workshop… when I was supposed to be building beehive.

It’s rudimentary, but it gets the job done. It’s the only one I’ve ever used and I still use it today. Sure there are some quirks that I’ll explain, but with a little thought, maybe I’ll eventually figure out the clever tweaks it needs. Anyone can look around on the net and find ideas, and maybe even some plans. I refused to buy any because of the simple nature of the device. I also wanted something that I could tuck away when I wasn’t using it. Hence, the design is my own.

First, here is what it looks like when it’s collapsed and ready for storage.

The black base was a piece of scrap counter top that was cut out for the sink. This is particle board in nature, but it’s compact, and of course, has a piece of Formica laminated on the top. So far, so good, over the many years it’s been used, there’s no sign of de-lamination yet. However, the acid from the draining whey has discolored and stained it a bit. I wanted to bottom to be durable, smooth, and sanitary since that is where the cheese mould would be sitting… on a corrugated may, of course, to allow the whey to run out from under.

From the pic above, you can see that I have a hinge holding on a 2×4 that can be tipped up when it’s time to use it. The block under the 2×4 is simply for stability. Another critical piece is the wire coat hanger that goes from the top of the 2×4 back down to the front of the base. This is critical to hold things steady as we swap out various weights during use. You can see this in the next pic.

Wire coat hanger that hold the column steady.

Next, are the lever arm and the plunger. Both were made out of some scrap walnut that I had laying around. The shapes are my own. I just drew some sketches and based them off many of the presses I have seen on the internet. I knew what the press would have to do. Sometimes, based on the height of the cheese mould, the plunger may need to be adjusted up or down because we’ll always need the lever positioned in a way that we can hang various weights off it based on the amount of weight we need. As you can see, both are simply held together using some bolts I had laying around.

Here is the press fully assembled. When I use it, I hang the front edge over the side of the sink on my counter. It let’s the whey drip into the sink and I can leave the press set up for as long as it’s needed.

Now, the quirks… or should I say quirk. There’s only one. We need to adjust the amount of weight that we are pressing with. Typically, you start low, say 5 or 10 pounds of weight, for 30 mins to an hour, then increase to maybe 20 pounds for an hour, then 50 pounds for 2 hours, 75 pounds for 5 hours, and then maybe even 100 pounds, etc. Different cheese have different weights and times. The idea is that when you press low, you are allowing the proper amount of whey to escape from around the curds. If we pressed with too much weight too soon, then we actually trap whey inside. The whey is acidic and it develops the cheese in different ways. The right amount of whey need to be evacuated at the proper rate so that acidity is properly managed. That said, I use my bathroom scale under the plunger and then I add weight with whatever I have laying around to get it there. It used to range from a dutch oven hanging on the lever with stuff in it, to my more modern approach of using real bench weights. Also, weight can be adjusted simply by where you position the weights on the lever arm. So, a 5lb weight could actually weight more when it’s moved out to the furthest end of the lever arm. Notice the blue rubber band on the lever arm. That simply holds whatever I have on the arm from slipping in the even the arm is angled downward slightly. If it’s too far downward, then I can adjust the plunger lower by selecting a higher hole on the plunger arm.

Checking the weight using my bathroom scale.

So that’s it. I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and maybe even hear about the press you made. I’m sure this could be improved upon. Who knows, I may one day buy a real cheese press but as long as this one keeps doing what it does, there’s no need. I do love upcycling and any excuse to re-use the stuff that I tend to squirrel away for the right need.

LG gas dryer DLG2302R is not Heating

April 1, 2019 by Jason 9 Comments

If your LG gas dryer is not heating and you’re pulling out your last hair trying to figure out what in the actual F is going on, then this post is for you. It’s my hope this may help the next poor soul who’s trying to troubleshoot this issue without having to go through what I did… or incur the expenses of a “qualified technician.”

Let’s start with some symptoms. We bought the washer and dryer set used and they have been pretty solid up until recently. On occasion, my wife would tell me she’d detect a faint smell of natural gas. Other times, she’ll say it took more than on cycle to get the clothes dry. This all while we’ve been diligent on emptying the lint trap and keep the vent and ductwork clear.

