Wooden barrel hoop. Do-it-yourself oak barrel

It is a product that is designed for storage and transportation of products. They salt and soak apples, mushrooms, tomatoes. They make sauerkraut and salt watermelons and cucumbers. There are several types of barrels. Despite the fact that they differ in shape, their intended purpose is the same.

A tub is an ordinary barrel of a familiar shape.
Kubelchik - cone-shaped barrels.
Sujina - elongated barrels.

Barrels first appeared in Russia in the tenth century. They were made by coopers. It is interesting that the technology for creating barrels has not changed much over the past centuries. Despite the apparent simplicity, manufacturing is a rather complicated and time-consuming process. Salting barrels are commercially available, so most people purchase these products when they are needed. But you can make a barrel yourself. It will take a lot of time, but it will save money. In addition, by making a barrel with your own hands, you can be 100% sure of the quality and environmental safety of the materials. How to make a barrel yourself, you will learn from this article.

Making a barrel with your own hands: the choice of materials

At the heart of any barrel is wood. Therefore, the durability of the product will depend on the quality of the selected material. In addition, different types of trees have their own unique qualities, which can be both beneficial and negative. Linden and oak are best suited for making barrels.

Oak barrels serve to preserve the taste of pickles and to preserve them. Thanks to the tannins contained in this tree, products in the barrel are stored longer and saturated with useful substances. The most common types of oak used in cooperage are Russian, Ukrainian and Slavic.

Linden, unlike oak, does not have any effect on stored products. Linden wood is absolutely neutral. But this also has its advantages. Products contained in lime barrels retain their freshness and their natural taste. In addition, linden is a natural antiseptic, which ensures a longer storage of products. In terms of manufacturing, wood is also more convenient than oak. Its structure is softer, and, as a result, it lends itself better to processing.

Aspen is considered the most unsuitable tree for making barrels. This tree gives the products an unpleasant aftertaste that occurs as a result of storage. The fact is that aspen releases resin, and for a long time. For the same reasons, it is not recommended to make barrels from coniferous wood. In order for pine, spruce and cedar barrels to become suitable for food storage, they must be soaked for a long time. But even after such a procedure, a positive result cannot be guaranteed. After you have sorted out the choice of material, you can proceed to the next step.

Creating tubs for salting at home: making rivets

Before manufacturing these products, it is necessary to determine the height and diameter of the future barrel. This will allow you to accurately calculate the required number of rivets. Having decided on the dimensions of the product, you can start making rivets.

To do this, take a wooden chock a little longer than the future barrel (approximately 2-3 centimeters). The chock is cleaned of bark and placed end-to-end on a solid base. Now it needs to be divided into parts. This can be done in two ways: split or sawn. Experts recommend splitting the workpiece. This allows not to destroy the structure of the wood, which, in turn, serves as a guarantee of the durability of the product. The wood from which you are going to make riveting must be dry. Then the products are more reliable, in addition, dry wood is better processed.

If you want to make a barrel according to all the rules, the wood intended for riveting must be dried for several months. The process must take place in a natural environment. The sun and wind will make the wood more durable. So, let's go directly to splitting. Notches are made at the ends of the chocks. Then they take an ax, rest its tip against the notch made and, with the help of light taps on the butt, split the workpiece. Please note that the more fibers contained in the wood structure, the more staves will be obtained. Their recommended thickness should not exceed 20-25 mm.

Then the rivets are planed to give them the desired shape. This aspect directly depends on the shape of the future product. For a tub, it is recommended to make rectangular rivets, and for a barrel, an oval one, narrowed towards the edges, is more suitable. The next important detail in the manufacture of barrels is the hoop. Such elements are located at the top, bottom and middle of the barrel. They can be made from wood or metal. Stainless steel is the best for this purpose. This is a fairly durable material that is practically not subject to corrosion. Steel is cut into strips no more than 2 mm thick. Before proceeding with the assembly, the rivets must be steamed. This will make the wood softer and more pliable. That will make it much easier to work with her. After preparing the material, you can start assembling.

