BULLETIN OF THE 







No. 86 



Contribution from the Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service 



Henry S. Graves, Forester. 



March 14, 1914. 



(PROFESSIONAL PAPER.) 



TESTS OF WOODEN BARRELS. 



By J. A. Newlin, 

 Engineer in Charge of Timber Tests. 



OBJECT OF THE TESTS. 



The object of the tests described in this bulletin, made in coopera- 

 tion with the Bureau for the Safe Transportation of Dangerous 

 Explosives, was to obtain data upon which specifications and changes 

 in the design of wooden barrels used in the transportation of danger- 

 ous liquids might be based. The tests do not offer any comparisons 

 between barrels made of different material or of different species of 



timber. 



MATERIAL. 



The barrels used in the test were made by the St. Louis Cooperage 

 Co., and were received in six groups of 8 barrels each (48 in all) as 

 follows : 



Group 

 No. 



Barrel No. 



Thickness 



of staves 



and heads. 



Number 

 of hoops. 



1 



2 

 3 



4 

 5 

 6 



lto8 

 la to 8a 



9 to 16 

 9a to 16a 

 17 to 24 

 17a to 24a 



Inches. 



% 

 % 

 % 



6 



8 

 6 

 8 

 6 

 8 



The barrels were made from quarter-sawed white oak. (One stave 

 which seemed to be particularly porous was identified as red oak.) 

 The material was practically straight grained and free from defects. 

 The barrels were of excellent workmanship and were well coated 

 with paraffin on the inside. The staves varied in width from 

 about 2\ inches to about 7 inches. Thirty-one barrels had 19 staves 

 each, 12 had 20 each, and 4 had 21 each. The heads were usually 



Note. — This bulletin describes tests that are of special interest to barrel manufacturers and to manu- 

 facturers and shippers of dangerous liquids. 

 32797°— 14 