One day, the dryer just stopped heating all together so I was finally forced to dig in to see what was happening. Anyone can google and find what is typically the common causes. The common causes are usually when one or more of the following parts fail. I have lettered them for easy ID.

(E) LG 6323EL2001B Thermistor Dryer, $6-10
(C) LG 6931EL3003C High Limit Thermostat, $9-10 (notice the reset button)
(B) LG 6931EL3003D Thermal Fuse Dryer – Burner Tube, $9-12

When you read about no heat, or poor heating problems online, everyone agrees that the above parts are all cheap enough to replace ALL while you are in there. This also fixes about 90% of the problems people have. Alas, it was not the case for me.

What is strange is that there is also an extra thermal fuse in this particular LG model that isn’t documented in the manual, nor in the parts schematics that I found online. It’s a fuse located exactly next to the thermistor on the blower housing before it gets to the burner tube.

I was finally able to track this part down as. Refer again to diagram above.

(D) Samsung DC47-00016A Dryer Thermostat Assembly – It’s cheap, ranging from $3 to $6.

I replaced it, and still, NO DICE!

So, now what? Back to reading, and huffing and puffing about the thought of having to buy a new dryer. The next things to consider were the flame sensor and the ignitor. I pulled both of these out and tested with my meter. BOTH WERE FINE! These parts are also not too terrible to replace, but I was pretty confident they were OK. I can watch the ignitor glow upon start up, and since the flame sensor checked out OK, I moved on.

The next part to look at was the gas valve. Most gas dryers have gas valves with two coils. One or both of these coils can go bad over time and often, they can both be replaced individually for around $12-25 each. For this particular gas dryer, however, the coils are built on to the valve and the entire gas valve needs to be replaced. Of course. Refer again to diagram above and image below.

(A) LG 5221EL2002A Gas Valve Assembly Dryer, part #: 5221EL2002A – $115-120

I thought this had to be it! And before anyone thinks I didn’t get out the multi-meter and test it out, I did. Even more discouraging, it checked out fine. I was thinking, what. in. the. F? When you do an ohms test on smaller components like thermostats, thermistor and fuses, the resistance falls into the lower ranges and many meters have an audible sound. However, when you test the coils on a gas valve, the resistance is much higher. There should be ohms in the range of 500-3000. This is not enough to trip the audible sounds on most meters. Both of the coils on my gas valve looked like they were burnt up though… so, I decided to risk it. If it worked, I thought it was better than having to buy a new dryer. So I ordered it up, and had the dryer apart ready to get it in when it arrived. I put it all back together and anxiously kicked it on.

….aaaand, NO! It still didn’t work! The igniter was glowing, but the gas valve was still not opening. With everything else checking out, I was beginning to lose hope. My wife, sharing my frustration decides to get on the net and google along with me. Anyone who thinks their woman has nothing to offer in this scenario needs to take a breath and sit down for a moment. She was reading in some forum where someone (who seemed reasonably qualified) said something to the extent of… “This particular LG dryer has a history of the coils on the gas valve taking out the main control (PCB) board.” At first, I was like… oh, great, let’s plan on buying a new dryer. But after looking it over and keeping an open mind, I found the control board for like $125 on Amazon. Reading more… someone said, “they sealed up the entire board in silicone. There’s no testing or troubleshooting it, and with the pricing of like $140 to replace the board, it suggests they just decided to skimp on this and make it so that someone can reasonably replace the board at some point.”

LG EBR36858802 Dryer Main PCB Assembly, – $120-160

Whooo-hoo! Let’s piss another one in the wind. With no way to test the board, I ordered another one, and it was in fact, very easy to replace. I shouldn’t forget to mention that there are videos on the net that show how to tear down the dryer and replace all the parts I have mentioned… and let’s give a hand for www.appliancepartspros.com because they have made most of the videos. I have bought many parts from them for past appliances as well.

After buying the board, I was going to be in the hole for like a total of $250. I reasoned that it was still better than paying a repairman or buying a new dryer entirely. I got the board, put it in, and it fired right up! I was happy as can be.

