What device should I use for pressing/fermenting I regularly make a Japanese side dish of fermented cabbage that's simply pressed down for a day and salted. I'd just jury rigged something up, but it finally broke so now I'm looking to see if there is an actual device I can buy. I'd like to steer clear of plastics too.

The device needs to apply a good amount of pressure and I'd like to make the pressed cabbage in large amounts, but it doesn't have to be huge (say enough for a single cabbage).
In Asian style ferments where the juices are discarded you can omit the weights completely. My kimchi process looks something like this:


Salt and massage cabbage in mixing bowl. Let sit for an hour.
Massage again and let sit for an hour or longer.
At this point the cabbage has pretty much given up all its juices and is ready to be drained and rinsed.
Rub the cabbage with your seasonings and stuff into hermetic jars.


A hermetic jar such as this, combined with the steps above provide a consistently vigorous and healthy fermentation, without the cost of the German stuff. 
http://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Italian-Hermetic-Recycled-Canning/dp/B001QYMMSW

Weights serve a number of purposes, many of which are negated when using a hermetic or airlocked fermenter and pre-sweating your vegetables.