Interesting video.   A presentation at this week's woodworking club is a guy whose grandfather was a cooper and will be showing tools and techniques.   I did a tour of a barrel co. in bourbon country a few years ago.  Way more automated than this.   And those guys, unless they were hamming up for the camera must have had some biceps and pecs.
 

 

That's 1950s and I love it.  How is it done 2019?

Wow, that looks like some hard labor right there.  I wonder who did the sharpening of these tools?  Each guy responsible for his own, or maybe a whole other part of the barrel factory with a team devoted to it?

Pretty cool Keith to revisit what has become a dying art of craftsman...that was some very hard work even for the day.

I noticed the guy running the table was still wearing a tie under his overalls; liked the "big" joiner too.

Thanks for the post. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth watching.

Edited January 8, 20197 yr by Grandpadave52

thanks Keith...

I really liked it...

18 hours ago, kmealy said:

Interesting video.

it's not here anymore..

it tries to load and ghosts out...

the link to the video isn't showing on the home page also..

but the thread is...

1 minute ago, Stick486 said:

it's not here anymore..

it tries to load and ghosts out...

I thought it was just me. I looked at the post at O'dark thirty and Dan was the only reply. There was nothing there. When I refreshed the site an outline of the embedded video flash up and then disappeared. I thought it was just my computer.

Works for me! Thanks, Keith. Had to show this to my wife... her great- and great-great-grandfathers were coopers. They made barrels for the potash industry 'way back when. Probably a bit different ("dry" as opposed to "wet" coopering), but very interesting just the same. Thanks.

John

12 hours ago, Cal said:

Wow, that looks like some hard labor right there.  I wonder who did the sharpening of these tools?  Each guy responsible for his own, or maybe a whole other part of the barrel factory with a team devoted to it?

First thought I had when I saw the video (well other than how much I like Guinness LOL). There had to be a team or at least a section of the factory devoted to sharpness. Oak, right?

5 hours ago, schnewj said:

I thought it was just me.

I believe the issue is you need adobe flash player to see it...

2 hours ago, Stick486 said:

adobe flash player

I am not much for video games.

it could be it's through FB...

I don't do FB either...

7 hours ago, Stick486 said:

I don't do FB either...

Me neither.

John

It occurred to me that this would be the perfect occupation for @Gene Howe! No measuring, only a compass to fit the lid!

John

3 hours ago, HARO50 said:

It occurred to me that this would be the perfect occupation for @Gene Howe! No measuring, only a compass to fit the lid!

John

He won't ever need his No-Number tape...perfect!

Didja notice, not one measuring tape, ruler or pencil in evidence. And, the compass was only used to gauge the size of the top necessary to fit the diameter of the particular cask. Being of Welsh and Irish extraction, I can imagine they don't like numbers any more the I do.

Edited January 10, 20197 yr by Gene Howe

Yeah but they had a measured jig to position the bung hole location centered approximately from the ends...just an observation.

13 hours ago, HARO50 said:

It occurred to me that this would be the perfect occupation for @Gene Howe! No measuring, only a compass to fit the lid!

John

It's precise measuring.  If you walk the dividers around and end up at the same stop after six steps you have exactly the radius of the circle.

 

Thanks, Keith. Strangely, I still remember that from high school!

John