Home Distiller

Hey everyone! Haven't posted in a while. Was talking to a friend of mine and I came up with a plan in my head. What if I make a box out of white oak? Piece it together with dovetail slots or maybe even tongue and groove. Hold it tight with either ratchet straps or some zip ties. Let it swell with water, any leaks plug with some bees wax? Let me know if you boys have tried anything similar or have any links to plans for it. Been searching arundel here and can't find anything on the topic.

I'm thinking you'll have a hell of a time making it leak free. With round barrels you have steel hoops to ensure the expansion of the wood works in favour of sealing it up.
A straight sided round barrel I'm sure would work fine with the addition of hoops. I've often thought of trying one out of cherry. I think I would taper the sides slightly to allow the use of force fit hoops.

Round barrels roll a heck of a lot easier than square vessels too. The majors use 31.5 gallon barrels that weigh more than 325 lbs when filled. They use gravity and geometry (way to go engineering) to aid in movement through the aging house. Square vessels would have to be hoisted and hauled.
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I've done something like this in the past. Tried 2 different shapes, square and octagonal. Getting the bottom of the square not to leak was a pain. Ended up getting frustrated and screwing a bottom on with a ton of stainless screws. I used a locking miter on corner joints (cut with a locking miter bit on router table), that part worked well.
Octagonal was a little easier, though fitting top and bottom perfectly took a bit of time.
I used a bunch of big hose clamps to pull them tight.

In the end, coopers are skilled craftsmen with specialized equipment. Trying to be a Cooper with "basic" tools isn't exactly quick and easy.
If you're looking for quick and easy, buy a barrel. Otherwise, best of luck to ya!

Thanks everyone for he input. Like I said, I plan on using a ratchet strap to replace the steel hoop on the round barrels. Hoping between the straps pulling it all together tight and some water letting it swell I can mitigate most leaks. Does anyone know if I can use flour paste inside the grooves to help seal it up or will that all wear away as the wood absorbs the water and then alcohol?

For $35 just go buy a half barrel at HD or Lowes and worry about building a lid.

Use a keg and some 3/4" sq. Charred blocks--approx 275 for a 15.5 gal keg-- works great