How to make an oak barrel. How to make a wooden barrel with your own hands: the choice of wood and stages of work. Making bottom shields and tools for this

What can be compared, for example, with a cucumber or a tomato pickled in an oak tub. And in a linden barrel, honey, apple juice are perfectly stored, you can cook kvass in it. Finally, an oak tub with a lemon or laurel tree even today will not spoil the interior of even a city apartment. Just do not find these simple products either in the store or on the market. But you can make a barrel yourself with your own hands, and although this task is not an easy one, an amateur master is quite capable of coping with it.

Rivets

First of all, you need to choose wood. Oak and pine are unsuitable for storing honey - honey darkens in an oak barrel, and smells of resin in a pine barrel. Here we need linden, aspen, plane tree. Poplar, willow, alder will also come down. But for salting, pickling or urinating, there is nothing better than oak - such a barrel will serve for more than a decade. For other needs, you can use blackberry, beech, spruce, fir, pine, cedar, larch and even birch.

Usually, the lower part of the trunk of old trees goes to riveting, it is called “riveter”. But a lover of tinkering will choose blanks from ordinary firewood, and adapt a thin trunk to the job. It is best to make riveting from raw wood. First, the chock - it should be 5-6 cm longer than the future riveting - is split in half, gently tapping the log on the butt of the ax. Each half is then again pricked into two parts, and so on, depending on the thickness of the chock (Fig. 1), in order to ultimately obtain blanks 5-10 cm wide (15 cm for sweet clover) and 2.5-3 cm thick. just try to split it radially - this will save the riveting in the future from cracking.

The chopped blanks are dried in a room with natural ventilation for at least a month. You can use a dryer to speed up the process. The dried workpiece is processed with a plow or sherhebel and a planer. First, the outer surface of the riveting is planed. At the same time, to check the curvature of the surface, a template should be prepared in advance (Fig. 2), cutting it out of a thin plank according to the finished product. Next, the side surfaces are planed, also checking their curvature according to the template.

The riveting is kadushechnaya - in which one end is wider than the other, and barrel riveting - with an extension in the middle. The size of these extensions determines the taper of the tub and the convexity of the central part of the barrel. It is enough if the ratio between the widest and narrowest part of the riveting is 1.7-1.8 (Fig. 3).

The processing of the side surface is completed with a jointer. It is more convenient to do this by moving the workpiece along the jointer (Fig. 4). At the next stage, we process the inner (in relation to the finished barrel) surface of the riveting, cutting off excess wood with a planer or even an ax (Fig. 5). After that, the barrel riveting can be considered finished, while the barrel riveting still needs to be thinned in the middle to 12-15 mm (Fig. 6). Let it not bother you that rivets can have different widths - we take everything possible from each workpiece.

hoops

Barrel hoops are made of wood or steel. Wooden ones are not so strong, and a hundred times more hassle, so it is better to use steel ones. Hot-rolled steel tape with a thickness of 1.6-2.0 mm and a width of 30-50 mm goes to the hoops.

Having measured the barrel at the place where the hoop was stretched, we add to this size the double width of the strip. With hammer blows, we bend the workpiece into a ring, punch or drill holes and put rivets made of soft steel wire with a diameter of 4-5 mm (Fig. 7). One inner edge of the hoop must be flared with blows of the pointed end of the hammer on a massive steel stand (Fig. 8).

According to the location on the product, the hoops are divided into farts - the central hoop on the barrel, the morning - extreme and cervical - intermediate.

Assembly

To one jack-of-all-trades, the grandmother brought a crumbling tub with a request to collect it. Tom had never had to do this before, but he did not refuse the old woman. He came up with the following: he threw a rope on the floor and laid out one to the other rivets on it. Then he crushed them with pillows and pulled the ends of the rope together. Gradually removing the pillows, he brought the extreme rivets together and secured them with a hoop.

Coopers make it easier...

The product is assembled on any flat surface. First, two rivets are attached to the hoop opposite each other with special brackets bent from hooped iron (Fig. 9). Then, attaching rivets to one of them, we get to the other, which will tighten the assembled half of the barrel. Continue assembly until the rivets fill the entire perimeter of the hoop.