Pickling barrel assembly technology

Rivets are inserted into a vertical hoop, their ends are fixed with a clamp or other fasteners. To begin with, you can fix three rivets, and then attach all the rest to them. If you calculated everything correctly, then the blanks will stand up like a glove. Then the middle hoop is stuffed, only then the lower one.

After assembling the skeleton, the bottom of the barrel is inserted. As the bottom, round blanks are used, sawn or hammered together like shields. In their manufacture, the boards are overlapped and fastened with staples. Insert the bottom into the frame as follows. The extreme hoop is loosened, the bottom is inserted and tightened again. Depending on the design, the barrel may have two bottoms, one of which will act as a lid. In this case, the hoop from the other end of the barrel is loosened and the procedure is repeated. After that, the surface of the barrel is processed with a planer. This is necessary in order to give the product a more presentable appearance, as well as to eliminate all irregularities.

The final stage in the manufacture of a barrel for salting

After the barrel is ready, you need to harden it. There are many ways, but here we will consider the simplest and most effective. This is roasting. In this way, our distant ancestors tempered their products, and, oddly enough, this method remains very relevant today. This option is also suitable for those cases if the barrel will serve to store alcohol. The aroma of burnt wood will give the wine or moonshine a richer taste and aroma.

This is done in the following way. The barrel is placed on its side and sawdust is placed inside it. Sawdust from fruit trees, such as cherries, is best suited. The sawdust is set on fire, and the barrel is rolled, this allows you to evenly process the entire inner surface. Please note that sawdust should smolder, not burn. Making an open flame inside a wooden product can cause a fire! In addition, you can not use special liquids for kindling fires. They contain chemicals that are absorbed into the surface of the tree. If the barrel is intended for food storage, then the firing option is not suitable. In this case, it is best to wax the surface of the wood. Thus, the wood will share its healing properties with the products.

After hardening, the barrel should be checked for leaks. To do this, it is filled with water. If the product leaks, do not be alarmed, this is quite normal. The wood will swell and the flow will stop. This test takes about 1 hour. If after this time the barrel will leak, it means that the rivets are not tight. In this case, it is necessary to find and repair the existing gaps. Experienced coopers recommend using reed stalks for these purposes. They are inserted into the slots and rammed with a knife.

Preparing the barrel for salting

As mentioned above, barrels made of oak are best for storing pickles and marinades. Currently, those housewives who use food storage wooden barrels prefer oak. This type of wood allows you to protect marinades from mold. In addition, oak contains tannin. Thanks to this substance, pickles or tomatoes remain crispy and juicy for a long time.

It is recommended to process the barrel immediately before use. This is a very important procedure, on which the quality of pickles and other preparations will depend. Only the exact observance of all the tips and recommendations will allow you to please your family and friends with delicious and juicy home-canned products.

Regardless of whether you made the barrel yourself or purchased a finished product, the container must be thoroughly washed. Thus, you will get rid of the sawdust that remained after the manufacture of the barrel. In addition, in new products, the concentration of tannins is quite high. And if products are placed in such a barrel, they may have an unpleasant taste. In addition, the characteristic oak smell will overpower the natural taste and aroma of the products. Rinsing of the container must be continued until the water is clear and the smell disappears.

After that, the barrel is usually soaked. The time for this procedure can vary from a few days to 1 month. It is recommended to change the water in the barrel every two days. Some, after soaking, carry out additional steam treatment. To do this, the barrel is filled halfway with water, with soda diluted in it. Steam is then blown through the hose.

Before placing products in a barrel, the container must be doused from the inside with boiling water. This will prevent the wood from absorbing the smell of stored products. Thus, there is a possibility of multipurpose use of a barrel. And you can not be afraid that pickles will have the smell of last year's cabbage. If the products are stored for a long period of storage, it is recommended to fumigate with sulfur. This will kill all microbes and will serve as a guarantee of long-term storage of pickles.

When using the barrel for the first time, it is necessary to use more salt when salting. This is due to the fact that the part will absorb the wood. Optimal storage conditions are maintained in cool rooms. The cellar or basement is best suited for these purposes. But the storage temperature should not be below zero! Minus temperatures are suitable only for meat, cranberries and cabbage.

