How can old wooden beer barrels be reconditioned?

Question

I have an old wooden beer barrel that had been stored in a barn. When we brought it in the house over time it has dried out and the metal straps have loosened. I am looking for the best way to recondition the barrel so that the straps stay in place.

Answer 1

Use a wire brush attachment on a drill on the wood and rusted metal stays. Paint the metal stays with metal paint. Work the wood in the direction off the grain. Home Depot has inserts that can be pressed down the inisde to tighten up the loose wood. then install a nice plant.

Answer 2

A few things to keep in mind:

The staves (the pcs. of wood that run horizontally held together by the metal hoops have probably deteriorated to the point where they can no longer be salvaged. Common factors: dry rot, water damage, termites. Sometimes the contents of barrels...when in use (like storing wine or pickles) can help the barrel maintain the moisture content in the wood.

What you could do is replace all the staves...if you know a carpenter this could be easily done. However, you sand the inside & outside of it. Then, you might just want to use tons of "filler" like a mixture of sawdust & woodglue to fill in the gaps from the inside of the barrel ...that would probably work. However, it would most likely not be suitable for any food product storage (unless it's a dry grain like rice but even then you might want to line it with a clean heavy duty garbage bag) but decoration or storage of dry goods would probably be ok.