Lightly tapping the hoop with a hammer, we upset it and check whether the edges of the riveting are tightly aligned. To achieve contact of the rivets over the entire side surface, you need to add a rivet or pull out an extra one and after that put a permanent hoop. By the way, if changing the number of rivets does not give the desired effect, you just need to narrow one of the rivets or replace the narrow one with a wider one.

Having trimmed the ends of the skeleton with light blows of the hammer, we put on the middle hoop and push it all the way with the help of a hammer (Fig. 10).

Having exposed the skeleton on a flat surface, we describe with a pencil using a bar (Fig. 11) the cut line. Having planted the morning hoop, we cut the skeleton 2-3 mm from it and clean the ends of the rivets with a planer. We do the same with the other end of the skeleton.

In the manufacture of a barrel, after fitting an onion, neck and morning hoop on one side, the other side must first be pulled off. Coopers have a special device for this - a yoke. A home master can use a cable, rope, chain or wire for the same purpose. You can tie a loop and twist it with a gag or pull the ends of the cable with a lever (Fig. 12).

There is no need to do any steaming or boiling of the skeleton, as some experts recommend, before tightening. Occasionally, however, it happens that the riveting does not bend along the entire length, but in one place and therefore gives a crack. However, in such cases, the cooper will prefer to simply make a new riveting.

Dona

The assembled skeleton is cleaned from the inside with a plow or sherhebel, and the ends of the skeleton with a humpback planer (Fig. 13).

Now in the skeleton you need to make a groove (Fig. 14). The cutter of the tool can be made from hooped iron, and even better, from a saw blade. The depth and width of the groove must be 3 mm (Fig. 15).

First, a bottom shield is assembled from a sweet clover with a planed outer side and jointed side surfaces (Fig. 16). The sweet clover is fastened with nails, as shown in the figure, for which nests are pre-drilled 15-20 mm deep. The radius of the future bottom is found as the side of a regular hexagon inscribed in the circle of the morning groove on the skeleton of the barrel. However, you need to cut the bottom with a margin, deviating from the intended circle by 1-1.5 mm. After cleaning with a sherhebel, chamfers are cut from the edge of the bottom (Fig. 17) so that the thickness of the wood is 3 mm three millimeters from the edge - this is necessary for the tight connection of the bottom with the frame in the morning groove (Fig. 18).

We make the first fitting - loosening the hoop, insert the bottom, inserting one side of it into the groove, and then with light blows of the hammer and the rest. If the bottom is tight, you still need to loosen the hoop, and if it's too loose, tighten it.

After stuffing the hoop, make sure there are no gaps. The perfect result the first time is rarely achieved. Even if the cracks are not visible to the eye, they can be found by pouring a little water into the barrel. If it flows between the rivets, then the bottom is too big and it needs to be slightly pared. Worse, if water flows through the bottom or through the morning groove. Then you have to disassemble the skeleton and narrow one of the rivets.

Before installing the second bottom, a filling hole with a diameter of 30-32 mm should be drilled in it. The cork is made as shown in Fig. 19, its height should not be less than the thickness of the bottom, however, the cork should not protrude beyond the cut plane of the core.

How many barrels to serve

First of all, it depends on the operating conditions. But it is important to remember that you should not paint jellied containers with oil paint: it clogs the pores, which contributes to the decay of wood. It is desirable to paint the hoops - they will not rust. For decorative purposes, a barrel, a flower tub can be treated with mordants.

The brown color of the oak is given by slaked lime mixed with a 25% ammonia solution. Black - a solution of iron sulfate or an infusion for 5-6 days of iron filings in vinegar.

A decoction of the rhizomes of the fragrant woodruff (Asperula odo-rata) turns linden and aspen red. Red-brown color gives a decoction of onion peel, brown - a decoction of walnut nibs. These dyes are brighter than chemical ones and more stable.

It must be remembered that wood is better preserved with a constant humidity regime. Therefore, dry products must always be kept dry, and bulk products filled with liquid. Both cannot be placed directly on the ground. It is better to substitute a brick or plank under the barrel than to subsequently get rid of the rot by cutting the chimes.

The manufacture of barrels is called cooperage. Cooperage is a whole art that originated in ancient Greece. People needed vessels of large volume, and the most affordable way to make a large vessel with your own hands turned out to be the manufacture of barrels.

