The Cooper
Makers of Barrels
A cooper makes barrels and other similarly shaped items. Barrels served many purposes, primarily holding everything from tools to flour to water. A barrel is constructed by making staves, or curved strips of wood. These staves are then carefully, and very tightly, fit together to form the barrel. Iron rings are then placed around the barrel to hold everything in place.
Tools of the Trade
To assemble the barrel, a cooper would use a Cooper’s Mallet. It is wood with iron reinforcing rings around the ends. Why would a copper use this instead of a regular hammer? Think about what would happen if you hit wood with an iron hammer.
A cooper would also use a croze to make a curved notch just inside the top of the barrel so that the lid clicks tightly into place.
A cooper’s workshop might have looked something like this.
Take a look at the METC Cooper exhibit. Do you see the different parts of the barrel getting ready to be put together?
