I still wanna know more about what they did with the press cakes. In Dwarf Fortress you can get some mean biscuits out of your §olive press cakes§
this post was submitted on 22 May 2025
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how often do you think they got bored and started having gay sex with the olive oil as lube
The hinge point in behind the olive stack. You can see that there's a bundle of sticks tied to the support there holding the log in place. The other end with the rock and pulley had a guy twisting a log in order to wind and shorten the rope attached the the rock. This causes the rock to pull down on that end, creating pressure on the olive stack as the other end of the log is anchored.
I'm guessing the tree is mostly a guide but the Y of the tree also provides a stop.
Is that Y-shaped tree trunk meant to be there? It seems to me like it's just getting in the way of the press operating
Engineer here. I'm guessing the Y-shaped log acts as a support to hold the lever-log while the olive sack stack is removed for refilling. I'd guess two or three guys lift the log while someone pulls the stack out, and then they rest it on the Y so that they don't have to lift it from ground level each time.
And to answer some other questions from the thread: it may be useful to have the pulley attached to the boulder instead of the groubd so that they only ever apply a known force to the olives during the squishing phase. Otherwise, they could compress the olives until the skins squeeze through or the sacks burst. Once the rock begins to lift, the press is complete.
I'm not sure it would work very well as a rest to make removing the bag easier, since the press would be at its maximum depression while resting on the trunk. You could release sone length of rope to reduce the force, but if the weight of the log is a significant obstacle to lift then you do still need to lift it to get the bag out. It would probably be better to remove much more of one of the two branches so that you can press down beyond the junction, release the rope to the wright, then raise it and push it sideways just a little to keep it elevated above the bag
That said, I do think it being a limit on the amount of vertical travel the lever has to prevent bursting / otherwise over-pressing the bags makes sense
Looks like there is a stack of sticks above the olive baskets, so those sticks can be removed or added as the pressing continues. When pressing is finished, if all the sticks are removed, then the lever can rest on the tree and be clear of the olive baskets. It would switch from a class 2 to a class 1 lever, and the stone would be lifting the lever end up and out of the way.
Same question. It looks like a fulcrum, which would pull pressure off the press.
However, maybe the illustration is just misleading, and it's a guide to stabilize horizontal movement of the lever, and the beam is only touching the sides. It could also be functioning as a limiter, a stop to prevent too much pressure damaging the press, or breaking the beam.
I think it's not a fulcrum, and only looks like one in the drawing.
(Not an engineer, either)
You've interpreted it the same way I did at first. I went looking for real historical examples and the hinge point should actually be at the end of the log that's on our left, which makes a lot more sense mechanically. I have to assume that Eheran's suggestion that it's only a horizontal guide and doesn't impede the vertical travel of the lever is correct
Without it, it would/could just fall off the otherwise tiny support. It has no other function, only touches the log at the sides.
I think you must be right. I have no better ideas, anyway
It supports the beam to allow more or less pressure to be applied to the press, I think.
... I think. I'm not, uh, very mechanically inclined.
I also fail to understand how such press might work, the counterweight seems to be working against the press purpose.
The hinge point should be at the end of the log on our left, not where the Y shaped trunk is. If you assume the Y shaped trunk doesn’t obstruct the vertical movement until after the point you want to move it to, that then works as a press
What do you mean? What counter weight even? The big block on the right where the man is, is the actual weight that causes the press to compress the olives.
That’s what I meant, the boulder is already at ground level so is not serving any purpose, the rope could be tied directly to the ground and it will have the same effect regarding the exerted force. It seems thy the guy is the one exerting force by mean of the trunk-pulley thing but it seems that a winch mechanism of some short would be better suited.
No idea, not an expert and maybe I’m not understanding it properly, it just looks counterintuitive to me.
The guy next to the boulder is rotating a log coiled in a rope. That forces the short log closer to the boulder, pulling the large lever down. It's levers on levers on levers. The whole system is quite clever.
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