Wooden Barrels For Ship Model Boats

Wooden barrels came into use around 800 BC and completely replaced clay pots by 2 BC. Wooden barrels (also called casks, tuns, kegs or hogsheads depending on the area of the world and the size of the container) were used to store food and wine or bulk goods like gold and coins and packed with some straw used as shipping containers for fragile items. The shape of the barrel allowed for ease of maneuverability in loading and unloading from ships. Barrels often have a convex shape, bulging at the middle. This constant bulge makes it relatively easy to roll a well-built wooden barrel on its side, changing directions with little friction. It also helps to distribute stress evenly in the material by making the container more spherical.

The parts of a barrel are:

1. Staves: 24 to 36 of the specially shaped board which that forms the body. Staves have to be planned smooth on the outside and slightly cupped inside. The bevel on their edges must be precise or they will neither fit together nor be waterproof. Also the tapering of each stave is critical to its fit. Staves were soaked so they could be curved properly. Some barrels were burned inside while others might be sealed with glue or pitch 2. Hoops: Early barrels were made with wooden hoops. Later they were fashioned from iron by a blacksmith. Several hoops are used to hold the barrel together. Each is driven onto the barrel with the Hoop Driver and a hammer. The hoop at the top of the barrel is known as a head hoop followed by the quarter hoop then the bilge hoop which is nearest the bulge or centre. This would repeat for the bottom half of the barrel. 3. Head: top or bottom of barrel generally made of several staves cut to size 4. Croze: groove about an inch and a half below the rim in which the head sits. The area between the top of the head and the end of the staves is known as the chime. 5. Bung hole: some barrels would have a bung hole in order to pour liquids. A stopper would be used to close the bung hole.

Ship building had long been the largest consumer of timber. During the 17th and !8th centuries, countries with large navies – wanting to be sure to that their nation could maintain its naval might – organized massive replanting projects.

Then during the 19th century, navies shifted to building ships out of metal. This change led to a glut of oak. Oak barrels remained utilitarian for centuries... but somewhere along the way, winemakers began to notice, and then exploit, the effect of barrel aging on their wines. This understanding really matured during the 19th century.

An easy way to produce a barrel is to take an existing barrel that is slightly smaller than the barrel you want to end up with and use the existing barrel as a jig. Use this form to prop up the staves, placing them all around the form and then draw a hoop down over the ends. Then turn the staves up the other way over the form and draw another hoop over that end.