With this experience it gave us the knowledge to only select the very best barrels to be used for our furniture. Thus we bring down to the recommended moisture content of 8% for indoor wooden furniture before we even think about turning any barrels or staves into any kind of furniture, with our heart and souls put into our work we want our items to last a lifetime. With this in mind when we are creating an item and if the parts we are making do not look right on any of our pieces of furniture we will start again. We will only send out something that we would be more than happy to receive ourselves our aim has always been quality over quantity.

When the barrels first arrive the moisture content can be as high as 24% from many years of holding whisky and can dry out as much as 1″ in over all size. You’ll want to make the tabletop at least as large as the barrel top, probably a lot larger. Measure the diameter of the top of the barrel. Then decide how large you would like the tabletop to be. For a bistro-style table, you’ll want at least a 16″ overhang all the way around, which means that you will need to add 32″ (16″ for each side) to the diameter of the barrel top. If you are going for a larger table, consider a 20″ or even 24″ overhang. For smaller serving and end tables, a 2-6″ overhang should suffice.

The craftsmen at Barrel Creations create beautiful and unique pieces of furniture, wine and whisky display cabinets and outdoor furniture out of 30-50-year-old whisky barrels

As we are a small family run business in the heart of Speyside with many years of experience coopering casks as a time served cooper.Choose a stain to match your decor. Tape off the metal components using painter’s tape and apply the stain, wiping off excess stain as you go along. Leave to dry, and apply additional coats until you reach the color of your liking. For a natural look, leave as is. For a polished, finished look, add a coat of polyurethane evenly to the entire barrel. Remove tape. plywood is affordably and easy to work with, so that’s what we’ll be describing, but you can also choose oak for consistency and authenticity. Trace out the circumference of your table on the board with a beam compass, then cut using a jigsaw equipped with a fine finish blade. Sand the edges of your new cut to dull the side, as this will make the table more comfortable. The McBain family have been creating artisan furniture in the glens of northeast Scotland for over 35 years.