Covered Firkin

[buffcreekforge]

I finished this project this morning. It is a covered bucket sometimes called a firkin. The firkin body and lid are made from 120+ year old yellow pine lumber that came from an old barn on the farm I grew up on. The bands are green elm, rived from a live limb and made with locking connections on the ends to hold them in place. The firkin will hold about 1 1/2 gallons of liquid and is water tight. I aged the project to give it a "look". As always, I appreciate the opportunity to share my feeble efforts. I remain your humble servant,

Just Dave

 

[Elnathan]

Oh, very nice. What is it used for? Milk? With only one handle it would be difficult to move around when full, but easy to hang on the wall.


I'm little skeptical of the name, as "firkin" usually denotes a measurement/size (1/4 barrel or 9 gallons, either imperial or American, or 56 pounds, depending on what exactly you are measuring) rather than a design of container.

 

[coloradoclyde]

A Noggin or Piggin is thee.....A firkin?...I think not, but could be wrong. Though the name firkin may have been given due to the size of the pail, typically a firkin was a barrel.

The style dates from the 14th century through the colonial period, with uses ranging from pitchers, to hog slops and sauna buckets. A pail designed to be scooped and poured easily....

Nice work.... :thumbsup: Do you have a specific reference for the bucket/inspiration ?

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Whatever anyone decides to call this, I think it is stunning ! You have a great talent. :hatsoff: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

If I were to attempt something like that, it would end up being called a “friggin’” bucket. :rotf:

 

[buffcreekforge]

I probably mislabeled the product - I based it off an antique piece I have in my collection. I found this on-line:

"Objects commonly referred to today as firkins are actually lidded pails or buckets. Historically, a firkin is a specific unit of measure. Four Firkins (Lot 1172, Estimate $200-$300)

So if a firkin is a specific measure of a product, what really are all of those lidded staved containers with bent wood handles that survive in a variety of sizes and colors that we commonly refer to as firkins? Depending upon the intended function the most appropriate terms are either, lidded bucket, if it was intended to draw water; or lidded pail, if it was intended to transport a liquid from one place to another. But, over the years, the colloquial definition of firkin has evolved. An article on maintaining an efficient kitchen titled “Anna Maria’s Housekeeping” published in the 1883 publication Wide Awake urges each kitchen to have “a firkin, or large pail with tight wooden cover for garbage”¦ If the [food] scraps must be saved, have a waste pail with a tight cover, or a covered firkin large enough to empty a panful of parings into in a hurry without dropping any on the floor.” These containers designed for kitchen waste were, it seems, very common as the article further notes that “Kitchen furnishing shops supply large tight garbage firkins neatly painted with covers, which never need be obnoxious to sight or smell." https://www.skinnerinc.com/news/blog/buckets-pails-and-firkins-2824t/

To butcher Shakespeare - "A firkin/bucket by any other name, holds water as well!" :v :surrender: :wink: :grin:

 

[George]

Very nice. Of all the skills we see demonstrated on the forums, I don't recall seeing coopering.

Is it watertight just from the fit, or is it lined, caulked, etc.?

Thanks.

Spence

 

[necchi]

:applause: :applause: :bow:

 

[buffcreekforge]

I cheated and sealed it. I have wooden buckets that have to be soaked and they are a pain. This one holds with no preparation. :v

 

[George]

It's a firkin.

Oxford English Dictionary says:

1. A small cask for liquids, fish, butter, etc., originally containing a quarter of a barrel.

Spence

 

[Black Hand]

I cheated and sealed it. I have wooden buckets that have to be soaked and they are a pain. This one holds with no preparation. :v

I saw an interesting show on PBS the other day where they made a coopered stave bucket. They put Sesame Seed paste (the material left over after squeezing out the Sesame Seed oil, dried then mixed with a little water) into the groove which served to seal if the bottom shrunk. The staves were profiled so they fit closely and didn't need sealing.
http://www.craftsmanslegacy.com/craftsmen/SEASON-3/Jim-Gaster

Another site I read where they used staves with the growth rings oriented perpendicular to the width of the stave so when the staves swelled, they would press more tightly together.

 

[coloradoclyde]

It's a firkin.

Oxford English Dictionary says:

1. A small cask for liquids, fish, butter, etc., originally containing a quarter of a barrel.

Spence

I'm not convinced, if you also look at the
Oxford English Dictionary definitions of "cask", and "bucket" for comparison.

While the "bucket" he made has a lid, it is too small for a firkin. It also doesn't fit the definition of a "cask".
The handle is a unique feature.

I still say it's a piggin. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/piggin

Which fits the usage if being a container for table scraps.....to later be fed to hogs.

 

[Bo T]

I think for long bows the growth rings would fall along the thickness of the stave with the heartwood to the belly. A single growth ring would run parallel the length of the stave. The same with a quarterstaff but of different wood. So for barrel staves the same applies-the length of the stave with the grain of the wood. And yes they would seal more completely.

 

[George]

You may be right about that. The long stave as a handle certainly fits.

Spence

 

[necchi]

I'm not convinced,

The one week hiatus was nice.

 

[Black Hand]

A fixture to help establish the angles on the staves and other helpful tools:

Coopering Tools

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I still say it's a piggin. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/piggin[/quote]

Yeah, I was under the impression from the old brewing references that I've read that a firkin was a small barrel, 1/4 quarter the size of a "normal" barrel. A small "keg" we might say today, not a bucket with a lid.

Although that's a beautiful rendition of whatever it's supposed to be called. :haha: :wink:

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

I can imagine that one could have originally made something like that by cutting down, re-purposing or salvaging an old wooden firkin keg.....And that the old name might stick with the new item created.....Hence the confusion.... :hmm: :idunno:

I'm curious how the beautiful antique look was accomplished ?

 

[Rifleman1776]

Excellent work. Neat project. Looks like instant antique. No matter what it is called, I like. I am a bit amused that you had to 'antique' wood that was already 150 years old.

 

[NeilMacleod]

Very nice job !! Congrats

 

[MSW]

your work looks great, regardless of temperamental nomenclature.

nicely done!!