Beer Forum

Regardless of whether a brewer makes his/her own firkins, hogsheads, barrels, etc. there is still a need for that person to maintain and repair them properly. Having searched high and low (OK so my google fu isn't really up to par) I have been unable to find a decent how-to book on the subject.
Does anyone out there know of a good how-to book on hand coopering?

I don't know how to answer your direct question, but I don't know of any breweries that use barrels that actually would take the time to rebuild a barrel. The barrels are used, so they would just chuck them if they couldn't patch up a tiny leak. The only breweries I know of that maintain their wood are the ones that use foeders.

I am a home brewer, not a commercial brewer. I would maintain and repair barrels if I were a commercial brewer, because they get better as they get older, and are useful for different styles depending on their age. I don't know anyone who would "chuck' a barrel because it needed repair. A good barrel can last for more than a century, and new ones are incredibly expensive. Only the bourbon and wine industries dispose of barrels prematurely. Most single malt producers do maintain and repair barrels. Some even commission specialty barrels from woods other than oak. Wet coopering is far from dead. I was just hoping someone on this forum had an answer for me, though I quit reading it for a couple of years because I wasn't getting any answers and found the members of my LHBC to be more knowledgeable.
Still, this forum reaches a broader audience, and I was hoping someone might know of an obscure volume from some university press or something.

After googling "coopering" (I didn't have a clue what it was) I found this video. Not a lot of information, but still interesting to watch, IMO.

http://youtu.be/WMDKlblsPco

Hope it helps.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooper-His-Trade-Kenneth-Kilby/dp/0941936163
http://www.amazon.com/American-Cooperage-Machinery-Tools-Kenneth/dp/193162609X/ref=pd_sim_b_2
http://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Coopering-Shire-Library-Kenneth/dp/0747805849/ref=pd_sim_b_3
http://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Coopered-Wooden-Bucket/dp/1414101376/ref=pd_sim_b_1
not sure if its in depth enough, most skilled trades start out with the basics though.

I purchased the first and was disappointed. It went into great detail about the different tools used, but said very little about how to actually put a cask together. The others I was also aware of, and none of them seem quite what I'm looking for either. I'm interested in hand coopering, not machine coopering. (I can't afford to buy barrels much less machine tools.) I doo have access toa plentiful supply of white oak suitable for small casks such as firkins. (I'm actually thinking a 10 1/2 gallon cask that will shrink with use to near 10 gallons as opposed to the traditional 9 1/2 gallon firkin.)
It's always a frustrating experience when you try to relearn a trade or skill that is essentially extinct. So much traditional knowledge has just disappeared over the last hundred years or so. It's difficult getting enough information to keep some of it alive.

I'm by no means a professional carpenter, but, judging by the video, it shouldn't be that hard of a craft to master.
You do have to know how to use those Japanese style hand planes, but given enough practice (and enough messed up wood ), you should be able to get it fairly fast.

Or you could always go to school...http://www.tillersinternational.org/woodworking/classes_448_cooperingbarrels.html

Aleguy, I'm not trying to discourage you from rebuilding a barrel if you want to. Go for it. I was just pointing out that most breweries wouldn't rebuild a barrel. They would buy another used one for $40-$50. I would be interested to find out though, if you know of any breweries that do this.