It is not recommended to put the barrel on the ground. This can lead to the formation of mold. Therefore, it is best to sprinkle the ground under the barrel with sawdust. They will absorb moisture. And place the container itself on a special stand. After each use, the barrel must be thoroughly rinsed with water and steamed. Then it is recommended to dry the container, while avoiding direct sunlight. Drying the barrel in the sun can cause it to dry out.

Some housewives fill the barrel with water between seasons. This is fundamentally wrong. As a result of exposure to moisture, mold and fungus form. If a barrel is not needed, then the best way to store it is to keep the container in a cool place. And of course it's empty!

There is another nuance in the use of barrels. If the container is intended for storing alcohol or homemade marinades, the container must not remain dry for a long time. If the intended purpose of the barrel is the storage of solid products, then it is not recommended to wet it. Only by following all the tips and recommendations for the storage and operation of wooden barrels, you can achieve a positive result. The container will serve you for a long time, and the marinades stored in it will retain their juicy taste and appetizing appearance. If the process of making tubs for salting with your own hands seems long and tedious, you can buy a finished product from the Alkopribor company. Attentive consultants will help you choose the perfect container for you, which will serve for many years!

Do-it-yourself oak barrel, product drawings. Before proceeding with production, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with GOST 8777-80, which establishes the main dimensions and parameters for jellied and dry wooden barrels.

Consider an example, making a container of 15 liters, which will consist of twenty rivets.

Klepka.
Donets.
Morning hoop.
The hoop is fart.

The entire manufacturing process can be conditionally divided into four stages.

Stage I. Dimensions and parameters of the barrel.

To do this, depending on the volume of the product:

From table No. 1 we select the main parameters and dimensions

From table number 2, select the dimensions of the rivets

From table number 3, select the number of metal hoops

By simple geometric constructions, we draw a riveting.

The length of the riveting in unfolded form is determined by the formula: l = 2πRα/360

Substitute the values and get l \u003d 2 x 3.14 x 1282.04 x 15.69 / 360 \u003d 350.9(mm)

We determined the dimensions of the blanks for riveting, which amounted to 18 x 46 x 351(mm)

Stage II. Donets manufacturing.

We accept the sizes indicated in tables No. 1, No. 2.

Riveting connection on the rail.
Marking and cutting out a circle.
Removing bevels.

Stage III. Making a hoop.

Marking on sheet metal.
Cutting sheet metal with a thickness of 1 ... 2 (mm).
The connection of the hoop with rivets.
Hoop forging.

Stage IV. Oak barrel assembly sequence.

Attaching three rivets to the hoop and inserting the rest
Installing a neckband.
Steaming rivets.
Pulling the rivets with a collar.
Installation of the morning hoop.
Skeleton assembly.
Bottom insert.
Installation of the morning hoop.

An oak barrel, made according to the drawings with your own hands, is an excellent vessel for many years of aging alcoholic beverages and harvesting pickles for the winter.

Wood species - which one to choose for making a barrel

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

Juniper

Strength combined with ease of processing.

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.

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.

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 supposed 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 moisture content of the wood 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.

Fundamentals of Cooperage

In order to master the work of a cooper, and make your first tub, you need not only desire, but also a room for work, the necessary materials and tools, and fixtures.

Reviews from the network about the oak barrel

beech. Less wear resistant, but looks nice, and as an alternative, it will do,

coniferous trees (spruce, cedar, pine). They are soaked for a long time before use, as they release a resin that affects the taste. But the soaking procedure does not always help. But they are great for fonts and baths. Spruce barrels are suitable for salting mushrooms.

Types of cooperage utensils and their corresponding types of staves

All the dishes made by the cooper are made from special small boards of wood, which are called staves. The size and configuration of such dishes depends directly on the size of these rivets.

