Learn from your mistake and stop buying cheap tools. That bent press just cost you more than a decent used one would have. Buy a solid used Park or shop press once and be done with it.

You mentioned the pressure was spiking 50 PSI over spec. Was that just a bad valve, or do you think the old way of doing it by feel was actually letting a lot of small problems slip through?

But is it really that bad every time? I've seen plenty of oak trees look sick from a dry summer or a bad bug year, then bounce back the next spring. Sometimes these warnings feel over the top, like we're told to panic and cut things down right away. Maybe some stands can fight it off, or it just moves slower than they say. I'd want to see it with my own eyes before I believed one fungus could wipe out a whole group of mature trees.

Yeah, that "basic, trusted material" idea makes you wonder if new stuff is even worth the risk.

Totally get that feeling of a happy accident. Some of my best bakes came from forgetting a dough in the fridge for days. It's cool how the rules aren't always set in stone.