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Here is how the top of my grape press twists as I pull the car jack downwards (marked blue). I was wondering if adding another bracket (marked purple) on each side would solve the twist issue. Thanks!

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I have attempted putting such plates but made of just 1" plywood. Here they are in the image below. It made little to no difference.I think those steel plates, four of them, nicely bolted like such, could solve this problem. But where do I get the solid steel, who is going to cut and drill it for me... It might be a bit of a challenge, or maybe i can find something pre-made at the hardware store.

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I would put plates at the corners, bolted where I've indicated (or choose your own spots -- just make it adequate, and think about how the wood is going to "want" to split when pressure is applied). You should be able to use 1/8" thick plain steel, and bolt them on with the same-sized bolts as are on your current brackets.

I would leave the current ones off -- you can already see that they've bent up at the corners. I suspect that the top beam of your press was originally flush with the tops of the posts; it looks like it's gone up at least 1/4" because of bendy brackets.

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  • $\begingroup$ sounds like a fair deal. Edited question. Thanks! $\endgroup$ – kellogs Sep 27 '19 at 21:00
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    $\begingroup$ (Answering here to keep the discussion somewhat in line) Re: your question about where to get plates: if you can't fabricate them, try a welding shop. Your plywood plates may have worked if you'd used bolts, rather than the pictured screws, but I can't say for sure. $\endgroup$ – TimWescott Sep 27 '19 at 22:34

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