# Sanding wine Barrel Staves



## Hillbilly (Jan 6, 2009)

G'Day to all.
Just joined, primarily to get some advice …. from all the Pro's here!

I find myself in my Mid-40's, re-married to an Aussie, and living mostly "Down-Under", but possibly getting back to Carolina within a year or so, to raise a baby that's "UNEXPECTEDLY" on the way! Not trying to bore anyone with my personal details, but I thought it would help with any advice you might want to share regarding my following questions, and the timeframe I'm looking at.

I have the luxury of working for myself (renovation, carpentry, home repair stuff), but I want to start up a very small woodworking shop in our garage here to make a few pieces of custom ("one-off" as the locals call it) furniture. With the new circumstances listed above, I don't want to invest too much $$ in acquiring the latest and greatest new tools, mainly because I'd have to sell them at a big loss a year from now. One idea I have is to break down old Wine Barrels (which are plentiful here), and use the oak staves and barrel heads to produce various styles of tasting, coffee and side tables, stools, chairs, and any number of miscellaneous accessories for the "wine crowd". Now I'll finally get to a couple of questions.

1) What type of sander would you recommend for the staves, which are curved of course? I've been thinking of a homemade drum type (possibly modifying a bench grinder), one that is exposed to work the pieces sort of freehand for the primary sanding?

2) Anyone with experience in this type of work? Do's and Dont's?

3) Other suggestions for a "simple" shop to make items which don't require a multitude of speciality tools?

Thanks for any and all comments.


----------



## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

Welcome to LJ's Hillbilly

I'v never staves from barrels before but i guess the curve isn't that harsh so a nice palm orbital sander for cleaning them

As for idea's how big is your imagination

Good Luck

Andy


----------



## Cantputjamontoast (Jan 1, 2009)

Look for a posting by "markthedark" 
Juat last week he was using oak staves and found a table on the internet.

I'm new I don't know how to like to it, but search oak staves and it will be second right after yours.


----------



## Cantputjamontoast (Jan 1, 2009)

"I'm new Idon't know how to like it"

I meant link it

Wife was calling me for dinner, I was typing as fast as I could----6wpm


----------



## Hillbilly (Jan 6, 2009)

Thanks for the reply Andy, and thanks for the information Mark.


----------



## coloradobob (Sep 1, 2008)

I Have used a large drum sander that I got from Grizzly. They run about 250.00 but well worth it. I also have used the Grizzle large spindle or oscillating sander a littel pricey but a very versital tool for all kinds of projects.coloradobob


----------



## Hillbilly (Jan 6, 2009)

Thanks Bob.
I've looked at the Grizzly tools for several years now, and look forward to the time when I can start purchasing some .. for tooling a barn/workshop in Carolina. For now though, there's a power supply issue that makes all my tools back home useless over here. When I first started coming over here I ruined a couple of electric razors before realizing what was wrong. I'd bought an adapter to make it possible to use the "power points" (outlets), but the voltage was too much …and well … my razors didn't last long. Anyway, I'll have to purchase something here … and only need it for a year. A good rule of thumb is to double the purchase price, here versus there, so 500.00 with the exchange rate, shipping costs, .. and then the power conversion etc. is a bit more than I want to spend.
I was thinking about trying a homemade one, using an old motor (of some kind?), then attaching a drum to it? 
Thanks again for the suggestion though, and I'll gladly consider any ideas you might have regarding building a "make-do" one. I don't mind the trial and error process, but I'm pretty sure there are plenty of folks out there who know a helluva lot more than me, who can save me a lot of grief and embarrassment.


----------



## Gio (Sep 18, 2009)

Hey Hillbilly, here is a word from the hills of Tennessee. Dealing with the charred side first. This is the messy part of what you want to do. I make barrel furniture and have a cheap 10 gl sandblast unit to remove the char and grit. Then we build the chairs from there.

Your idea about using a motor and drum should work but what I would do is but some kind of speed reducer in the system; either electronic or manual. Start with the slowest speed and work up from there. Point of concern is the gripping of the drum; it can rip it right out of your hands and create a deadly projectile. Something akin to kick-back on a table saw. So anchor the motor well, point or work piece in a safe direction and start with a soft touch. After getting the feel of what you are doing you can then think about adjusting the speed upwards. You will reach a point that your comfort level has maxed. Go no further.

Happy wood working.


----------



## 2002sheds (Aug 22, 2015)

Hi,
I am guessing that you will have better luck with a jointer/planer… after you get the bigger curve out, if that is what you are after.
Otherwise, a simple random orbit sander with medium grit abrasive will clean it up nicely.


----------



## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I use a three inch, pneumatic ,drum sander mounted in my variable speed drill press to sand the curves I encounter. I think that would be the cheapest way to approach this. ($50 US) There are purpose made sanders with the drum in a horizontal position also. Looks like a bench grinder. Speed control is required.http://www.seyco.com/category/accessories.html


----------