Initially, barrels were used to transport and store water, wines, and vegetable oils. Since those ancient times, the appearance of the barrel has not changed much. This uncomplicated design turned out to be so simple and convenient that it is useful and enjoys great popularity to this day. Despite the abundance of new materials and the emergence of new technologies, for some branches of human activity, there was nothing better than an ordinary wooden barrel.

How did wooden barrels come about?

The history of the barrel began with the fact that ancient people hollowed out niches in the trunks of large trees with their own hands. To simplify their task, they initially chose trees with hollows. Most likely, an observant person took note of how animals used the natural hollow volumes - our smaller brothers built their own houses in them and stored food supplies there.

Among other things, people at that time collected honey from wild bees, that is, they were engaged in beekeeping. Wild bees, in turn, inhabited the same hollows of large trees. However, in order to get the desired honey, one often had to go deep into the forest, and various dangers lay in wait there, and it was simply inconvenient. In addition, there were sometimes a lot of candidates to pick up delicious honey from a particular hollow.

In order to make wild bee honey more accessible, people went to the trick and began to cut out parts of the tree trunk, in which there was a hollow with a honey crop. Part of the trunk was placed closer to the house, and then significant changes occurred with this section of the tree. A modest hollow-hive was transformed into an apiary of impressive size. Caring owners of the apiary over time even made the roof of the bee house with their own hands. It was made from bark or a trimmed sheaf of straw.

After a young bee family appeared, it was moved to a new hollow. However, it was not always easy to find a new hollow of a suitable size, so the owner of the apiary had to hollow it out with his own hands in a thick log.

However, the life of the hive is far from eternal - over time, the hollow begins to crack. In order to save a valuable section of a tree trunk from complete destruction, people went to new tricks - they began to use a metal hoop. The invention of such a hoop is a huge step forward, a new design that combines wood and metal can already be called cooper's utensils. To pull together a section of the trunk with a hollow or a niche hollowed out by one's own hands, ropes, plaits, wire or a wooden hoop were also used.

The diameter of the very first barrels directly depended on the thickness of the tree trunk. It was not possible to make the container wider than the tree trunk. However, when people learned how to tighten the barrel with metal and wooden hoops, ropes, cords and wire, it became possible to make vessels from wood of absolutely any diameter.

Later, such a useful invention as a barrel turned out to be indispensable in some industries. For example, huge containers were simply necessary in leather workshops.

Why choose oak for making a barrel?

When it becomes necessary to purchase or make a barrel with your own hands, the question arises: what kind of wood should you give your preference to? For the manufacture of barrels, such types of wood as kedo, juniper, linden, pine, aspen, spruce, and, of course, oak are used.

In this article we will tell you about how you can make an oak barrel with your own hands. But first, let's talk about the features of using oak in cooperage.

It is worth noting that such a tree as oak is used much more often than any other deciduous trees in the manufacture of barrels. And this is quite natural - the consumer qualities of this type of wood are much better than those of other trees. We list some features of working with a tree such as oak:

• oak is quite problematic to cut, but chopping this kind of wood is a pleasure;
• You will probably have a question about how it is possible to make a barrel from such a durable tree, but such an important property of oak as the fact that after steaming it becomes incredibly elastic comes to the aid of cooperage masters;
• but after drying, oak, on the contrary, changes its shape only minimally, waves and cracks practically do not form, and this fact is another advantage of oak;
• however, the most important property of such a type of wood as oak is the presence of a special preservative component in it, this component prevents the wood from rotting, having an antiseptic effect;
• oak is not at all afraid of moisture, under its influence, on the contrary, it only becomes even more durable.

Oak wood that fell into the river and was in the water for a long period of time has unique qualities. Indeed, in water, wood is saturated with iron salts. Such wood lying in a reservoir is called "bog oak". Bog oak is especially durable.

Thanks to all the qualities listed above, it is this kind of wood, like oak, that has long been recognized as the best raw material for making cooperage utensils. It is the oak barrel that will serve you faithfully for decades.

