If I knew cheesemaking was so rewarding I would have started a long time ago. The following is a photo journey of my first attempt at cheddar. Recipes have been researched, all the ingredients ordered, the test press has been built (see cheese press ). I should have build the final press out of hardwood but could not wait to try this.
Start with heating the milk. Once it is up to 85F add in the the calcium chloride and mesophilic culture, stir and let ripen for 45 minutes.
Add in the rennet. I used 1/2 tablet vegetable rennet in 1/4 cup of room temp distilled water. Gently stir in, cover and let sit for around 1 hour. You should see a clean break of the curd when you run something ( in my case the thermometer ) through and out of the mixture.
Using a knife or metal spatula cut the curd into cubes. I found the easiest way was to cut vertical lines in 1 direction, then vertical lines across the ones just cut, and finally recut, following the cut lines but at 45 degrees to vertical.
After letting the curds settle for 5 minutes slowly start to heat the curds to 100F. This should take around 1/2 hour. Stir the curds gently while heating so they do not stick together. I did not stir continuously, just occasionally. There was no cheese setting on the digital thermometer but it works wonderfully for giving me the temperature.
After the temperature has made it to 100F, maintain the temperature and stir occasionally for 30 minutes. Then allow to settle for 5 minutes before transferring the curd to a strainer. Allow the curd mass to set for 15 minutes in the strainer. I saved the whey and used it to make ricotta but that is another post.
Now for the cheddaring process. Take the curds out of the strainer and cut into slices. Stack them back in the pot and maintain at 100F for 2 hours turning the slices every 15 minutes. To keep the temperature I just stood the pot in a sink that was filled with water at approximately 100F.
After two hours cut the slices into cubes, put back in the pot in the 100F water. Cover and leave for 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. 
Take the cubes and put into a mold lined with cheesecloth.
Press at 10 pounds for 15 minutes. For this I have a water jug with 2.5 lbs at the 24 inch mark of the press. The vertical part of the press pushing down on the cheese is at 6 inches so the weight there will be 10 poundsSee the whey running out as it is pressed.
Remove from the press, rewrap the cheese flipping it over and press at 50 pounds for 24 hours.
Let the cheese air for around 3 days until it is dry to the touch. While it is drying flip the cheese once or twice a day.
Wax the cheese and age at 55F for a minimum of 3 months for a mild cheddar.
