The Apple Barrel Industry - Shingle & Stave Mill in Production

This video shows the milling process of making heads and staves for making traditional apple barrels. The process of making a barrel head starts with a junk of pine first cut to ¾ of an inch by the shingle and head saw. It's then planned and sent to the head rounding saw which finishes it by cutting a circular pattern in the boards and cutting it's bevelled edge. The process of sawing a stave first begins with the spruce log being rolled off the slip and into the mill where it's cut to various lengths depending on the barrel stock needed. After being cut it's piled and then sent through the stave saw which cuts out the stave and gives it its curve. After leaving the stave saw each stave is then ran through the jointer which cuts off the rough edges and leaves the center wider which gives the barrel its bulge. The staves are then stacked outside the cooperage and allowed to dry before being used in the production of a barrel.