The following types of staves correspond to different types of cooperage utensils:

What tools are needed

To make wooden barrels with your own hands, you need to purchase a certain list of tools and fixtures:

carpentry workbench,
cooper jointer. Choose the longer one
circular humpback planer,
devices for planing the edges of boards,
frame machine-gate (for tightening rivets),
chain tie,
pillar gate,
plow,
bracket and bracket,
patterns and templates. Determine the shape and dimensions of the manufactured barrel,
clamps made of metal and wood,
morning. Necessary for cutting the morning groove into which the bottom is inserted,
metal, wood or combined heels,
hoop pull,
staples for cooperage,
planers and hatchets of various sizes.

How to make a tub for pickles

It is best to start dealing with cooperage products from the barrel, since the technology for its manufacture is simpler. The most popular tub dimensions (bottom diameter / height / top diameter in mm):

280x300x260 with a capacity of 12 liters (bucket),
360x390x340 for 36 liters,
420x460x400 for 42 liters,
440x500x420 for 72 liters,
460x560x440 for 96 liters,
540x570x520 for 120 liters,
600x700x580 for 180 liters.

For the first production, it is better to choose a small size shell.

Riveting

It is best to make staves from the bottom of old trees (staves). Firewood will also be quite suitable. Raw straight-grained wood is most suitable for riveting.

In the manufacture of rivets, the following steps are performed:

The chock is chosen 5-6 cm longer than the height of the rivets. Then carefully cut it in half with an ax. Each half, in turn, is pricked in half again, and so on until the blanks of the desired thickness are obtained. During such splitting, it is important to hit the core and it is good if there are core rays along which splits can be made. Since you can’t just get into the core with an ax, it is installed on the end of the chock in the right direction and hit from above with a checkmar (a large wooden mallet). Thin chocks are usually pricked into eight parts (single-row method). Rivets are prepared from thick chocks in two rows (two-row method). For this, 1/8 part is pricked in half along the annual ring. From the half of the smaller size, usually 1-2 blanks are obtained, and from the larger part 5-6 pieces are obtained.
A wedge of wood is cut from the blanks from the side of the core and bark with young wood from the outside of the blank. As a result of such splitting, planks should be rectangular in cross section. Their thickness should be 2.5-3 cm, and the width - 8-10 cm. For the bottom, boards 15 cm wide are needed.
The blanks should be well dried. Usually they have 3 months of summer or a month in a well-ventilated room.
Make a template, taking into account that the taper (bottom to top ratio) of the shell is 1.08, but for greater decorativeness it is sometimes increased to 1.7-1.8. An old riveting from a shell can also serve as a template. The number of staves for a tub or barrel is calculated according to the formula 3.14 * L / W, where D is the diameter of the bottom of the tub, and W is the width of the bottom of the stave. Since the width of the rivets may differ slightly, it is easiest to calculate the perimeter of the bottom (3.14 * D) and try them on a segment of the appropriate length.
Make markings on the board.
The edges are beveled with an ax, and the outer surface is slightly rounded.
The outer side is processed on a cooper's bench with a straight plow. If you have a carpentry workbench, you can use a planer. In this process, you need to constantly check with the template.
Plane the inside of the rivets with a fillet. You can use a humpback bracket. The smaller the product diameter, the deeper the gutter.
The narrow edges of the boards are cut with an ax, controlling the dimensions with a template.
Align the same edges with a jointer. The accuracy of the jointer determines how tightly the rivets will fit together.

Assembly of the skeleton

Now we proceed to assemble the product in the following sequence:

They make the skeleton of the future tub by attaching three supporting rivets to a smaller hoop at an equal distance from each other.
Other rivets are inserted between them, filling the entire structure. If the last plank is not included, it should be hewn to the desired size. If it is less than necessary, then you should use the stock of riveting boards and make a riveting of the desired size.
With the help of a heel and a hammer, they upset the hoop so that all the rivets close tightly with each other.
The lower hoop, which is larger, is pulled onto the resulting structure. Perform the previous operation to close the elements.
The resulting skeleton is trimmed. To do this, along the edges with a thickness gauge, mark the risk to indicate the excess to be removed. Then, according to this risk, they saw off all the excess with a saw.
All the irregularities inside the product are scraped out with a special bracket, paying special attention to the joints between the rivets.
The edges of the resulting product are planed with a humpback planer.
On the inner sides, along the edges of straight plows, they chamfer to prevent chipping of the ends and facilitate the process of inserting the bottom.
With the help of a chime, a special groove (chime) of about 3 mm is cut at the bottom from the inside, into which the bottom will be inserted. You can use a cutter.