To conclude, one may be thinking that I replaced the gas valve unnecessarily, but it does appear that the bad coil(s) on the valve did fry out the controller board. So, I didn’t buy the gas valve in vain. I promptly tossed the old gas valve in the garbage along with the controller. Make sure that if you isolate the fact that the coils on your otherwise working gas valve did take out the controller… that you do not replace the controller and re-use the old valve. Otherwise, you’ll be heading for the next heartache.

Well, that’s all here. If this helped you out, comment below to let me know, and good luck!

Bee Hive Christmas Ornaments

December 24, 2015 by Jason 12 Comments

Beehive Christmas Ornaments are a seasonal favorite. They have been so popular, we find them going faster than we can produce them. We were out of stock for the 2021 Christmas season, and we offer our apologies for that. We’re working hard to produce them in time for the 2022 Christmas season. We hope to have them ready to order by Thanksgiving.

They have flat lids just like the original Langstroth style bee hive.

Christmas Ornaments
$12 + shipping

Visit our online store here and grab some honey and candles while your’re at it.

As much as I’d like to claim the original idea, I cannot. I was at my beekeepers Christmas party around 2016 and a member came in with pieces that he said he made 5 years prior. They were just cut pieces of pine, un-assembled, and unpainted. They were single deep box Langstroth bee hive Christmas ornaments. Each had a bottom board, a deep box, and a garden-style lid. He allowed members to take them and assemble them at home. Of course, I took one and immediately thought of all the changes I wanted to make to it.

First, was some additional boxes… more deeps, or mediums? Definitely one more box. I experimented with a number of boxes, 3-deeps, a deep and two mediums, but finally settled on one deep and one medium. Then, I also experimented with the finish… did I want shiny and new, or worn and rugged? I entertained wood-burning and added the nails on the corners of the boxes. Then last, I burned in the date and a Christmas message on the bottom of each.

In this fast-paced world where everything is mass-produced and disposable, it’s nice to have something that can be seen and appreciated each year. Rarely lost, ornaments get packed away with the Christmas stuff, only to be pulled out and appreciated for a while the next year. The beehives strike a chord with beekeepers, but also are appropriate as gifts from a beekeeper.

I keep no secrets here… the process I used to replicate these was simple if you have a workshop and some basic tools. Here is the process I used, and I’m sure anyone could make improvements to make these their own.

I started with a simple 2×4 and ripped it down the center to have two equal halves. I cut my cubes off of that… and struck lines and filed them out to make it appear as two boxes stacked on top of each other. I also ripped the roof material from another 2×4 into the triangle shape. It helps to have a table saw whose table can be adjusted at an angle to cut these pieces. For the bottom board, just as you might suspect… another long strip about 1/4″ thick. Basically, all the pieces were cut into lengths. That’s the hard part. Then, you will make cross cuts to cut off each individual hive body, roof, and bottom board.

The bottom board was a little more involved… at least, my approach was. I used a stationary router with a flat bit and made up a make-shift jig to allowed me to stick the wood in, and route out the small notch for the front of the hive. Because these pieces are so small, I routed each piece individually while still connected to the length of wood… stuck it in the router to take out the notch… and then ripped the piece off individually. I went back to the router to make the next notch, then ripped that piece off again. I repeated the process here for each piece. One could maybe use a Dremel (that would render a cruder cut, but may add to the character of the ornament).

See the pics below. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have… and, Merry Christmas!

2×4 ripped down the center, then blocks cut out

Experimenting on how I wanted to stylize the blocks.

Blocks cut. Almost didn’t want to paint. I did use a wood burner for a few.

A cylindrical dremel tool bit at an agle was used to make the handles.

Playing with paint. I did not like the grooves and handles painted.

The typical hive I replicated for family and friends.

Set up Honeybee Observation Hive

June 20, 2015 by Jason Leave a Comment

I’ve been wanting to set up a very portable observation hive for a few years. To date, I have borrowed them from fellow beekeepers to do bee education presentations for various groups. Since I didn’t want to wear out my welcome with the generous people who have loaned them to me, I finally have one ready to add bees to.

