Wooden Barrel Hoops

[Captain Bob]

I recently ordered a 2-liter barrel with black steel hoops from Old World Barrel Co.. ISTR* reading a thread in Captain Twill where several folks stated that GAOP barrels, casks and/or kegs were almost all bound with wood and not iron. This makes sense, especially for barrels the ship's carpenter makes when away from port facilities.

I'm not planning to make any barrels myself (unless, of course, it sounds like I might have the necessary skills and tools. Still, I'd like to know just how were wooden hoops constructed and what kind of wood was used to make them?

~~Captain Redd Roberts (the pirate formerly known as Cap'n Bob.)

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Captain Bob....

I was thinking the same thing... i think. I wanted to try to re-hoop my wooden barrels with wood.

If I am not mistaken... I think it was willow.

I will check.

Greg

[Captain Tightpants]

Good question! It's one thing to say - as I have - that casks were often bound with wood instead of iron; it's another to leave it at that, and offer no alternative information.

It's really simple - English casks were most often bound with hazel withes, woven just like hazel fences or wattle-and-daub medieval building construction. Well, slightly different, but the principle remains.

I'm not sure if I was involved in the original discussion(s) or not, but I have a few observations to make.

First, it's not exactly true that iron-bound casks weren't found in the period of study. In fact, they were common, especially in larger casks. Roman writers, describing the Germanic peoples, wrote of iron-bound casks. In Roman times, iron-bound casks were uncommon, but they became more common as time went on. Also, hazel bindings are of necessity nailed to the staves. It is my considered opinion that wood-bound casks were used for dry storage, not wet.

Second, I sincerely doubt that a ship's carpenter would have the knowledge necessary to maintain and repair cooperage. After all, that's what cooper is for. If a ship's carpenter was involved with cooperage maintenance, iron-bound casks are far simpler to tighten than hazel-bound. In order to tighten the staves, you use a simple tool on the hoops, tapping it down with a mallet to force the hoop more firmly in place, thus tightening the staves. It is plausible that a ship's carpenter could have figured this out on his own. Tightening hazel withes is a much more complicated process, requiring the Mistery and Arte of the Cooper.

Anyway, that's my tuppence.

Cheers,

Bob

[Gentleman of Fortune]

I found the refrence...

Split willow and chestnut branches formed the hoops of all but the largest casks

And without going into a huge recap, we have discussed the iron/wood bound hoop thing before... I bumped the conversation up so check it out under

GAOP encampment

[Captain Tightpants]

I'll shift the discussion thereto.

See ya there!

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Maybe we should keep it here though... as the other conversation is about encampment.

wooden bound cask... on land.

yet another, used in camp by army soldiers.

Let the games begin.

Greg

[Black Hearted Pearl]

I find wood bindings to be quite unreliable. Especially on something that has to be moved about. Could it possible be rope?

[Patrick Hand]

OOP.... From 1805....

From "Diary of an Early American Boy Noah Blake 1805" by Eric Sloane....This book is taken from a period (1805) diary, and then "explained" by Eric Sloane....

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" May 10 Took the day off and went into the woods looking for hoop wood. Found muskrat den. Will set snares soon."

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Both stump-pulling and finding "hoop wood" were spring chores of early times...

"I guess you haven't heard about the new cooper in the village." replies Noah. "He told Robert and me that he could use all the good hoop wood that we can supply him with. Robert and I shall keep a supply soaking over in Indain Brook meadow. Then whenever we go to the village and need a bit of spending money, we shall pick up a bundle of hoop wood and sell it to Mr. Minor. He's the new cooper"

In May, when black ash and hickory are alive with new sap, six foot poles were cut from the saplings in the swamplands. After a good soaking the poles were pounded soft and "rived" or cut into strips for making barrel hoops. You just pounded the softened wood strip around a barrel and when it dried, you had a hoop that was as hard as iron and even outlasted metal

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There is also a good illistration of how wood barrel hoops were made.... I can scan and post it if anyone realy wants to see it........

I'm guessing that wooden hoops were cheaper than iron.... a cooper was a wood worker, to iron band a barrel would also require a blacksmith to make the hoops... wood is cheaper..... but looking at the pictures of wood bound barrels..... look at how many hoops were used.... maybe iron bound barrels were stronger.......

[historyfanatic]

In May, when black ash and hickory are alive with new sap, six foot poles were cut from the saplings in the swamplands. After a good soaking the poles were pounded soft and "rived" or cut into strips for making barrel hoops.

We have several local historical coopers in the Louisville area and two of them use wooden hoops. They use hickory strips that are kept wet from the moment they are cut until they are used. However, they are nailed to the staves of the keg. Hope this info helps. I know it's not a period reference, but it is a "done-it" reference...

[Captain Bob]

We have several local historical coopers in the Louisville area and two of them use wooden hoops. They use hickory strips that are kept wet from the moment they are cut until they are used. However, they are nailed to the staves of the keg. Hope this info helps. I know it's not a period reference, but it is a "done-it" reference...

Are these barrels purely decorative or practical? If practical, what sort of contents are they intended to hold?

Secondary question: I recently watched a western and during one of the (many) shoot-outs, I noticed that the barrels they were using for cover were bound with rope. Was this a common practice )? Would I have been likely to see rope-bound barrels in the GAOP?

[MadMike]

From the British House of Commons, 27 January 1699-

"In the 40s. [shillings] allowed in the Proportion of 40s. for Beer, there is included the Cask, and Iron Hoops &c. , Accounting the Cask of 22s. per Tun, which now cost much more, there is to be deducted for 22,647 tuns 2 Hogsheads, being the Overplus of Cash besides what allleged to be bought at 10s. per tun"

The House of Commons Journals give quite extensive details about the provisioning of the Royal Navy, and the use of iron hooped casks (in this example, hogsheads).

From the Journal for 10 October 1689, includes the following for victually "their Majesties Navy"-

Cask

Staves

Iron Hoops

Wood Hoops

Yours, Mike