Bain Marie Oak Aging Barrels

[BigRig]

... and this is why you have to make sure you sand the heads to the right size/angle... wanted to test how the wood swells so made this head a close fit, only went in about 1/3rd of the way itself before having to be pressed in....

20230325_094505.jpg

Damn.

Is the split from forcing it in or was that from swelling of the wood ?

[hjubm2]

Was from the swelling of the wood. No split when it was pushed in, wasn't an overly tight fit, only about 1mm larger then usual

[hjubm2]

Day off today & the weathers average so shed day today. Decided theres no point having the barrels if I don't have a stand for them so designed up a stand & cut it out on the router...

20230327_133222.jpg

20230327_133234.jpg

Went into my wood collection on Saturday & pulled out some more American & French oak fonds so will have to start cutting more heads out soon. Have half a dozen of each already cut out but another 25 or 30 barrels sounds good :laughing-rolling:

Getting the whole process sorted now, the barrels are coming out at a standard I'm quite happy with... I know your quite keen for a barrel Wellsy so let me know what you'd want & I'm sure we can work something out now that the process is sorted...

[hjubm2]

Made a few more barrels last weekend. Medium toast french oak went to the local homebrew store who are stocking them to see how they sell & made another american oak with medium toast that will eventually be used for whiskey but first up it is getting conditioned with orange blossom honey for atleast 6 months... slowly heating up the honey atm so I can pour it in...

I'm also looking at 11L inserts now to make around 10L barrels. Might be a bit better size for the costs I think, especially when drink too much whiskey :laughing-rolling:

[]Ned[]

Here’s my first go, using some used French oak wine staves redressed, toasted and charred. Pressed into a $10 Kmart pot, capacity is 6.5L. Waiting now on some seasoned American oak I’ve ordered.

[bluc]

Nice job ned had wondered about those very pots.. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[]Ned[]

Thanks bouc, your toooo kind :text-lol: it look like shit, next one will be better. Need to fill this one first

[hjubm2]

Thanks bouc, your toooo kind :text-lol: it look like shit, next one will be better. Need to fill this one first

Nah I agree with Bluc, looks good. Like the aged/used oak look. Have you tried filling it yet? Interested to know how it lasts long term. I see they have 15L ones so might be a good option for larger barrels... you say you redressed the staves, how did you do that? Plain them back to bare wood I'm guessing...?

[]Ned[]

I used a belt sander to flatten the inside and take the old wine crap off, the squared off the ends with a table saw. Used our sandwich press to retoast then gave it a blowtorch.

Only filled with water to check the seal,so far, been waiting for my still to make rum to fill it.

[bluc]

It appears ben the original maker has passed away. Scroll down in link. Hope thats ok stig
https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... start=1050

[hjubm2]

Saw that pop up on youtube the other day, sad to see. Just shows you never know when your times going to be up...

[hjubm2]

Had to order some more of the stainless inserts, been going through a few of them lately... ended up also ordering some bigger ones. Not sure how they will work out as they are a different shape at the top but think they should be alright... should give about 10L capacity instead of 6.5L

20230728_093223.jpg

20230728_093206.jpg

[Wellsy]

I love the 6.5 litre one Hj

[hjubm2]

I love the 6.5 litre one Hj

That's great to hear! You got it filled up? I've had brandy in one for nearly 4 months now & it's going great, I should have started making these a lot sooner!

[BigRig]

Could this be done with a corny keg?

[hjubm2]

Could this be done with a corny keg?

I have had this discussion with the local home brew store the other week, they wanted to cut a 50L key in half & turn it into a barrel... can't see why it's not possible assuming it's only single walled... otherwise might be a bit of a pain

[Wellsy]

why cut it in half ? :laughing-rolling:

[The Stig]

Cut both ends off a Corny keg , double the oak :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[]Ned[]

First barrel above was made watertight with heaps of wax but the rum at 63% still leaked so ripped the face back out and made a new one, this definitely was a tight for hopefully it doesn’t split, but got the laser engraver out to put some art on it, how long do you reckon I leave the water in to check for splitting before I risk my rum?

[harold01]

good looking barrel, laser engraving is a winner idea