It is worth noting one more curious fact regarding oak wood barrels. The composition of such wood contains some specific components, it is thanks to these components that a unique pleasant aroma is formed within the tree itself as a result of oxidative processes - the aroma of vanillin. It is thanks to this property of oak wood that it is used for the manufacture of cognac barrels. Cognac from oak barrels takes on this pleasant aroma. Among other things, such a type of wood as oak contributes to faster leavening of the dough.

Even if you put a barrel made of oak in a damp basement, bury it in the soil or leave it under a downpour - all these negative environmental factors will in no way affect the amazing positive qualities of barrels based on oak wood - these are the unique properties this powerful tree.

We make a barrel of oak with our own hands

Now, having learned all about the benefits of oak barrels, we will finally figure out how to make such a container with our own hands. We present to your attention a master class on making a barrel based on oak wood with a volume of 25 liters.

The process of making an oak barrel begins with the procurement of material. Suitable wood should be brought from the forest in the spring, sawn into acceptable pieces, and then taken to the basement and covered with sawdust. In the basement in this state, your wood should dry out throughout the summer months.

As soon as the wood has dried, we proceed directly to the preparation of parts for our future barrel. We take a block of wood, reaching approximately half a meter in diameter and 42 centimeters in height, and split it as carefully as possible into four pieces.

After that, we also dismember the quarters: by gently tapping on the butt with a mallet, as in the figure with the number 1, we make 14 blanks. Blanks are made for riveting, the thickness of each blank should be approximately three centimeters. When making blanks with your own hands, pay special attention to the fact that your split must be radial, otherwise cracks will form in the wood in the future.

After the workpieces are ready, they should be processed on each side with chips. This is necessary so that they turn out to be slightly concave. This process can be seen in the photo with the number 2.

To make an oak barrel, we need two mounting hoops. In this case, the diameter of the middle should be slightly larger. The most important thing in the design is the so-called hoop-shutter, it is he who is responsible for the quality of the future barrel. The shutter hoop should be handled as carefully as possible, in no case should you knock on it with a sledgehammer.

Using brackets based on hoop iron, we fasten three rivets on the shutter, as is done in the picture with the number 4. After that, we fill the entire perimeter of our barrel with the blanks made earlier, and then immediately put on the middle hoop - at this stage we should get the same the same as in the picture at number 5. In order for this stage to go like clockwork, it is necessary from the very beginning to accurately calculate the width of all the blanks, based on the knowledge of the diameter of our future barrel.

After the two hoops are stretched, you will need to pull off the remaining piece of the barrel. Professional coopers have a special tool for this purpose called a yoke. However, many craftsmen go to the trick, inventing and making their own tools for tightening the barrel.

After the keg is well tightened, it is necessary to lower the upper hoop as low as possible. In the figure with the number 8, a special chisel with a groove is used for these purposes.

Next, the barrel must be dried. To speed up the process, you can put a barrel near the stove, if there is one. However, this stove should be heated for two hours every day, but no more.

P After two weeks of drying, work on the barrel can be continued. Using a straight plow, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the entire outer part of the barrel.

After that, it is necessary to make permanent hoops to replace the assembly hoops. In our case, these are four painted steel hoops in two different sizes.

Hoops are replaced as follows:

• first remove the middle hoop;
• after that, place a permanent hoop at a height of ten centimeters from the bottom of the barrel;
• then both sides of our barrel should be trimmed with an electric jigsaw, as is done in photo number 9;
• Next, install two more hoops on top.

Having done all this, we align the inside of the barrel with the help of shaped plows, as in the picture at number 10. After that, it is necessary to make a groove inside the barrel around the circumference. The depth of this groove is approximately 5-6 millimeters.

The bottom of the barrel can be made from pre-prepared planks. The connection is made with nails without hats, which must be stainless and galvanized. To prevent our barrel from leaking, the ends should be laid out with strips of cattail - this is such a little trick.

The difficulty that a person who wants to make an oak barrel with his own hands may encounter is the question of how to calculate the size of the bottom. You can do it like this:

• fix a point next to the groove;
• approximately estimate the radius of your barrel in this place;
• after that, using a compass, set aside 6 such radii along the groove;
• so that the beginning and end of the path fall precisely on a fixed point, the radius will have to be chosen by trial and error methods;
• the resulting size is denoted using a compass on the shield, which we lay out from pre-prepared boards for the bottom of the barrel, as in figure number 13.

