Thread: Portakeg Project

Originally Posted by Paulanski

Hi there,

I'm a keen novice looking for a beginner project. I have a supply of used 90mm oregon posts and other beams that have been taken from an old pergola that I would like to use for something and I have found this Portakeg.

I am looking for some initial tips on how to turn my oregon posts into staves to make up the outer panelling. From the link, the stave details are:

27 staves in total, each of which is 42mm wide and cut with an angle of 6.7 degrees.

I estimate the thickness of the staves to be about 20mm.

What are the best tools/methods to complete the following:

1. Strip back the paint from the posts.
2. Square up any warped/bent posts.
3. Rip posts into ~1000 x 42 x 20mm staves
4. Cut an angle of 6.7 deg lengthways down each edge of the staves.

I'll tackle the lid later on.

Any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated. I have access to a triton saw bench and a planer/thicknesser & router, but I'm also looking to start investing in some tools for this and future projects, so I'm open to whatever methods are the best in your experiences.

Cheers,
Paul

Hey mate


Looks like a good project

I did something similar (in a way and also for my first project) in that I used redgum fence posts to make a snare drum.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f98/re...e-drum-168302/

sorry not much info there on how I did it...but more or less how you have described doing it. My problem was getting the angles right to make perfect joins, and yes they ended up perfect!!! much time adjusting, and recutting staves due to timber faults/cracks.

I'd suggest be careful when cutting angles to keep the width the same each end, and be patient.


I made up a jig (similar to "Koko's Jig") to round the shell using a router as I had no access to a lathe, maybe you could do the same

Good luck with it

Wow! That's very impressive - well done.

Thanks for your reply. It looks as though I'm making a tall drum, really, doesn't it? After a quick look around, I see there is a fair bit of info on how to do this, so thanks for the lead. I'll take your advice and be as patient as I can to hopefully end up with a passable result.

Still investigating how to clean up these posts and cut the staves, if anyone wants to chime in.....

cheers