Stephenson’s Rocket

[crueby]

Barrel, thats a good one.




Well, aside from shaping the staves out of wood loke a full sized one, which is complex, a few ideas in no particular order...

• 3d print the barrel
• Turn the shape on the lathe and scribe in lines to simulate staves
• Turn the shape oversized slightly, an slice it along the stave lines, glue back together
• Make it as a modern version with 55 gallon drum shape     just kidding!

[tghs]

I've been looking at cooperage as I will need to make some waterbreakers and buckets shortly.. it's just a math problem to make the staves, divide the large and smaller circumferences by the number staves predicted with these numbers make a pattern,, most coopers have a wall of patterns.. thinking about carving a plug the barrel shape, soaking the staves so the bend, clamping/strapping them around the plug,, after drying remove the plug and assemble the cask/barrel..

[Bob Wild]

Thanks Chaps and wow - that is a brilliant model of yours tghs. Fortunately my barrel is circular in cross section. I was thinking of turning a solid former to glue the planks to. My biggest worry is to get the tapered planks all the same and the correct size. I'll try a fixture to shape each one the same and maybe a little trial and error to get the taper right.

Bobb

[tghs]

what is the size for your barrel? the water cask I get to make will be just over 3 inches long,, you could shape a board with the stave shape and then saw off staves, that way you don't have to shape each one, just maybe lightly angle the edges for good fit to each other.. hose clamps or zip-ties to bend the soaked (and maybe hot) around the form..