After that, you should cut the boards along the outlined circle using a circular saw. Next, we clamp our bottom and with the help of a plow we make a jump along the entire perimeter of our barrel.

By the way, it is useful to put a white roll pre-soaked in water in the groove, this is also a little trick that will prevent your keg from leaking.

And finally, the barrel is ready!

You can also see how master oak barrels are made.

You can buy almost everything today. But it’s quite difficult to find a wooden barrel, really high-quality, solid, and besides, it is expensive. There is another point that not everyone takes into account - it is not a fact that a finished barrel is suitable for a specific purpose. The reason is the mismatch of the wood species. The conclusion is unequivocal - to make a barrel yourself. And if you deal in detail with the drawings, the nuances of the work, then it will not turn out to be any complicated and impossible with your own hands.

Pine

• Elasticity, bending flexibility.
• Easily processed with household tools.

• When the temperature rises, it will resin abundantly.
• The characteristic smell that will always be present inside the barrel.

Recommendation - such wooden barrels are not used for storing food or fermenting anything.

Juniper

Strength combined with ease of processing.

Big weight.

Recommendation - it is advisable to use for the manufacture of relatively small barrels for transportation (storage) of bulk materials.

Oak

• It bends beautifully after the tree is well steamed.
• Contains fungicides that protect the structural elements of the barrel from decay.

High material cost. To make a high-quality barrel, you will have to use a tree that is at least 80-100 years old.

Recommendation - if the barrel is intended for storage (sourdough) of products, aging of wines, and so on, then oak boards should be chosen.

According to the reviews of those who have already made a wooden barrel with their own hands, you can also use such types of wood as linden, ash, aspen, mulberry.

The choice of material is a rather specific issue. If a barrel is needed to store stocks of wine (cognac, vodka), sourdough (salting) of cucumbers, watermelons, apples, and so on, then the best tree for it is oak. This is undeniable. But it is hardly correct to spend such wood (given its cost) on making a container with your own hands, in which it is supposed to store cement, sand, bulk products. Other breeds, “simpler”, are quite suitable for these purposes.

The procedure for calculating the parameters of the barrel

Based on its purpose and installation location, dimensions and design features are selected. In everyday life there is some confusion with the concepts. In principle, both the tub and the barrel are containers of a certain capacity, which are assembled manually from separate boards (staves, fret in the language of professionals). The difference is only in the geometry. The pictures explain everything well.

What is defined for the drawing:

• Barrel height
• Diameters (large and small).
• The angle of the staves and their number.

To simplify calculations, it is advisable to focus on typical data that are used by specialists when drawing up barrel drawings.

Do-it-yourself wooden barrel - instructions

The algorithm of actions is clear from the figures, which show the main stages of work.

But separate explanations will not be superfluous.

Rivets can be made from logs or boards. The first option is preferable, although its implementation by hand is much more difficult. The fact is that only the lower part of the tree trunk goes to the manufacture of the barrel, from the roots to the branches. You will have to chop logs (decks) on your own.

What is the feature?

• The ax blade must hit exactly in the center, along the diametral line. This will somewhat facilitate the work and allow you to get high-quality rivets in larger quantities (based on each deck).

• Boards are obtained by splitting, hewing chocks. Wood processing is always carried out along the fibers, and not across.

It is advisable to prepare at least 2 - 3 spare rivets. Why, it will become clear when describing the assembly order of the barrel.

To facilitate bending, the rivets are given an irregular geometry. The thickness at the ends of each board should exceed the same parameter in the center by about 0.2. That is, if it is planned to assemble a barrel from 10 mm boards with your own hands, then they are hewn with the expectation that their thickness in the lower and upper parts of the container is at least 12.

Drying staves

Various sources indicate terms that are measured in months, or even years (up to 3). At this point, it is necessary to focus on local conditions, the initial and its porosity. Recommendations for artificially accelerating this process when doing do-it-yourself work are not entirely useful. Without practice, it is difficult to determine the optimal mode for the same electric / cabinet and the exposure time of the tree in it. Experienced craftsmen advise to wait until the moisture evaporates from the wood naturally.