After seeing, and using various styles of observation hives, I settled on the style I found best for what I am doing. This style stacks two deep frames and two medium frames inside a case which I think is the perfect cross-section of a typical Langstroth hive. There’s little place for the queen to hide once I take the covers off. Some fold-away feet turn on central pivots on the bottom to make a stand while it’s off the dock.

A simple piece of tin slides under the front door in some grooves to block the entrance coming in from the bottom-center before un-docking the hive. Both this piece of tin, and the doors are fastened with screws so no one can open it while it out in the public.

When the feet are turned out, they will be clamped to the table for extra stability. There are multiple vents on the top, and two sides to allow good air circulation. Two blinds, one for each side were made out of foam insulation, that I’ll plan to paint black, or add a layer of cardboard to ensure it’s dark inside while the sides are on and the hive is not in use.

Most importantly, I wanted to be able to park the observation hive at home, and let the bees reside in it all season. Being able to rob out an occasional frame of brood, or honey to bolster another hive while keeping the observation hive from swarming is an added benefit.

Of course, parking the hive outside, I also want to keep it out of the direct elements so it doesn’t wear out so fast. The solution for me was to build a dock off the front of my south-facing chicken coop. The overhang from the roof above comes out far enough to keep most of the rain off it, but yet it still gets plenty of sun to help thwart hive beetles.

For the dock, I wanted to emulate the typical landing board of a langstroth hive. This allows any bees that were out and about before I closed it off and took it to congregate until the hive returns. The idea would be, returning the hive to its position at the end of the day would allow the bees that have gathered, or bearded on the landing board to find their way into the hive.

The observation hive sits on top of the dock and a 1.5″ PVC pipe comes out of the dock and into the bottom center of the observation hive. You would sit the hive on the pvc pipe, then a pair of handles on the top of the hive engage with some latches at the top. This holds the hive in place on the dock (see pictures in gallery).

I took the liberty of making the entrance travel off to one side so that I could stand in front of the hive and latch/unlatch it when I’m docking it. Straight to the other side of the dock is an area that accommodates a feeder jar if needed. It’s screened off with #8 hardware cloth and can be left open without a jar. So, the bees come into the entrance on the left, travel through PVC that has been roughed up on the inside (for traction). They can choose to go up and into the hive, or straight to the feeder area. The feeder area is located well away from the entrance and the entrance hole has been left a reasonably small size. See the pictures in the gallery for more detail.

I think it will work very well and we’ll just see. I hope I give someone else some ideas or encouragement to finally build the observation hive they have been thinking of. See a video of the virgin queen tearing down a another capped queen cell with some other worker bees below the pictures.

What are some of your thoughts on the ideal observation hive?

Build your own tub-style chicken plucker

June 19, 2015 by Jason 2 Comments

This post is not really how to build your own plucker at home… there are plans for that out there everywhere. Just google “whiz-bang chicken plucker” and you’ll find all the info you need. This is just the story of how I built mine. The fact is, I didn’t use any plans other than finding the specifications for the feather-plate and handing it to a friend to build it. Once I had the feather-plate, it was just a matter of scrounging materials to build the rest of the machine around it.

As I mentioned, I had a friend make the feather-plate. This was the most challenging part, and one I wasn’t capable of doing myself. However, I have seen a number of other crafty solutions on the net where people had used wood, and even the bottom part of the tub after they had cut it out for the body of the plucker. My friend, crafted this for me over the winter and delivered it to me around Christmas. Now, after I got it, I identified a few issues that needed to be fixed. For that, I called my brother-in-law who runs a machine shop. He was able to make the tweaks I needed. From there, I bought the rubber fingers, the bearings, the pulleys and the other electrical components that I wanted to. I even plumbed it up for automatic water. When I go to use it, I just roll it out, plug it in and hook up the garden hose.

If you think about it, the machine is a simple idea… and minding some craftsmanship, it came together like a song. There’s a few minor adjustments we’ll make before using it again, but it worked great on its maiden trial on 23 chickens.