Thread: Port Barrel

Hi Frank,

My mistake, its Titebond 2 that is food safe, take a look here for the info.

Cheers

Richard

I know it has been said, but use what teh real coopers make, oak. THe best place is old wine barrels. You can get these from most garden shops, but I would be more inlcined to find a winery that will sell you one, as they are only used for a few years and then discarded. Gettign it froma winery you have an idea how old they are and where they have been stored. Getting it form a nursery may have been sittign around for months with fertiliser.

THere is a port barrel maker in Echuca who does just the using old wine barrels. THe effect of the oak would probably be fairly minimal as the preceeding wine has already leeched out much of the "oak charecteristics."

The seal in real barrels is caused by the construction. The staves are pretty much straight and shaped to give a taper to each end. The staves are then assembled at one end to form the circle and th ring put on. It is then paced over a fire to assist the bending of the staves to meet at the other end. THis creates a farily tight seal, the wood swelling with wine finishes it off.

Just a thought on water- (or is that "port-") proofing: how would a cup of beeswax heated up and poured in through the bung to line the innards go?

I've done similar on some of my hollow turnings and it has worked well.. However I'm sure we're all aware that there are one or two minor technical differences between a Port Barrel and a... ahem... vase and I'm not a wine drinker so I've know idea how port goes with beeswax...

(And yes, I know that a "real" barrel is waterproofed by it's construction. I'm also aware that coopers are skilled craftsmen and I don't see much sense in Wayne's taking on an apprenticeship just to be able to satisfy one person's request... )

Originally Posted by Richard Findley

its Titebond 2 that is food safe.

Thanks Richard. Well, Waine, it looks that now that the big guns have all weighed in refining my one-liner, we are back to the essential point: knowing that if you wanted to do the real thing, you would need true oak and coopering skills, to do what you wanted to do you need a timber that does not taint the wine and a non-toxic waterproof PVA.

Next!...

Once again Peoples thanks,

I think that the method of construction will depend on what type of wood I am able to lay my hands on.

Essentially the bloke that wants the barrel is trying to get it cheap as he is on a very tight budget. (On a pension.)

Thanks for all your input and help, when I get it done I will post a pic.

Regards
Wayne