Wood for a barrel

[tiramisu]

I've got it in my head that making whisky requires making a barrel from a piece of oak
then making some white corn whiskey... then making a single malt bourbon.
recharring the barrel and then making a proper barley whiskey with or without peat.


I suppose I could bring it on myself to make vodka and gin, rum, then a whiskey
but I would die of old age before I made a whiskey....

So... Can a specialty lumber store deliver properly aged and seasoned oak
or do you actually have to go to a mill?

I know what is involved in making a barrel and I only want to make one
but I'd like to do a proper job.

Norwegian Barrel Making Tax


Thankks,
t

[8Ball]

Find a cooper and buy the wood directly from him. You probably will get valuable insight into the build process as well.

[CopperFiend]

I've built 4 barrels now, from 1L up to 20L. I bought a proper big ex-bourbon barrel from a local supplier (they normally buy them to turn into plant pots!) And resawed it. That way you get the benefit of it not being new wood (helps prevent over-oaking) and also it's already quartersawn (extremely important) and you know it works as it's been a commercial barrel before!

This is absolutely the way I would recommend doing it. Getting properly sawn and dried oak timber is very specialist with no guarantees of quality. Plus, ex-bourbon barrels go for insanely cheap. I made 4 barrels out of one big one. I have to say it isn't an easy task if you've never coopered before but I hadn't. I have a metal and woodwork background so I have all the tools and materials however.

If you have any questions, let me know. Maybe you can learn from my initial mistakes! all four have been working well for the last year with no leaks so I am pretty happy with that, also my whisky tastes divine.

Cheers,
Copper

[cob]

lots of discussion here. https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... =4&t=44994

[The Baker]

Tried rebuilding a barrel.

Lots of effort, poor result.

Geoff

[tiramisu]

We have Bur Oak, Quercus macrocarp, growing locally here that is a type of white oak.
I am going to reach out to some local sawyers and see if I can find myself some winter cuts to season.

Still looking for some modern techniques and jigs to make the job easier but I'm sure I will figure it out
as I go along.

Angles and circles seem like something that is a lot easier to do with modern tools.