Assembly of the skeleton

Barrel soaking

Before use, the oak barrel should be soaked to get rid of excess tannins, which can affect the taste too much. To do this, follow these steps:

The product is filled with hot water (approx. 80 °C).
The barrel rotates in different directions so that all the internal wood is saturated with hot water.
The water drains.
Cold water is poured to the top for a day.
The water is replaced by fresh water and this is repeated for two weeks.

Examples of creative ideas for using barrels

Now eco-style is in fashion, so the use of wooden barrels in the interior is very important. Often such cooperage products are chosen when implementing design ideas for a summer residence. So from the barrels you can make a mini-bar for alcoholic beverages. To do this, you can cut out a part of the barrel on the side and attach a handle on top.

From a wooden wine barrel you can make a table for a living room or a veranda. For this purpose, it is cut into two equal parts and filled with hay or other materials suitable for design. A round glass is placed on top. Under the glass, you can lay out various items that fit the interior (corks, cones, shells, etc.). Instead of glass, you can take wood. It will also look very stylish.
You can use this product as a floor pot for indoor plants, as well as for growing flowers in the garden. If you put the barrel on its side and place it on wooden supports, then it can be used as a dog house. It will perfectly protect the watchdog from rain and cold.

You can make an unusual sink. To do this, you need to choose the appropriate washbasin and place it on top of this cooperage product. It will look good if the bathroom or kitchen is made of wood or materials that imitate it. If the barrel is cut into pieces (about 15-20 cm) and placed on the wall, and wooden partitions are placed inside, you will get an interesting organizer for storing various items.

Musicians can transform a kick drum into a stylish drum by pulling on matching material. If you cut off a part of the barrel from the side and hang it on the ropes by the edges, you will get a cute cradle for the baby. Wooden products can also be converted into garden furniture - tables, armchairs, chairs and more.

If you decide to do cooperage, you can provide yourself with the necessary and beautiful household items that can be used for various purposes (for pickles, wine, decor). This business can become a profitable business, but it is quite difficult and should be started by a person who has certain skills in working with wood.

There are not so many masters of cooperage today, but the tradition of pickling in tubs, or storing honey and wine in barrels, has remained in Russia to this day. It often happens that it is not possible, for one reason or another, to acquire a wooden container. Then you can make an oak barrel with your own hands. Although this is not the easiest task, however, if you set yourself a clear goal and follow all the features of the technology, you can make quite a decent wooden container for storing food and drinks. We will talk about how to make an oak barrel with our own hands below.

We make blanks

To make a container, you first need to select the material. If you want to store beekeeping products inside, pay attention to lime or aspen raw materials, plane trees. Not bad honey is stored in barrels made of poplar, alder wood, willow. An oak barrel is ideal for salting, fermenting or urinating.

If you figured out the raw materials, you should choose an old tree. Its lower part is best suited for rivets. During harvesting, be sure to make sure that the churak is a couple of centimeters larger than the size of the future barrel. This stock is needed for grinding the edges.

The wood must be raw. Initially, the churak splits into 2 parts. For this, an ax and a small log are used, which are gently tapped on the butt. Each half splits in two again. It is necessary to ensure that the separation takes place radially. With each subsequent half, they do the same - the number of blanks depends on the diameter of the oak barrel. It is easy to prepare raw materials with your own hands, the main thing is accuracy. Please note that blanks may have different widths, but this is not scary.

Rivets are dried indoors, where good natural ventilation is established. The term is at least 1 month, and ideally even about 1 year. After drying, it is processed with special tools. It could be:

plow;
sherhebel;
plane.