It is only necessary to place it in a room with proper conditions - a temperature of at least +20 ºС and good ventilation. You may have to wait 2 or 3 years. But a high-quality barrel "in one day" is not made, and this must be understood.

If we are talking about a container for household purposes, then you can dry the staves even on the stove. But in any case, a barrel is not assembled from raw boards. After a couple of weeks (due to shrinkage of the wood), gaps will begin to appear between them. Checked.

hoops

Finding metal strips, drilling holes for rivets with your own hands is easy. The only thing you should pay attention to is that it is better to take tool steel. It is characterized by increased strength (tensile strength) and corrosion resistance. If it is pre-treated with drying oil and then burned (for example, with a blowtorch), you will get hoops of the original light brown shade.

Bottom

It is cut out of a shield, which is assembled by hand from pre-prepared boards. Moreover, using a different technology than frets (sidewalls). Their thickness does not change along the length. To ensure the tightness of the joints, the ends are milled, that is, the assembly is carried out according to the well-known tenon-groove principle. In some cases, special (sealing) rails are installed.

Barrel assembly

The sequence of actions is shown in this figure.

This work is not done alone; 2 - 3 assistants will definitely be needed. Rivets are placed along the lower hoop with maximum fit. If the last board does not "fit in", it should be trimmed slightly to size. This is where spares come in handy, since the first or even the second time, with your own hands, without experience, it may not be possible to adjust the “finishing” board. A little bust with a sample of wood, and it will have to be rejected.

The penultimate stage - installation of the bottom

And only after that, the hoops are coupled (if they are adjustable) or their final landing in place (in height).

The last step is wood sanding.

How to process the barrel from the outside is decided on the spot (“skin” and manually, sanding / machine), but after that it is desirable to cover the container with beeswax (thin layer). This will provide additional protection for the tree from external factors.

Good luck, beginner coopers!

An oak barrel is a great thing for a person. In it you can salt vegetables, make wine, moonshine, cognac. At worst, just sit until it hits, like some, a great idea. No wonder in the old days the manufacture of barrels was the lot of real masters. We continue to tell you about the development of which you can do in the country. Next up is cooperage.

Unlike many endangered professions, such as saddler, lamplighter or carriage maker, coopers are quite in demand in the 21st century. The production of tubs, barrels and decorative bar elements is now on stream. Beer and wine containers are manufactured industrially - spacious workshops, computer quality control, wholesale deliveries. The cost, depending on the volume, ranges from several hundred to tens of thousands of rubles.

But, of course, the craving of a Russian person for things made with his own hands cannot be defeated by anything. Therefore, if you decide to make the barrel of your dreams on your own, we can only advise you! Follow the recommendations below - and any Diogenes will thank you!
So where does the barrel start?

Tree selection

Of course, first you need an oak tree. Moreover, not the first one that came across, but more or less adult, with a trunk diameter of 40-60 cm. Some specimens can be rejected even at the inspection stage. So, the characteristic tuberosity on the trunk testifies to the defeat of the giant by tobacco rot.

We also “weed out” twisted and knotty trees. In cooperage, only “tulka” is used - the first 4 meters of the trunk, the rest can be safely turned into fuel for the barbecue. Yes, if you can’t cut down the tree you like, you can always buy a similar one at the nearest sawmill.

Making staves

Now for some theory. The barrel consists of wooden parts, staves, tightly fitted to each other and tied with metal hoops. And the final quality of the entire product directly depends on how accurately the manufacturing technology of these elements was observed.

First of all, decide on the dimensions of the future barrel. Its height will affect the length of the riveting itself (it should be 2.5–3 cm longer).

Have you chosen a size? Cut on it the previously prepared oak round timber. It is good when the farm has a hydraulic cleaver. Well, if not, the oak log is split into sectors using the old-fashioned method, using wedges. The result should be 8 radially chipped ingots.

Now we cut the core and soft "white" fabric on a circular saw. From the resulting blanks, we plan out even boards of the same thickness on the thickness gauge.

