I wonder if a ratchet strap would be a way to apply a fair bit more force on the cheese press without having to spend much money on the setup.
You can use almost anything, just watch out for spillings and droplets, as it can quickly get things smelly. When you do high volumes, you want stuff that’s easy to clean, but as a casual dabbler, I just use whatever is easily available














It works quite well, but you might need to dig deeper than that depending on your soil conditions. If you have the time and room to dig, you should watch Tech Ingredients video on it:
“Turning a $150 AC Into a Super-Efficient Geothermal Unit!”
YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-41UF02vrU
Non YT: https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=s-41UF02vrU