Felt my back go out after using a cheap press for 6 months

My $40 book press from Amazon finally gave up on me last week when the handle snapped mid-press on a 300 page text block. Had to switch to using stacked boards and weights from my garage. Anyone else had a cheap press fail on them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakotacraig29d ago

Wait, is a snapped handle really that big of a deal? You can just glue it back on or wrap some tape around it and keep going. A press is basically just a heavy weight on top of some boards, you know?

noah_chen1729d ago

Have you actually tried fixing a cheap press handle that snapped under pressure? Because I did the whole tape-and-glue thing, and it just broke again on the next use. The metal was so thin it had stress cracks running through the whole handle. By the third time, I realized the design was the problem, not a one-time fluke.

diana_black2222d ago

Read an article last month from a woodworking blog that tested a bunch of budget press handles. They found the cheap ones had this weak spot near the weld where the metal was way thinner than it should be. The writer said it's basically a design flaw that makes them snap no matter what you try to patch up. Did you ever look into replacing it with a solid steel handle from a hardware store or just ditch that press entirely?