Iwent to Home Depot and bought a $34 half a wood barrel. I'm starting to think that these barrels are made to be planters. THEY DON'T HOLD WATER. I thought maybe I could soak the thing in a tub of water to re-hydrate it but it doesnt look like it was ever ment to hold liquid. The slats are very tight so it looked like it from the get go. I just caulked the fire out of it and now it holds water. But, I'm worried about when the caulk wears out and water starts leaking out all over my shop floor.

 

Any suggestions?

Chris

A handful of sawdust is what I used when I took a coopering class. When the barrel/pail/whatever dries out it will shrink then need to be rehydrated and/or possibly the hoops retightened. Once rehydrated it should hold water again. The sawdust flows into the cracks, swells with water and fills the holes.

If it smells like booze, then it was once watertight, and could have been made so once again if you had skipped the caulk.

 

That may complicate things. Sinking it in a pond with ballast for a week would have done it.

As long as it stays full of liquid in the shop**, the staves will swell and compress together. Tacking the hoops in place with a couple of roofing nails won't hurt a thing, either. **It don't freeze in Colorado, does it? You got an extra stock tank heater laying around, maybe?

 

You can get plastic liners so that you can turn them into a fountain or bog garden, should work as well for lining a slack tub IF you can keep big chunks o' hot or sharp metal away. (In a blacksmith shop? Nah, the bank called, that reality check just bounced.)

My metal quench tub got destroyed by sub zero temps a month ago, I replaced it with this, from my local Lowes. About $13, it's very thick and stiff plastic, it caught my eye because it looks like it belongs next to an anvil and because the online reviews all complained that it had no drain holes (obviously supposed to be a large planter). Plenty big, I really like it. Might be a less troublesome option than trying to seal up your barrel?

Dear Torment,

 

If the inside of your barrel is black and charred it is an old whisky barrel and should hold liquid once the wood swells up.  If not, it is probably something that was likely built in China to be a planter.  Can you tell the type of wood?  Whisky barrels are made out of oak.  If it is pine it is definitely a planter.

 

I have thought about getting a half whisky barrel for a slack tub but they are just too big for my shop.

How long did you let it soak; takes about 2 days to reswell a wooden bucket; I stack them and take the diversion unit from the swamp cooler to run a trickle of water into it continuously and take the hose and spray the insides and outsides good to get it started.

My metal quench tub got destroyed by sub zero temps a month ago, I replaced it with this, from my local Lowes. About $13, it's very thick and stiff plastic, it caught my eye because it looks like it belongs next to an anvil and because the online reviews all complained that it had no drain holes (obviously supposed to be a large planter). Plenty big, I really like it. Might be a less troublesome option than trying to seal up your barrel?

Try to find a wood or metal version sooner rather than later. Pretty easy to melt through the side of plastic even with it full of water. 

An obsolete vertical air compressor tank with the top cut off works well. 

tractor supply had whiskey half barrels for sale a couple of years ago as planters. when I looked at them they were half full of water so I decided that they would work fine for a slack tub. Main trick with them is to keep them full of water so the wood swells. have had no leakage from mine in 2 years. keep a heat lamp on it this time of year so it doesnt freeze.

Try to find a wood or metal version sooner rather than later. Pretty easy to melt through the side of plastic even with it full of water. 

An obsolete vertical air compressor tank with the top cut off works well. 

 

Actually, this is very thick, very hard plastic, I haven't even been able to nick it with hot steel.  It's quite large and easily accommodates anything I've dunked in it, When I first got it I was very tentative about letting even warm steel come in contact with it, but my worries were unfounded, it's unfazed completely.  It's not "plasticky" like you normally think of plastic, must be some kind of hard composite material. 

thanks for all the replies. I wish I didn't caulk the fire oit of it so soon. I'm pretty sure it's one of the chiness planter jobs though. Oh well, the caulk will wear out and i'll start having leaks soon enough. I'm sure of it. I need to start looking for a real oak whiskey barrel. The heat lamp is a great idea as it freezes this time of year.