Ready? And now ... put all this beauty in piles somewhere under a canopy. And leave it for at least a few months. And better for a year - a good oak barrel is not made in an hour☺. During this time, the sun and wind, without creating unnecessary stresses on the wood, will remove excess moisture from it. For now, you can work on grapes (for the Moscow region, by the way, there are excellent varieties, we will definitely tell you about them somehow). When the blanks are dry, you can continue. Using an electric jigsaw, give the boards the correct cigar-shaped shape, where the thickening will be only 0.8–1 cm wider than the ends.

The inner edge of the blanks is crimped in the middle by a curved plow. Less than a millimeter is enough, and when necessary, the rivets will bend in the right place. We give the outer face the shape of an arc, the curvature of which is determined by a special pattern. Its radius depends on the radius of the produced barrel. The tool is easy to make yourself. The result should be a product the same as in the figure.

On average, a barrel will need from 25 to 30 staves.

Making a hoop

When the rivets are prepared, you can do the hoops. You will need a narrow strip of 2-3 mm iron, slightly longer than the circumference of the core.

Twist it into a ring and fix it at the ends with rivets. The hoop is almost ready. Slightly flare the inside with a hammer - and you can put it on the skeleton. For a small barrel, you will need two pairs of hoops. Not less! What if some ring will not withstand the fermentation of your beer?

While working with iron, make a couple more metal staples. They will then serve as "clothespins".

Barrel assembly

Rivets are prepared, hoops are ready. It's time to collect it all in a pot-bellied barrel. Take the finished ring and, in arbitrary places, fasten the ends of two or three rivets in it with clothespins. The design will resemble a stool. In this position, fill the entire perimeter of the hoop with rivets. When the last plank is in place, tap the metal belt with a hammer to fit the pieces tighter.

But before putting on the second hoop, the tree will have to be heated and steamed. It is done like this. We take out our semi-finished product to fresh air and install it with the “socket” up. A small metal urn filled with wood chips is placed inside. We kindle a fire in it. While the fire is burning, moisten the wood liberally with water. This will keep it from burning and add flexibility to the boards. After half an hour of such a “bath”, throw a noose on the end free from the hoop and pull it off quietly with a winch. In this place, haste is unacceptable. The path to the finish line can take from 40 minutes to 3-4 hours, but any broken rivet will immediately return you to the start of the race.

As soon as the wooden fan closes, immediately stuff the hoop. Just do not forget the old Cooper's law: "The same place is not knocked twice with a hammer." In simple words, when upsetting the hoop, apply only one blow to each place. In no case do not hit there two or three times - you will split the tree.
When the metal belts are in place, the skeleton of the barrel ends up. The internal cavity is leveled with a special scraper and polished with sandpaper.

And now another trial by fire. In order for the tree to get used to its new shape, it must be burned. The scheme is the same - wood chips burn in an urn. Stir the fire constantly, otherwise the barrel will catch fire. There are no recipes here. If you set fire to the boards, the wine will take on the smell of burning. You finish the firing ahead of time, and the staves will break the hoop.

Manufacturing and installation of bottoms

At a distance of up to 2.5 cm from the ends of the core, select the so-called morning groove. The bottom will then be inserted into it. Previously, such an operation was trusted only to a special cutter, the morning man (another endangered profession!). Today it is much easier to use a cutter. At the same time, remove the chamfers from the ends of the barrel. Useful when shrinking bottoms.

To make them, you will again need rivets, only a little larger. They are connected into shields with steel nails without caps. By actually measuring the length of the morning groove, you can easily determine the radius of the bottom. Outline it on the shield and cut it out with a jigsaw. Sharpen the ends of the round.
The connection of the bottom with the skeleton looks like this.

To put the bottom in its place, the skeleton will have to be unforged on one side. Rivets by this time should already hold their shape. Insert the circle into the morning groove, put it in place with a mallet - and again pull the product with a hoop. If everything is done correctly, the bottom will not leak. Before repeating the operation with another bottom, cut a drain hole in it. Diameter - 32 mm. When everything is ready, we grind the barrel, giving it a marketable appearance, and prepare for soaking.

Soak

In principle, the barrel is already ready. On this one could calm down, but the tree is still too saturated with tannins and tannins. Therefore, you have to soak them, otherwise the contents of the barrel will deteriorate.

