-
This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.
Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades -
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
care and feeding of wooden kegs
- Thread starter 62flint
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
Prior to using it, I fill my water keg with water. It will leak for a few hours as the wood swells and loses about a gallon. After that, it's all swollen and ready to go.
I could redo the wax coating on the inside, but soaking it is easier for someone who is lazy. ::
I could redo the wax coating on the inside, but soaking it is easier for someone who is lazy. ::
Blacksmith
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2005
- Messages
- 38
- Reaction score
- 0
I use a half barrel for slack tub (water quench tank) in the trailer shop. Whole lot easier to just keep water in it and keep it by the hose connection outside the house. Time to use it, I just empty it and throw it in the bed of the truck. It will freeze in the wintertime though and it gets stores upside down. Needs re-filled when the temps are not gonna be below 20's anymore. Skift of ice is one thing. Froze to more than an inch and you'll bust the bottom out. I have a small bucket that was given to me as a gift (apparently genuine hand coopered wood banded original). Bucket is about 8-10" tall and I guess 6" wide at the base. I have been told that I can seal this with parrifin or wax. This, I have ZERO experience with. Any help ? Thanks. This little bucket would be nice for drinking water in the tent. Needs a lid made for it but I think I can handle that. Nice handmade wood bail on it though.
sherpadoug
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2005
- Messages
- 178
- Reaction score
- 0
On a related note, I have a wooden canteen I bought last spring and used all summer and fall. Despite keeping it wet all winter it leaks noticeably now. I got some brewer's pitch from Townsend to reseal it (it was originally sealed with brewer's pitch). They say the pitch won't melt in a double boiler. You have to get it hotter. So I guess I need to dry the canteen well before putting the hot pitch in or I will have problems with trapped steam. Is there anything else I should look out for?
sherpadoug
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2005
- Messages
- 178
- Reaction score
- 0
I successfully re-pitched my wooden canteen last weekend. For those interested I first baked the canteen in the oven at 175F for a couple of hours to dry it out without damaging the leather bits. Then I heated the brewer's pitch I got from Townsend in a large tin can on the stove. I found it melted at about 250F. I heated it to a little over 300F and poured a cup or two into the canteen. I wanted enough hot mass to melt the existing pitch so new and old pitch would fuse together. I rolled it around to coat the whole inside and poured it back into the can. The pitch in the can stayed liquid for a long time, long after the can was cool enough to pick up by hand. I let the canteen cool for a few hours and then tested it with water.
So far, so good! :results:
So far, so good! :results:
