Which is best? A spindle press or a cross beam press?

At Wineworks we are often asked to explain the difference between the two styles of press so here are a few of the things we discuss:

The first and biggest point is the spindle press is considerable cheaper so you can get so much more capacity for your money.
You can also get far more leverage on turning down onto the pressed fruit. It’s much easier to tighten the top as it’s at right angles to the press (however you won’t need to over tighten).
The mechanism at the top stops the ratchet turning back on its self which helps at the final stage of tightening.
The Spindle Press was the original design which has been used by the French and Italians for generations in making wine.
The basket will open up into two half moon sections (held together by 4 pins) which makes it really easy to clean. We recommend a quick wash with a jet hose.

With having the swing away top the whole basket can be filled without the spindle interfering with the fruit (especially useful when the fruit is in a straining bag).
No need to use the packing blocks if the basket is only half full.
No need to have the tightening mechanism protruding above the basket.
The bottom plate is not painted as it's cast aluminium (it does not need to be as it wont react to the acidity of the fruit).
There are no painted parts that come into contact with the pressed juice.
It is possible for the top to swing away and the crusher can then be left sitting on the top of the wooden frame. We can then press the fruit directly into the basket of the press and then remove the crusher. All we then have to do is swing the top of the press back into position and start the pressing process. Brilliant if it’s a one man job. In reality we do tend to find that this is not such an advantage as it is nearly always the case that there are two of us, one is doing the pressing and one doing the crushing.
The basket will open up into two half moon sections (held together by 4 pins) which makes it really easy to clean. We recommend a quick wash with a jet hose.
We don’t sell any larger Cross Beam Presses than 20 litre. We believe there is too much pressure put on the plate with it having such a large surface area and that if you are looking for over this capacity you should look at the 30 or 45 litre Spindle Presses.