Reply To: Wooden mug, barrel style, an experiment
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Today, I made a new bottom, because the old one got way out of shape during my attempts to fit it. This time, I planed it down to 6 mm (1/4″) and only tapered the inside (up). While fitting it, the portion below the groove of three staves split away. I didn’t fix it yet, because fitting the bottom was quite fast.
Then I made a first leakage test. Perhaps the bottom doesn’t fit perfectly yet, there was a moment, where water got out of some side joints near the bottom. At the bottom, it leaked a lot were the ends of the staves were split off, the other areas seemed fine. It was hard to tell though, because all the staves were wet at the end. I refilled the mug several times and the leakage got much smaller, but didn’t stop.
Once the wood has dried up, I will check the bottom for marks, where it might not fit and make three new staves. Today I forgot to buy linseed meal, hopefully I won’t tomorrow. If all goes well, I will have a tight mug by tomorrow evening.
By the way, I tasted the water that dripped out of the bottom, and there is no funny taste, still ordinary tap water.
Some notes to myself:
– for another bottom, use rasp and file for the taper
– buy linseed meal!!!!!
– on future mugs and similar vessels, make sure, the grain direction of all staves is the same
There are still a few challenges to master, the handle will be the easiest of them. But how to attach it? Perhaps a piece of sheet metal that attaches to the rings? I also need to find a suitable finish for the wood. Boiled linseed oil has a certain taste, so it won’t be good. Shellac will be washed away by alcohol. I think, I need a tasteless food-grade oil, that cures hard (many oils cure into a slimey goo, which isn’t exactly good for a mug surface). Pure steel rings will get rusty, so I have to think about a protection too. Painting it would be the easiest. And I have to develop a simple tool to round the inside of the mug, once it is assembled. Perhaps I can make a tiny scraper from an old sawblade and attach it to a piece of wood to reach inside.
Dieter