Saturday, June 16, 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday, June 17 10 am to 3 pm
Come to Hanford Mills the weekend of June 16-17 to make a bucket with traditional cooper Bob Allers. Materials will be provided and participants will have access to tools and training in order to complete a reproduction early 19th century household bucket. Direction, guidance, and experience will be shared to accomplish the following activities:
- Forming the staves on a Cooper’s Plane to bevel the edges and taper the staves.
- Shaping the staves at the Cooper’s Horse using straight and curved drawknives.
- Raising the staves with a standard hoop, forming, shaping, and fastening custom hoops.
- Using a scorp and down shave to smooth the inside and outside of the bucket.
- Measuring, scribing, cutting, and shaping the head (base) for the bucket.
- Cutting the groove for the head with a croze.
- Fitting the bucket together, driving hoops, and attaching a rope handle.
- Finishing and sealing the bucket.
The first day will be spent making the staves and hoops, and measuring the head. The second day will cover shaping the head, creating the groove for the head, and finishing the bucket.
The cost for the workshop is $125 for members, $150 for non-members. (If you’re not yet a member, now is a great time to join. You’ll save on the cost of this workshop, and receive membership benefits for a year. Find out about membership today.) Price of the workshop includes the materials costs for the bucket. Register for the workshop online, by calling 607-278-5744, or by emailing [email protected]. The workshop will be limited to a maximum of 5 attendees and is intended for ages 18+, or 16+ with parent participation. Participants should bring a bag lunch.
Bob Allers began to learn the trade of coopering (making buckets, barrels, and casks) while part of the Artisans Program at Fort Stanwix National Monument. He has trained under the master cooper at Genesee Country Village in Mumford, NY, and he has also taken workshops with the cooper at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts.
For his presentations he sets up his traveling cooperage and demonstrates the tools used by the cooper to construct buckets or casks by hand in the manner of an eighteenth century craftsman. You may have seen him at the Woodsmen’s Festival at Hanford Mills Museum. Bob exhibits and uses an extensive collection of period and reproduction hand tools in his interactive programs with visitors.
