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Grosse Pointe Public Schools District Site
K-5
Site Map
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| Making
Wooden Pails, Tubs, and Barrels |
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In colonial times, a cooper was a person who made leak proof wooden
barrels, tubs, and pails. Coopers
worked in villages, on plantations,
and on ships. Barrels were used to hold food and liquids.
Tubs were used for washing clothes and people, and pails
were used for carrying liquids and food. Without a cooper nearby, people
would have to hollow out a log to carry or store liquid and dry items. |
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A cooper also made
yokes for oxen, laundry tubs,
and powder buckets. The laundry tubs
had to be water tight to hold water while
clothes were washed. |
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The cooper used staves or
narrow strips of wood to make a barrel.
The cooper gathered staves then heated
them over a small fire
to make them bend. Then he pulled the staves together using a windlass tool.
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Hoops were hammered onto each barrel to
hold its shape. The cooper
shaped staves and barrels with tools like a drawknife, hand adz, and plane. |
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An adze is a wood-cutting tool with a blade that
curves inward. |
The
drawknife is a tool that works easily and well in
shaping most woods. |
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The cooper made
round lids for barrels and cut a hole on top and on the side. Plugs
were carved to fit each hole. Why would a cooper cut holes in a
barrel? So that people could see the contents of each barrel. |
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Why was this tradesman
called "cooper"?
"Cooper" comes from the
Middle English words, couper
and cowper, meaning tub or container.
Knowing how to make and repair barrels and pails, the cooper was one
of the chief specialist trades in the Middle Ages throughout Europe.
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More Resources About Coopers and Their
Trade |
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Cooper |
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Cooper at Williamsburg |
Wheelwright and Cooper |
visitors as of March 29, 2003
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