First, the outer side of the riveting is processed, be sure to check the degree of curvature according to a pre-prepared template. It can be cut from a thin board, attaching it to the finished product. After all the outer surfaces are processed, you can proceed to the side ones. They are also aligned according to the template, and after processing they are jointed. The inner surface of the riveting is processed with a planer.

Rings

To make hoops, you can use both steel and wood. The latter option is less durable, so it is better to immediately give preference to metal. For hoops, hot-rolled steel in the form of a strip is used. Its width is about 3-5 cm, and its thickness: 0.16-0.2 cm.

It is necessary to make a measurement at the place where the hoop will be stretched. After that, the width of the strip, doubled, is added to a certain value. With the help of a hammer, the workpiece is bent, acquiring the shape of a ring, and then holes are punched or drilled in it and rivets are placed. The material for them is mild steel wire, the diameter of which is 0.4-0.5 cm. One of the inner edges of the hoop must be flared with the pointed end of the hammer.

Assembly subtleties

Making oak barrels with your own hands requires patience. However, the result is worth the time and effort. So, to assemble a barrel for salting, you need a flat surface. To get a finished barrel you need:

The skeleton does not need to be boiled or steamed before tightening, although there are those who insist on this. There are times when the workpiece can crack. Then experienced coopers replace it with a new one.

Bottom

To make the bottom, first you need to cut a groove from the bottom at a distance of 4-5 cm from the edge of the end, its dimensions can be 0.4-0.5 mm. To do this, a special tool is used - the morning. On both sides of the groove with a chisel, you need to make a chamfer from 0.1 to 0.2 cm.

The bottom is made of a special shield. It is assembled using metal studs or nails. Having drawn a circle, you need to step back from it by 1-1.5 cm and cut out the future bottom. After that, it is cleaned with a sherhebel, and chamfers are cut along the edges. As a result, the thickness of the rivets there will be no more than 0.3 cm. This ensures complete tightness of the structure.

To make a fitting, loosen the bottom hoop and insert the bottom. It is inserted into the groove from one side, and from the second side it is adjusted with a hammer to the desired level with light taps. With a tight move, you can loosen the hoop a little more, if it goes too freely, it is better to tighten the hoop.

Next, the hoop is stuffed again, and the barrel is checked for leaks. To do this, pour some water into it. If there is a leak between the rivets, you need to slightly reduce the bottom. If water seeps through the bottom or groove, you will have to disassemble the frame and narrow one of the blanks.

Before installing the second bottom, make a hole in it, the diameter of which is not more than 3 cm and make a cork under it. The correct dimensions suggest that it will be slightly more than the thickness of the bottom and will not protrude beyond the skeleton. That's the whole sequence that you need to follow in order to make an oak barrel with your own hands.

Repair

Can an old barrel be repaired? Of course. If an alcoholic drink was stored in it for a long time, it is worth disassembling the structure and removing a layer about 2 mm thick from the tree. Further, the drink does not penetrate into the wood. After that, the rivets are processed and assembled again.

You can repair an oak barrel with your own hands, even if it leaks. To do this, you need to repeat the same manipulations as in the manufacture of containers - adjust the hoops.

This is what it is, cooperage business. You can make wooden products yourself, but this requires a lot of time and effort. But is it worth spending them, if today you can order via the Internet, on the website of the Russian Bondar company?

How to make a wooden barrel with your own hands, drawings and a detailed description of the manufacture.

The figure shows a barrel in a section:

1. Lid.
2. Small hoop.
3. Boards (riveting).
4. Big hoop.
5. Bottom.

The manufacturing process of the product in question can be divided into several stages.

MATERIAL SELECTION

The most common material is oak. It is good to withstand alcohol in oak barrels and prepare pickles for the winter. You can also use cherry, mulberry, linden, aspen or ash.

DESIGN CALCULATION

Any design is determined by the following dimensions:

Height (H) - 600 (mm)
small diameter (d) - 420 (mm)
large diameter (D) - 465 (mm)
number of staves (n) - 20
the angle of inclination of the side faces to the center of a regular polyhedron (φ) - 360/20/2 = 9°

By geometric constructions, we obtain the dimensions of the riveting.

