About the service
I have been coopering for years, and every vessel that leaves my workshop is built the old way: staves split and shaped by hand, hoops driven on with a mallet, no glue and no sealant anywhere in the body. I take orders for oak barrels from three to two hundred litres, and also for tubs, wash buckets, bathhouse basins, churns and small kegs. Before a single board is cut I like to talk the piece through with you, because a barrel for pickling and a barrel for ageing spirits are two different objects that only look alike.
The wood matters more than anything else. I work with winter-felled oak, split or quarter-sawn, and air-dry it under a roof for at least three years. Kiln-dried stock is quicker to get, but it keeps moving afterwards and the seams open up at the owner's house rather than in my shop. Each stave is jointed to the exact bevel of the chosen diameter, the body is raised in a truss hoop, warmed over an open fire and slowly drawn in with a windlass until the belly takes its shape. Charring is done to order: a light toast for water, kvass and pickling, a medium or heavy char when the barrel is meant for wine or spirits and you want that vanilla and caramel note. The heads are set into the croze, the finished vessel is filled and left standing for several days, then checked again under load — nothing goes out while a single seam is still weeping.
From you I need only four things: what the vessel is for, the volume, the hoop material you prefer (galvanised steel, blackened steel or polished brass), and whether you want a tap, a lid, handles, a stand or carving on the head. Usual lead time is a week and a half to two weeks for a single piece; for a set I quote the time separately.
What is included:
— selection and preparation of the oak, with offcuts shown to you on request;
— dry assembly on hoops, fire bending, toasting to the agreed degree;
— fitted heads, bung hole, optional tap, lid and handles;
— a leak test with water and a written note on how to swell and store the vessel.
The wood matters more than anything else. I work with winter-felled oak, split or quarter-sawn, and air-dry it under a roof for at least three years. Kiln-dried stock is quicker to get, but it keeps moving afterwards and the seams open up at the owner's house rather than in my shop. Each stave is jointed to the exact bevel of the chosen diameter, the body is raised in a truss hoop, warmed over an open fire and slowly drawn in with a windlass until the belly takes its shape. Charring is done to order: a light toast for water, kvass and pickling, a medium or heavy char when the barrel is meant for wine or spirits and you want that vanilla and caramel note. The heads are set into the croze, the finished vessel is filled and left standing for several days, then checked again under load — nothing goes out while a single seam is still weeping.
From you I need only four things: what the vessel is for, the volume, the hoop material you prefer (galvanised steel, blackened steel or polished brass), and whether you want a tap, a lid, handles, a stand or carving on the head. Usual lead time is a week and a half to two weeks for a single piece; for a set I quote the time separately.
What is included:
— selection and preparation of the oak, with offcuts shown to you on request;
— dry assembly on hoops, fire bending, toasting to the agreed degree;
— fitted heads, bung hole, optional tap, lid and handles;
— a leak test with water and a written note on how to swell and store the vessel.