Fill the container one third with hot (80°C) water. Rotate the barrel for half an hour so that the moisture moves around the entire perimeter. Then drain the liquid, replace it with a cold one. It should stand in the container for a day, after which it must be replaced again. And so - for two weeks. Someone soaks the barrel with ready-made wine, someone with moonshine. Everyone has their own style. But it's worth starting with the water.

Now the barrel is really ready for wine. Or beer. Or moonshine with cucumbers - what do you choose? ..

The best brands of cognac, wine, liquor, rum, whiskey are aged in wooden containers. In the household, barrels, tubs are also rightfully considered the best storage place for pickles. In terms of sanitary and hygienic characteristics, they are not much inferior to stainless steel containers, but surpass the latter in a number of quality indicators. Natural material creates a favorable environment for the aging of products, while giving them original aromatic and taste properties. An oak barrel can be made with your own hands, if you carefully read the step-by-step guide for making this necessary product.

There are only a few high-level professionals, but this does not mean that the work cannot be done. Requirements for the manufacture of the desired container at home are different. It is enough to make a design that can withstand moderate loads during operation. The cooperator must have skills and knowledge in the following areas of activity:

• Joinery. The main operations are performed by the techniques, tools used in this business;
• Basic metalworking skills. They are needed for the manufacture of high-quality, geometrically and technologically correct hoops;
• Basic knowledge of geometry. The shape of the barrel is complex, you need to accurately calculate the dimensions of each part: riveting, bottom, hoop;
• General concepts of wood heat treatment. In cooperage, it is important to choose the correct hot working mode during assembly (if the riveting has a significant bend), and then fire the finished product.

In the classical production of wooden containers, glues and metal fasteners are not used, with the exception of external hoops. All connections are made by precise fitting of parts. Slots, gaps that make the product unsuitable for solving the tasks are not allowed. A well-made barrel, tub after assembly without soaking should have the necessary tightness. In some cases, small leaks are allowed if the wood dries out, which are easily eliminated by moistening and swelling of the natural fiber.

The principle of manufacture and details of cooperage products

The technology for the production of wooden containers requires precise, step-by-step operations, from the selection of raw materials to the decorative finish of the outer side of the product. To make an oak barrel with your own hands, you need to know what it consists of:

• Frame. It is assembled from prepared wooden blanks - rivets:
• Hoops. Made from metal strip. The exact diameter is determined in each case according to the planned dimensions of the barrel body. Wooden hoops are used less often. They are less reliable and more difficult to manufacture:
• Bottoms. Depending on the intended purpose, the container is equipped with one or two bottoms. The detail is made by a set of wooden blanks assembled in a single plane, then a circle cut out according to a template with the necessary tolerance for a snug fit to the barrel body.

It is important to follow the exact recommendations of professionals at each stage of work. A cooperage product of satisfactory quality cannot be made by violating even one point of technology. The step-by-step production process is as follows:

• The choice of wood for riveting, bottom;
• Drying, testing for suitability, rejection of low-quality blanks;
• Making staves, bottom, hoops;
• barrel assembly;
• Burning;
• Finishing grinding, decorative finishing of the front part (if necessary).

The geometric dimensions of the riveting in each case are original, depending on the height of the barrel, the degree of bending of the workpiece, its width, the bevel angle of the end part for a tight fit with the adjacent element. You should exactly repeat the dimensions indicated in the existing drawings, or, having knowledge of the spatial construction of complex figures, independently determine the necessary values.

How to choose wood

Cooperage products can be made from various types of wood. However, oak barrels are considered the best. The choice is not accidental, because in addition to strength, durability, the material has unique biochemical characteristics to create optimal conditions for storing drinks and food products. Natural substances in oak wood fiber have an antiseptic effect, give pickles, alcoholic beverages unique taste and aromatic features.

Experienced coopers choose raw materials when the tree is still in the vine. It is specially cut down and subsequently cut into the necessary blanks. The lower part of the trunk comes into play, on which there should be no branches, visible bumps and bends. Usually it is 4-5 meters from the root, with a plant age of at least 100 years. It is difficult to fulfill these conditions at home if the master is not a native forest dweller. Therefore, the visible qualities of the fiber become the criterion for choosing wood for riveting. The requirements are:

• No knots:
• The inadmissibility of the oblique layer;
• Cracks, natural defects, voids;
• Variety.