lesneys bread press

I have just purchased a Lesneys (dinky car manufacture's) bread press. just wondering if there are any 'old boys' out there who could advise me how best to use it - if in need there is really a use for it any way!!:

stick a slice in it and see what happens?

The idea was to insert a suitably sized piece of bread crust with some crumb attached (unsliced loaf) into the press, crumb side up, and screw down firmly. This gave you two baits approximately a centimetre square, with a hole for the hook in each.

Once in the water, the squares would swell to sugar-cube size.

These things seem to be quite collectable now, but I had two in the '60s, both of which stopped working after the threaded screw jammed. I think they're best displayed on a shelf rather than used on the bank. They used to cost about 2/6 (12.5p), but sell now for up to £25 if the box is present and intact.

I have one of these little beauties-one of the originals in fact!

I always carry it with me but rarely use it although its an excellent tool for fishing small cubes of crust on small hooks.

What David says is correct-the crust is squashed flat which allows it to be easily pushed onto quite small hooks.The crust then swells up dramatically in water(I had always imagined that in squashing it flat under so much pressure it would not swell!)and can be fantastic for roach/dace when trotting.(16 hook to 1.5 cast for me)

In its squashed state it casts well,rarely coming off the hook!

For what it does I have never found better and would not be without it-in fact even fairly stale bread works well with it...

Hope this helps....!

thanks guys!!

Thanks for the positive response!! it is my first time on a forum - it is great to have access to such a wealth of knowledge.