Reference:
To greatly facilitate assembly, it is desirable to make the rivets at the top and bottom thicker than in the center by 1/5. If the thickness of the riveting in the center is 10 (mm), then at the edges it will be 10 + 10/5 = 12 (mm).

MATERIAL PREPARATION

The lower part of the trunk sawn into chocks is well suited for blanks. Chocks of the desired length must be split into boards in the direction of the fibers. Send the prepared boards for drying in a ventilated room for a period of two months.

Reference:
In order for the boards to be well blown, it is better to fold them in a checkerboard pattern.

MANUFACTURE OF HOOPS

Hoops can be made from a hot-rolled tool strip 3 x 30 (mm). Ideal if the strip is bent to, but you can also manually. We drill two holes and connect the ends of the hoop with rivets, as shown in the figure.

BOTTOM ASSEMBLY

We will assemble the bottom from boards and planks. In the boards, we mill grooves along the entire length of the end surface. Insert the planks into the grooves, and press the boards against each other.

From the resulting shield, cut out the bottom of the estimated diameter.

We grind the end surface at a slight angle.

How to make a wooden barrel with your own hands, the drawings are at hand, all the details are made, you can start assembling the product:

1. We collect rivets around the perimeter of the small hoop, using small homemade clamps.
2. After inserting the last stave, move the hoop as far as possible to the center of the barrel length.
3. Warm up the lower rivets in hot water for 15…20 (min.).
4. Install the prepared structure inside a large hoop, preferably on a flat surface.
5. We tighten the structure with twine and move the large ring to the center of the barrel.

6. We continue to tighten the structure with twine, after the rivets are completely pulled together, we put a small hoop on top of them.
7. The skeleton is assembled and it must be burned from the inside, using any of the proposed methods: gas burner; blowtorch; small fire.
8. Align the edges of the barrel.
9. Loosen the lower metal ring, insert the bottom into the grooves of the rivets, and push the small metal hoop back to its original position.
10. Do the same for the cover.
11. Check the product for leaks, if necessary, seal the cracks with barrel grass.
12. Sand the outer surface of the product and cover it with a thin layer of beeswax.
13. If the barrel is made of oak, it must be washed with water until the drained liquid becomes clear. This procedure can take up to two weeks.

People involved in the production of their own wines, or even simply pickling cucumbers, know very well that there is no better container than a wooden barrel. Why? Firstly, wood is an environmentally friendly material, and secondly, wines contain alcohol, which means that by interacting with synthetic materials - plastic or nylon, it can dissolve the chemical composition of the container, and it will mix with the components of the wine.

The production process of an oak barrel is not complicated, but it requires strict adherence to the instructions, accuracy and care.

Buying a barrel is not a problem, but if there is a desire and the owner of a home wine factory cares about quality, then a wooden barrel with his own hands will be the main proof that wine and cognac are made using the right technology. In addition, the manufacture of wooden barrels is a laborious and long process, but without wisdom.

Stages of work

Oak, ash and cherry are considered the most suitable trees for barrel production.

It is well known that the most reliable material for the manufacture of wooden barrels will be oak. It is suitable for both wines and cognacs, as well as for pickles. Oak is a natural antiseptic, nitrous and mold will not occur there. But if this is a problem, you can change oak for cherry or ash - these trees contain hydrocyanic acid, which will also prevent pathogens from developing, although their properties are weaker than those of oak. There is no need to be afraid that acid will get into the products: firstly, the barrel is thoroughly soaked before filling the wines, and secondly, a certain percentage of hydrocyanic acid is contained in the wines themselves, it is not dangerous to the body.

Wood calculation. Boards, called riveting, have biconvex sides to give the cooperage product a convexity. To make them like this, you need to take the lower part of the tree trunk and split it with a semblance of chopping firewood. If it is carefully cut, the natural integrity of the fibers will be violated, which is bad for such a product. You should not immediately start curly sawing - the logs need to be dried for 2 months. And dry not under the scorching sun, but in a dark, cool room.

