Tavy@ could you imagine todays computer laptop freaks in a shirt and tie doing this kind of work lol. They sit down all day and still dont want to do anything. Or they just fob ye off. At least i worked in a cooperage and it was hard sweaty and really dirty. The dirt even got inside my pockets and it was jeans a wore? Its a dieying trade becouse no one wants to do it despite the great money. Now they just want to sit next to a phone eating sweets. Wtf is happening!!!!!
Tavy@ brilliant to watch. Just a pure joy to watch a trade that took so much skill, hard labour, geometry just by using there eye, and an art, and they took great pride in the finished article to perfection. And great speed of thought! A worked in a cooperage as a labourer and that was really hard and dirty as well. Imagine todays 16 to 22 year old mobile phone and computer mad doing that work lol or trying to do it or learn it. They would say "sorry but a need to take this call" every 5 minutes! But where a worked they would just get rid of them. They knew who wanted to work and who could work. A thinck in todays britain theres to many firms, companys, jobs, with no respect for there staff. Plus to tight to pay out good money to keep there staff. When a heard people saying "we get timend when we go to the toillet and if were 20 seconds late we can lose wer job, we get treated as rubbish" a thought no thats going to far, to far and then hard working mums and dads get sanctiond? Its a mess!!! And needs fixed by experts. Not just mp's that dont know how or what a town or city centre looks like. Then people cant look for work sanctiond so sanctiond again. There killing people!!!!
Tavy@ Thancks for the upload! A used to work in a cooperage 20 years ago then in my town the only 2 closed down the 2 of 22 years ago! But a never thought a would see a cooper at work again never mind in 1954 when it was so much harder with no machines just all done by hand! That was brilliant to watch! Even 20 year ago and still today i could see how hard those men had to work and they were paid £5.40p for every 45 gallon barrel they made. But they could make or fix 2 barrels in an hour! That was in 1993. A was a labourer in it and that was hard work as well and really dirty. A couldnt understand why it was so dirty when they just made barrels? There was no fires in 1993 and machines were at work. But it really is an amazing trade. The geometry in it alone is amazing, the skill, the hard labour, the perfection of it, these men took care of there tools as much as there work! Could you imagine todays mobile phone and laptop computer mad boys at age 16 to 21 doing that trade today? There wouldnt be that many really. Infact maybe none at all. They couldnt do the hard sweating dirty labouring never mind the trade!!! A cooper in 1993 when a was there could earn at least £800 a week. Becouse they would sometimes get in 5ft 230 gallon puncheon barrels that had a leak, so the cooper just had to take out 1 of the staves (thats what the bits of wood are called that make the barrell all round. .Staves) and put a new one in and tighten it with hoops, still alot of skill needed even at fixing them just as much as makeing them from scratch! And they got £11 for doing 1 5ft puncheon barrel. And could do 2 in an hour? Thats £22 an hour in 1993. 40 hours a week. A noticed in 1954 the coopers wore shirts and ties and vests to do a hard and very dirty job! They WERE REAL MEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like this kind of labor. Everyone working, everyone is happy and everyone earns the bacon to bring home. And today? Machines, less people on the job, more unemployment. Who make these barrels today? Probably China, under slave labor. But, why they fire and smoke the barrels?
So if your new barrel has sawdust and wood chips inside, the dumbass drilled the holes AFTER assembling the entire barrel. It's fun to clean this out of a barrel, let me tell ya.
