Easy plans for a compressed earth block machine?

[Sparticle]

Even though we've decided to put in a temporary floor in my MIL's house, we still need to keep going in looking for a compressed earth hand press or have one built.

All the ones I've seen look really complicated and would be expensive to fabricate. There should be free plans somewhere on this link (though I have yet to find them), but the machine looks like over kill to me for our needs:

http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/CE...itle=CEB_Press

Then there is this one these people built with $50 plans:
http://www.windward.org/notes/notes67/walt6720.htm

Really I just want something small, with a wooden base, a metal form and actual pressing device. Something manual. I'm digging through the mother earth news CD now and online. I don't mind the manual labor.

Someone mentioned using a car bottle jack, but I'd need to see plans on how someone did that even if it was written in chicken scratch.

So if anyone knows of a cheap, simple and easy to make brick press, please share. Thanks.

[Cyngbaeld]

You can buy a hydraulic press. Different prices of course, from around $100 to several thousand. You'd just have to fabricate your box.

After you are done building you could use it to make a cider press, cheese press, or tincture press if you got one that would hold up to use.

[Sparticle]

I got an email from the neighbor that is trying to help telling me our other neighbor has a hydraulic press. I need to go look at it to see if I can figure that out. But tincture press, you've got me thinking. I have a good tincture press and a good apple cider press. Same basic mechanism, just different sizes. Hadn't thought about building something like that!

[houndlover]

I was thinking hydraulic press. My husband bought one at harbor freight for less than $100.

[calliemoonbeam]

I've never even thought of this before, lol, but started searching the internet and found out it's a very interesting concept! I didn't have time to search any more right now, but this is a document discussing methods used in the past and shows some drawings of presses that people have made. It's not much, but might give you some ideas or at least somewhere to start. I found it after seeing a reference to a "Mold Master" by Howard Scoggins.

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=...row48ylw&pli=1

Good luck!

[Sparticle]

Thanks Callie, looking at the link now. Of course I could just make molds and tamp with a stick. That's pretty simple ;-)

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by Sparticle

Thanks Callie, looking at the link now. Of course I could just make molds and tamp with a stick. That's pretty simple ;-)

Use a gasoline powered press: make four molds and park your car on top of them for the night. Almost as simple, with less tamping!

[jwal10]

Keep it simple, mud bricks don't need much pressure or any at all. Make a 4 section mold the size you want the floor bricks and make 4 at a time. I made mine 4" thick by 8"x12". , I used boiled linseed. Look at Utube under -making mud bricks- Very easy process. After they are layed, finish as you want....James

[Old John]

THe CINVA Ram has always intrigued me. It is simple & can be operated easily by one person. turning out good blocks each time.......Uh, according to what I have read.

http://kubuildingtech.org/ngore/nilsweb/cinvablocks/

Never tried it myself. Always bought ready built homes.

[Sparticle]

I've been reading about the CINVA ram for the last few weeks. Looks easy to operate, but doesn't look easy to build at all. I had an idea in bed this morning how to make an easy press, but like jwal10 says, it might be just as easy to make them without a press.