The processing of logs for future barrels is done using a planer. Giving them the desired shape, the top and bottom must be made thicker than the middle. How much - the owner will decide. Usually it is 1.5 cm. The movements of the planer intensify towards the middle of the log, then you can get the same shape as in classic barrels. Basically, barrels can be given any shape - pot-bellied, deck, trapezoidal. The main thing is to do everything right.

Preparation of fastening hoops. They can be both iron and wooden. Wooden ones have advantages in beauty, corrosion protection, but they are not as durable as iron ones, and it will be important for the owner of the wine cellar to preserve wines and barrels, including from mechanical damage. Therefore, iron is preferable. So, stainless steel is cut into strips, for better bonding it can be forged at the junction with each other. After that, holes for nails are punched at the ends, which will play the role of rivets.

Stuffing finished hoops and preparing the skeleton. Three prepared boards are hooked to small hoops with the help of clamps. You need to place them at the same distance from each other. If the calculation was correct, the remaining boards will fit back to back. After full insertion, using a hammer and a nozzle, the hoops should be upset until the moment when they can no longer be removed. By tapping from opposite ends, you can achieve a good effect.

But you can’t overdo it: the boards cooked in a long way will crack, the process will have to be started anew. Also, prepared dies can crack from prolonged drying. This prepares one edge of the barrel. A hoop of a larger diameter must be put on immediately after the first edge, using a hammer. Now it's the turn of the second edge: the workpiece is steamed for a long time before mounting the second end. This is done so that the tree becomes soft and pliable. After that, the workpiece is turned over with the open side up and a rope is thrown over the steamed tree, which is twisted so that the ends of the rivets come together. Without releasing the rope, you need to put on a hoop. Such work is not done alone - someone twists the rope, and someone puts on a hoop.

Shutdown

When the frame is ready, it is hardened.

There are many ways, mainly roasting. At the same time, the smell and astringency of the burnt wood will be transferred to the wine, which will also be appreciated. This is done as follows: inside, on the side of the finished skeleton, they put shavings of a fruit tree - preferably a cherry. Ignite and slowly roll from side to side for even smoldering. It is not necessary to make fires inside the workpiece; out of inexperience, you can burn the product. You can not use any liquids for ignition - they have in their composition chemical elements that the tree will absorb. You can use a blowtorch, but with caution - a strong fire can leave unnoticed smoldering in the core, causing the product to burn.

The final stage of creating a barrel is its grinding from the outside, drilling holes for the bay and cutting a gutter for the bottoms.

Further, the barrel manufacturing process is as follows: the workpiece is processed with a tool - uneven ends are cut off, polished from the outside, a hole is drilled for the bay and gutters for the bottoms are cut. The bottoms of the barrels are two circles carved from the likeness of shields. Shields are prepared as follows: boards are overlapped and fastened with additional brackets. Circles are sharpened so that their edges go into a bevel. It is necessary to accurately calculate the diameter of the bottoms. This is done after the final assembly of the skeleton, because this cannot be done right away. Then the bottoms are inserted by loosening the extreme hoops. After inserting one, you need to fill the hoop again, then do the same with the second bottom.

Leak test. Naturally, the barrel is tested with a liquid, that is, water. It will leak for the first time until the tree swells. Time is allotted for the barrel to stop leaking, no more than an hour. If it still flows, you need to find a gap and close it. Coopers use reed stalks for such purposes. They are plugged between the rivets with a sharp and thin object, for example, a knife. In addition, you can cover the barrel from the outside - with wax. Only you need to take really bee - products should not be with chemistry.

After the manufacture of the barrel is almost completed - it is tempered, fired and checked for leaks, it is steamed or allowed to settle with water so that all extraneous odors that wine can take over from the wood are gone. You can treat the inner surface of the barrel with hydrogen peroxide or potassium permanganate.

Summarizing

It is not difficult to make a barrel with your own hands if you carefully follow the recommendations. Caring for it is extremely simple - you need to steam or boil it regularly, and then dry it very carefully if its use is delayed.

Another important rule: if the barrel is intended for liquid products - brines, alcohol or water, then it cannot be left dry for a long time. If it is used for storing dry products, then it cannot be wetted.