Back To (old) School: Coopering

A few years ago, Joe and I had the good fortune to get a commission for a coopered bathtub. Joe had always wanted to build one so we jumped at the chance. There was quite a steep learning curve (not to mention the whole must hold water thing), but we had a lot of fun doing it.

Yellow Cedar Coopered Tub

Since that project, we’ve had an interest in all things coopered. It seems to be a form/ skill / technology that is barely holding on in modern times. Wooden barrels used to be the state of the art in shipping goods; they carried everything from nails to whiskey. Now the only commercial use for barrels I know of is the wine and spirits industry.

Our friend Sarah (and proud owner of the above wooden tub) was telling us this spring that she wanted to take a barrel making course- we said count us in if you find one! Barrels were not in the cards but she did find a coopering course making red cedar buckets at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. Being that PT is just a short ferry ride away, we signed up.

Two things being a woodworker has taught me are 1) the true value of handmade goods, both from a financial aspect and an aesthetic one, 2) how to really see an object beyond it’s utilitarian purpose. So for us, a bucket is not necessarily just a bucket; it conveys a particular set of skills the maker possesses, and can be an object for aesthetic appreciation.

While we were taking the course I kept think about the book by David Pye “The Nature and Art of Workmanship”. In it he states that it is common to equate ‘good’ with ‘precise’ and ‘bad’ with ‘rough’- and that this is in fact false. He writes

In some cases precision is necessary to soundness, but in many others it is not, and rough workmanship will do the job just as well. In some cases precision is necessary to the intended aesthetic expression but in others if is not and, on the contrary, rough workmanship is essential to it.

I think handmade objects such as the buckets we made in the course embody this idea perfectly. The finished object is absolutely beautiful, each one unique. I love the texture of the rough cedar, the tool marks of the maker, the black streaks from the iron, and the hammer marks on the bands. Too much of our modern built environment is filled with ‘cookie cutter’ goods.

We started with rounds of red cedar and a froe to split off 3/4” thick pieces. Splitting from one side ensures the pieces will not taper along their length. A pattern for the size of the stave was drawn on the pieces, then we used an axe to rough out the taper, being careful to stay at least 1/8” outside the lines. Each bucket has 16 staves.

Next came the fun part- using the giant cooper’s plane! This is the biggest hand plane you’ll find anywhere. The plane is clamped to the bench and the wood pushed over it. Our instructor, Steve, made his using the guts out of antique wooden soled plane. Joe and I started to make one as soon as we got home this week. The staves need to be both tapered and beveled, this was achieved free-hand on the cooper’s plane. We used the pencil lines of the pattern for the taper, and a ‘clapper gauge’ for the bevel. The first few staves took quite a while to get right, once we got the feel for it it went much faster. It was rewarding to just trust the eye, so often we rely on jigs and things for precision, with this we just went at it. Sometimes all you need is practice. (like sharpening!).

Once we had all our staves to the correct taper and beveled, we cleaned up the inside face with a draw knife. Steve had a pair of really fabulous draw knives- Joe and I were rather taken with them. The handles fold closed on the blade edge for storage, and also lock in a few different positions. A great design- Robin Lee, are you reading this? We’d buy one in a second!

Next, the staves are stood on end and temporary hoop is fitted over to pull them together. This allows a measurement to be taken for the bands. It’s a bit of a guess, given that they will be driven down onto the staves. Experience is the thing here, given that we had none Steve helped us to judge where to measure from. It’s starting to look like something…

We made the bands out of 1/8” X 1” band iron. Once cut to length, we shaped them into a circle by hand; first just standing on the band while pulling up on the end, then hooked in the vice when the radius got tighter. The ends went into a vice for drilling, then aluminum tinner’s rivets were pounded in and peaned over.

With hearing protection in place, the hoops were pounded on an anvil to flare them to the taper of the bucket. Pounding the bottom edge expands the steel, making the flare. It was rather hard work, but incredibly satisfying too. When we got home, Joe started looking into anvils. He now NEEDS an anvil. I had no idea how much one of these is worth- upwards of $1,000 for a decent one. I now know why, although I still can’t quite wrap my head around it. It turns out that one of the best anvil manufactures is in Port Townsend, maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t find that out when we were down there… But I agree, we do need an anvil.

With the hoops complete, it’s time to pound them down on the staves. Both of the hoops are installed, and then the bottom of the bucket is trimmed. With the bottom of the bucket propped up level, a pencil is used to scribe a line around the bottom. A handsaw is then used to cut to the line. The inside bottom of the bucket is then faired with a scorp (I love that word) and/or a gouge.

A cooper’s tool called a croze is used to cut a shallow groove for the bottom. Steve’s was a rather rustic affair, a re-purposed saw blade in a post, held with a wedge. It did the trick. He also had a router plane with a custom cutter for doing the same thing. I didn’t get to use this one, but I wish I had. It cut much cleaner. We’ve since been on the internet looking at antique cooper’s tools, and there are some great ones out there.

We measured for the bottom using a set of dividers. Setting the dividers to step exactly six times around the groove for the bottom swings the  right radius for the bottom. Isn’t geometry great! I need to learn more about dividers. We used the band saw to cut the circle. Besides the drilling in the steel, it was the only power tool we used. I hope in the future they have something non-electrified to do this with, just because everything else was.

Both sides of the bottom are beveled so it will fit in the 1/4” groove. We used draw knives and block planes to achieve this. The bottom hoop is temporarily removed, and the bottom is pushed down in until, finger’s crossed, it seats with a satisfying ‘thunk’ into the groove. Mine did, others were not so lucky the first time and a bit of fitting was necessary. Pound the bottom hoop back on and you’re almost there. Some folks chose to level out the top of their buckets, others left them the way they were.

Joe was the first to finish and ‘wet test’ his bucket. It’s supposed to leak at first, the idea is that the wood swells and any small leaks will stop. At least that’s the idea. Joe’s was pretty good, water came out but not gushing. How cool!

Now that we’re home and have had the bucket full for a few days, it’s holding water just fine.  Jake seems to prefer drinking from it much than his old plastic one. And we will definitely be making more buckets, and who knows what else? Our cooper’s plane is underway, and we’ve got a big pile of red cedar ready for the froe. All we need is that anvil….

PS

I just grabbed the grocery list off of the kitchen counter and Joe’s written ‘anvil’ between ‘eggs’ and ‘coffee’. No lie!